Why is top management commitment crucial for project managers?

Answer 1

Project managers need adequate resources. The best way to kill a project is to withhold the required money, human resources, and visibility for the project. If project managers have top management commitment, they will also have adequate resources and not be distracted by events that do not affect their specific projects.

Project managers often require approval for unique project needs in a timely manner. For example, on large information technology projects, top management must understand that unexpected problems may result from the nature of the products being produced and the specific skills of the people on the project team. For example, the team might need additional hardware and software halfway through the project for proper testing, or the project manager might need to offer special pay and benefits to attract and retain key project personnel. With top management commitment, project managers can meet these specific needs in a timely manner.

Project managers must have cooperation from people in other parts of the organization. Since most information technology projects cut across functional areas, top management must help project managers deal with the political issues that often arise in these types of situations. If certain functional managers are not responding to project managers' requests for necessary information, top management must step in to encourage functional managers to cooperate.

Project managers often need someone to mentor and coach them on leadership issues. Many information technology project managers come from technical positions and are inexperienced as managers. Senior managers should take the time to pass on advice on how to be good leaders. They should encourage new project managers to take classes to develop leadership skills and allocate the time and funds for them to do so.