The government’s fiscal challenges combined with greater public visibility of how tax dollars are spent has put the performance of federal programs and projects under the microscope. Strengthening agencies’ program and project management requires the right talent for leadership. The challenges of keeping such programs and projects aligned with mission objectives or of ensuring they deliver the targeted results are often linked to the shortage of qualified personnel to lead them. Leading Federal Government Projects II strengthens program/project leaders’ capability to think more strategically, build and manage relationships, influence stakeholders and manage conflict.

Leading more complex federal government projects and project teams requires the mid-level project/program manager have specific technical as well as soft skills for successful project outcomes. Leading Federal Government Projects II uses various tools and techniques to ensure participants will continue to apply leadership principles learned in the classroom and in the workplace. Starting with the steps a project manager takes to ensure a project is aligned with agency strategies, subsequent discussions and activities allow participants to explore relationship building as a fundamental aspect of effective project management and leadership. Participants will use a self-assessment tool to learn more about their personal communication preferences and styles to employ this knowledge on projects and with stakeholders. To further enhance communication skills, participants practice applying stakeholder influencing skills and concepts. Creativity and innovation models are explored next with a focus on the “As-Is” vs. the “To-Be” states principles of which also apply to coaching and development of project team members. An overview of the conflict-management processes follows that provides skills to identify conflict and determine when the conflict is real so conflict-resolution processes can be applied. Finally, Leading Federal Government Projects II walks participants through how to prepare for and conduct a collaborative negotiation in the project environment.

• Relationship Building Skills
• Partnering
• Team Building
• Political Savvy
• Leading without formal authority
• Building trust
• Customer service (internal customers/external clients)
• Problem Solving
• Asking the right questions
• Stakeholder analysis (evaluate who can fix it, who is breaking it)
• Metrics for success
• Weighing options and making decisions
• Managing Conflict
• Sources of conflict
• Contemporary view of conflict (not always bad-can be healthy)
• Conflict sequences (related to SDI colors)
• Presentable vs. real conflict
• Conflict resolution
• Strategic Thinking
• Strategy as a way to achieve project success
• Impact of organizational constraints
• Creativity Innovation
• Active vs. passive identification
• As-is vs. to-be
• Tools and techniques for identifying problems and opportunities
• Developing Others
• Identify and optimize the synergies inherent in the different backgrounds (ethnic background, work experience, skills sets) of project team members, departments and their organization at large
• Coach and mentor to improve performance
• Recognize good and excellent performance
• Model the behavior and level of performance expected of the team, stakeholders, vendors, etc.
• Influencing Stakeholders
• Emotional Intelligence/ Social Intelligence (Daniel Goldman)
• Soft Power (Joseph Nye)
• Legislative Leadership (Jim Collins)
• Internal and external awareness
• Political savvy
• Leading without formal authority
• Negotiations
• Preparing for negotiation
• Conducting negotiation
• Developing negotiation strategies
• Identifying negotiation style
• Communication
• Oral communication
• Written communication
• Body language
• Facilitating Processes for Life Cycle
• Key touch points in project life cycle
• Skills and tools used at touch points