Grabbing Authority
Thomas Cutting, PMP, Project Management Mentor
Cutting’s Edge

Authority is weird. It can be granted to you and then it can be stripped away. You can wield it like a club or wear it like a mantle. You can build on it or let it slip through your fingers. Typically the fact that a Project Manager is assigned to a project gives her some level of authority. Unfortunately the authority granted by the Charter (assuming you got it approved) doesn't stretch very far when all the other Project Managers have Charters that say the same thing.

Grabbing Authority is a unique look at getting and using authority. It explores the four different types of authority, discusses how to build authority from scratch and follows up with what to do if you loose it. We'll look at both a Functional and Projectized organizations.

Whether you are heading up a project, leading the testing or simply a member of the team, this session will give you practical ways to use what you have and grab a little more.

• The four types of authority
• How to use each authority type appropriately and avoid misuses
• What challenges to your authority might arise
• How authority differs between a functional organization and a projectized one
• Ways to build your authority from scratch
• Steps to regain authority when lost

• Agenda
• Authority Gone Bad
  • Examples
  • No Respect Given
• Defining Authority
  • General: The right and power to command and be obeyed or to do something
  • Project: The right to apply project resources, expend funds, make decision, or give approvals.
  • Suggested: The responsibility to manage your resource (people, products and funds) to the full extent of your influence
• Giving it Purpose
  • To accomplish the goals of a project or an organization
• Types of Authority
  • Positional
  • Referent
  • Reward / Penalty
  • Expert
• Positional Authority
  • Defined
  • Appropriate
  • Abusive
  • Challenges
• Referent Authority
  • Defined
  • Appropriate
  • Abusive
  • Challenges
• Reward/Penalty Authority
  • Defined
  • Appropriate
  • Abusive
  • Challenges
• Expert Authority
  • Defined
  • Appropriate
  • Abusive
  • Challenges
• Organization Orientation
  • Functional
  • Projectized
  • Matrix
• Surviving in a Matrix Organization
  • Available Authority
  • Functional Manager Interaction
  • Team Leading •  Outside Influences
• Leading in a Projectized Organization
  • Available Authority
  • Project Interaction
  • Team Leading
• Starting from Scratch
  • Before Jumping In
  • Build Credibility
  • Determine Positional Authority
  • Build Referent Authority
  • Identify Reward / Penalty abilities
• Regaining Lost Ground
  • Determine Weakness
  • Positional Plunge
  • Referent Deficiencies
  • Reward / Penalty drop off
  • Credibility tanked
• Final Thoughts
  • Take as much as you want
  • Position of dependency •  Questions

Thomas Cutting is a Project Management Mentor with Cutting's Edge. His experience spans the entertainment, retail, insurance, banking, healthcare and automotive verticals. Managing and mentoring in this diverse background enables him to bring that learning to you through his training, writing and conference appearances.

From Programmer to Program Management Office, Business Analyst to Quality Assurance Analyst, he has experienced first hand the problems that teams face. As a consultant he led the Project Office / Quality Assurance team for a large outsourcing engagement, experience that has helped him train and mentor Project Managers. He knows that the key to an effective Program Management Office is to listen to the issues and work with the team to find practical resolutions, not impose strictly theory-based processes.

His contributions to the Project Management world include articles for Computerworld and InformIT as well as presenting at conferences for the Project Management Institute, International Institute for Software Process and the Southern California Quality Assurance Association. He is a regular contributor to several Project Management web sites and various forums.