Download Presentation - The Bridgespan Group

Leading for Impact: Project Lead
Workshop 1
Session 3
As Project Lead, you are managing your team through
a complex organizational initiative
Please share
• Your name, organization, and role
• A 30-second description of your project
And answer one of the following questions
• For your team, what has been the greatest
“win” so far in the project process?
OR
• As Project Lead, what do you believe will be
the single biggest challenge of your role
going forward?
Updated by M. Ciccarone 8/08/16
2
Agenda
•Review/recap of work to date
•Stakeholder engagement
•Developing a workplan
•Next steps
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Reminder: This is the first of several Project Lead
working sessions
Session 1
Strategy
Achieving
Strategic
Clarity
Theory of
Change
Project
Planning
Aligning
the
Organization
Project
Session 2
Peer Group
Intros and
Team Goals
Plan the work
Session 3
Session 4
Session 5
Session 6
Project Lead
Workshop
Project Lead
Workshop
Project Lead
Workshop
Aligning
Programs
Improving
Programs &
Operations
Aligning
Funding
Measuring
and
Managing
Performance
Project
Time
Project
Time
Project
Time
Project
Time
Leadership
Styles
Effective
Decisionmaking
Building
Future
Leaders
Leading
Change
Do analysis and draw out insights
Session 7
Project
Sharing and
Future
Planning
Sustaining
Strategic
Clarity
Sustaining
Team
Effectiveness
Prepare to implement
Project advising and team coaching calls
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These sessions will focus on supporting you through
key stages of work
Project Planning
last month
 Structuring problems with focused, testable
hypotheses
 Managing the project with a detailed workplan
 Turning ambiguous data into insight
 Organizing for action
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Over the last month, you and your teams have
developed a hypothesis tree to guide your work
Question:
Hypothesis:
Assertion 1
Assertion 2
Assertion 3
Assertion 4
Analysis
Analysis
Analysis
Analysis
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<<Insert client example of hypothesis tree and have
client present if possible>>
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These sessions will focus on supporting you through
key stages of work
 Structuring problems with focused, testable
hypotheses
 Managing the project with a detailed workplan
 Turning ambiguous data into insight
 Organizing for action
Today’s
session
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Agenda
•Review/recap of work to date
•Stakeholder engagement
•Developing a workplan
•Next steps
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Engaging the right people at the right time is critical to
developing and implementing the best answer
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Consider who to engage and how
Identify the critical
stakeholders early
• Groups that will be most affected by
the work
• Trusted influencers that could serve
as strong promoters
• Potential detractors that could stall
progress
• Key decision-makers that must be
on board
Include these stakeholders in
the work of the project
• Steering Committee
Put them to
work on the
project
• Advisory groups
• Client maps
• Project management roles
Give them
avenues to
provide
input
Keep them
informed
• Interviews
• Surveys
• Focus groups
• Overview of project intent
and process
• Frequent updates of project
progress
TBG
LFI-Project_Lead_Worksho ... 161223
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Exercise: Thinking about engaging key stakeholders
In groups of two Project Leads
and one Bridgespan coach, consider:
Who will be affected by the decisions you are
likely to make?
Who will influence the decision?
How can you best engage these groups, now and
into implementation?
Capture your thinking on the Handout so you can share/test
it with your full team later today
TBG
LFI-Project_Lead_Worksho ... 161223
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Group discussion: Engaging key stakeholders
For teams that have already thought through
stakeholder engagement…
Who are the major stakeholders
you’ve identified?
How will you engage them?
TBG
LFI-Project_Lead_Worksho ... 161223
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Handout: Identify the critical few stakeholders (or
groups) who should be involved and how
Key stakeholders
e.g., Program
Directors
What type of
engagement?
e.g., decisionmakers, inform
only, seek input
How can we best
engage them?
Critical points for
engagement
e.g., quarterly
e.g., one-on-one, in
team meeting on
teams
April 1
TBG
LFI-Project_Lead_Worksho ... 161223
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Agenda
•Review/recap of work to date
•Stakeholder engagement
•Developing a workplan
•Next steps
15
Let’s begin turning your hypothesis tree and plan for
stakeholder engagement into a workplan
When developing workplan timelines, begin by considering:
What major activities
or tasks need to happen
to accomplish your
objectives?
What are the key
deadlines for the
overarching goals or
milestones? Can you
work backwards?
What big events, notable dates, or key meetings
should you use to guide the deadlines of your
workplan?
When are you going to
get feedback and
input from others on
your work-in-progress?
What is realistic to
achieve in the next five
months?
