Establishing a Project Vision for the Recruiting Solutions Project

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Introduction Project Management. The very term evokes images of project managers pouring over Gantt charts, assigning work out to their teams, and soliciting updates. By definition, project management entails significant management, but what about leadership? The two are by no means mutually exclusive, but how do they differ? One definition suggests management is the art of getting people to get things done; leadership is the art of getting people to want to get things done. Researchers Dale Christenson and Derek Walker believe leadership is critical for any project and a project vision “is a significant contributing factor to project success” (39). Together, they published an article titled “Understanding the Role of ‘Vision’ in Project Success” in the September 2004 issue of the Project Management Journal. This paper will evaluate Christenson and Walker’s approach to developing a project vision and use that approach to develop and evaluate a vision statement for a recruiting solutions project, which is about to begin. Approach Christensen and Walker’s designed an approach to “engender passion and meaning to a project” (40). In addition to defining certain key characteristics, the authors propose a process for establishing a vision that truly resonates with the project team and its stakeholders by engaging with stakeholder representatives to identify the underlying assumptions, values, and desires of the project team and their culture. This process requires the project champion or appointed project leader to establish a stakeholder reference group, which consists of representatives from all of the different types of stakeholders of the project. This group then works to develop and validate the project vi... ... middle of paper ... ... Vice-President, Development Director, Project Leader, Architect, Product Strategy Director, Product Strategist, Product Manager, Quality Assurance Lead, Usability Lead, and select customers representing the four primary users of the system – these customers shall be selected from members of the Talent Factors Customer Advisory Board (CAB). Conclusion Christensen and Walker effectively convince their readers that an effective project vision is “a significant contributing factor to project success” (39). While lacking good examples, they provide good initial guidance to help project leaders create project visions for their own projects. The timing for the Recruiting Solutions project could not be better! Works Cited Christensen, Dale and Derek Walker. “Understanding the Role of ‘Vision’ in Project Success.” Project Management Journal 35.3 (2004): 39-52.

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