Gain the power you need to influence others and get the job done!

Ignoring the external and internal politics surrounding your project can be hazardous to your project’s health. Successful project managers understand the importance of managing stakeholders through leadership and influence. This course will help you analyze the political context in your organization and convert your adversaries and opponents into your allies. The techniques and reminders covered in this highly interactive and engaging workshop will give you many practical tips that you can immediately use to understand and manage politics in your own organization. You will evaluate, improve and refine your project management and leadership skills and learn practical strategies to increase your total power.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) areas covered: Communications Management, Human Resources Management, and Integration Management.

Who should attend?

This workshop is appropriate for anyone—at any experience levels—who needs to lead projects, manage stakeholders, build relationships, negotiate successfully and work with others to achieve results while minimizing unwanted surprises.

What will my seminar experience cover?

- Power and Influence: Sources of power; characteristics and outcomes of power; project manager and power; and techniques to increase your total power.

- Politics in Project Management: Analysis of political behaviors of project stakeholders and political context in your organization; strategies to convert your adversaries and opponents into your allies; and managing politics at the project level and at the upper management level.

- Project Leadership: Leader versus manager; leadership and the project life cycle.

- Negotiating: Effective methods of negotiating; impact of culture on negotiation; practical guidelines for negotiating; communication skills to achieve win/win solutions; focusing on interests, not on positions, and generating mutually beneficial options.

How will I benefit?

Develop and enhance the contributions you make to your organization by being able to:

- Recognize the importance of human factors in project management

- Understand the importance and dynamics of power and politics

- Identify eight sources of power and evaluate strategies to increase total power

- Identify political behaviors and analyze the political context in your organization

- Develop strategies to convert your adversaries and opponents into your allies

- Manage power and politics at the project level and at the upper management level

- Recognize the role of leader versus manager and how leadership is related to the project life cycle.

- Evaluate your leadership level and learn strategies to improve your leadership skills

- Analyze impact of culture on leadership, communications and negotiation techniques.

- Develop negotiating strategies that focus on interests instead of positions.

What instructional materials will be used?

Small group activities, skill practices, case studies, lectures, diagnostic questionnaires and group discussions.