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Example: High-level workplan
Plan the
work
Jan
Do analysis and draw out insights
Feb
March
April
Prepare to implement
May
June
Articulate key question
Project
scoping
Formulate hypothesis
Create workplan
Make decisions
and communicate
them to
stakeholders
Plan analytical
deliverables
Demand
analysis
Landscape
analysis
Desk research on
demand for our
services
Define competitor set,
draft interview guides,
set up interviews
Financial
analysis
Important
dates
Conduct surveys
Conduct
interviews
Create
implementation
and change
management
plans
Funder / financial analysis
Program
Committee #1
Board
Meeting #1
Program
Committee #2
Board
Meeting #2
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Then develop the next level of detail by outlining key
activities
When developing workplan activities, consider:
What is the
output,
deliverable, or
outcome of each
activity or task?
Who will lead
each activity or
task? What input
from the team
will be required?
Are there any
important
dependencies?
(e.g., Task C can’t
be completed
before Task A)
When must each
activity be
completed?
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Example: Key activities, with deadlines and owners
Research
Demand: There is a
need for our
services
Data / analysis
needed
Desk research on
demand for our
services
Key activities to be
conducted
Deadline
Owner
Review leading publications for reports on
the need for our services in both cities
Write survey
Surveys of potential
beneficiaries
Distribute survey
Analyze results of survey
Desk research on current services being
offered in both cities
Landscape: We can
uniquely meet the
need
Landscape analysis
Create a list of potential
competitors/collaborators; set up
interviews
Write an interview guide
Conduct interviews with
competitors/collaborators
Analyze results of interviews
Financials:
Expansion is
financially
sustainable
Breakeven analysis
Develop a working estimate of start-up
costs
Develop a working estimate of ongoing
costs
Identify potential funders
Funder landscape
Interview potential funders to gauge their
appetite for investment
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Lastly, identify the desired inputs and outputs for
important milestones to ensure you stay on track
KEY MILESTONE
Program
Committee #1
Board meeting
#1
INPUTS NEEDED
DESIRED OUTPUTS
• Interview guides for landscape and
demand research
• Revised guides, financial
variable
• Draft list of financial variables to model
• Proposed interview list
• Initial factbase on the need in both cities,
and our ability to meet that need
• Early estimates on start-up costs in each
city
Program
Committee #2
• Emerging factbase
Board meeting
#2
• Finalized factbase
• Initial assessment of options
• Recommendation from the executive team
• Facilitated introductions to
potential funders, in order
to conduct interviews
• Revised options
• Final decision on
expansion
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As you refine your workplan, keep these watch outs in
mind
1• Be
specific (e.g., “conduct three focus groups” instead of
“solicit input”)
2• Be
realistic about what can be accomplished; pull in additional
resources if needed
3• Use
Bridgespan as a thought partner (share drafts and ask for
feedback!)
4• Add
cushion time (e.g., start scheduling interviews at least
two weeks in advance)
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Exercise: Sketching out your workplan
In groups of two Project Leads
and one Bridgespan coach, consider:
What major activities
or tasks need to happen
to accomplish your
objectives?
What are the key
deadlines for the
overarching goals or
milestones? Can you
work backwards?
What big events, notable dates, or key meetings
should you use to guide the deadlines of your
workplan? (e.g., board meetings, Bridgespan check-ins,
staff retreats, cohort start dates, grant renewal dates)
When are you going to
get feedback and
input from others on
your work-in-progress?
What is realistic to
achieve in the next 5
months?
Capture your thinking on the Handout or flipchart paper so
you can share/test it with your full team later today
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Next steps
• Project working lunch: Lead a discussion with you team
- Options:
‣ Discussing the key stakeholders to engage and how
‣ Discussing the most important activities that need to be
accomplished by when by whom, etc. (your emerging
workplan)
‣ Discussing upcoming analyses you will conduct
• Draft a workplan and refine with your Bridgespan coach in
the next week
• Team and Bridgespan will use the workplan to discuss
progress on analysis in upcoming project calls
- Bi-weekly team calls will begin after this session
- Ongoing contact between you and your Bridgespan consultant
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Additional resources (in addition to one another!)
LinkedIn
• Email went out last month with links to join these groups:
- General group
‣ Includes all Leading for Impact cities
- Seattle group
‣ Includes all current and past participants of the Leading for Impact–
Seattle cohorts
Classroom & project materials
• For the latest and greatest classroom and project materials, please be
sure to go to Bridgespan’s Leading for Impact resource page:
- http://www.bridgespan.org/LFIREsources
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Our next session will focus on turning data into insight
 Structures problems with focused, testable
hypotheses
 Manages the project with a detailed workplan
 Turns ambiguous data into insight
 Organizes for action
Next
session
25
Handout: workplan template
Plan the
work
Jan
Do analysis and draw out insights
Feb
March
April
Prepare to implement
May
June
Articulate key question
Project
scoping
Formulate hypothesis
Create workplan
Plan analytical deliverables
Workstream
1
Workstream
2
Workstream
3
Important
dates
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Find session materials and related tools on-line at:
www.bridgespan.org/LFIresources
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