Effective Strategies For Business Leaders To Achieve Optimized Project Outcomes
Kamal Verma, CEO - Water Business Group, Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd, 0
In today’s dynamic business landscape, delegation of responsibilities with proper authority is pivotal for the success of any medium or large organization. This is because, unlike in small companies, it is an impossible task for a single person to oversee all the functions within a large organization. Thus, business leaders must make sure to allocate responsibilities of each function to concerned department heads – for instance HR Head, Finance Head, Marketing Head and others. Further, they must also formulate key SOPs that not only ensure the accountability of every team member, but also defines each of their level of authority and responsibility.
Effective Resource Allocation for Large Projects
In terms of allocating resources for hassle-free execution of large projects, the first step for business leaders is to identify a suitable team for the task once they receive specifics of the job at hand. Also, it is important for the company to have two teams in place - one to directly work on a single project site and the other to offer necessary support services such as project designs & SCM for all projects that the company is handling. Post this, companies must prepare a detailed project schedule based on the approved budget and timelines, and appoint a suitable project manager who has prior experience of having similar projects. Additionally, the management team must conduct regular meetings with all the team members involved in the project, discuss in detail about the progress of the project and take the necessary measures if faced with any bottlenecks. Overall, it all comes down to all the departments involved in the project working together closely to successfully delivering the project within the approved budget and timeline.
Financial Management Strategies to Optimize Project Outcomes
Every company has a proposal/ tender department which secures the job, prepares a detailed cost estimation sheet and gives it to the execution team. This enables the execution team to have a clear picture of what kind of budget they can spend on which kind of component. Also, the internal finance team must conduct periodic assessment of whether the project is progressing forward within the prescribed budget constraints. If the CTC (cost-to-completion) is found to be crossing the budget allocated for a particular project, business leaders and project managers must seek help of value engineering and cost optimization techniques to reduce the overall cost of that project. Additionally, it is paramount for finance head or CFO to closely observe the cash flow management process especially in EPC companies where cash flow is more important than P&L for effective operation of the projects.
Essential Qualities of a Successful Project Leader
A successful project leader is one who believes that long terms results can be achieved only through the collective efforts of employees across all levels of the organizational hierarchy and not just from a single privileged individual who is sitting at the top management. A key trait that is required to be a successful project leader is the ability and willingness to train and mentor other team members in areas wherever deemed necessary and guide them towards achieving the organizational objectives. Also, they must lead by example, maintain a clear line of communication with all team members and demonstrate integrity, while also being ready to take tough calls whenever necessary. Further, he/ she must identify potential employees and imbibe various leadership and managerial skills within them to be able to grow the corporate ladder and assume bigger roles within the organization.
Every company has a proposal/ tender department which secures the job, prepares a detailed cost estimation sheet and gives it to the execution team. This enables the execution team to have a clear picture of what kind of budget they can spend on which kind of component. Also, the internal finance team must conduct periodic assessment of whether the project is progressing forward within the prescribed budget constraints. If the CTC (cost-to-completion) is found to be crossing the budget allocated for a particular project, business leaders and project managers must seek help of value engineering and cost optimization techniques to reduce the overall cost of that project. Additionally, it is paramount for finance head or CFO to closely observe the cash flow management process especially in EPC companies where cash flow is more important than P&L for effective operation of the projects.
A successful project leader is one who believes that long terms results can be achieved only through the collective efforts of all employees within the organization and not just from a single individual.
Essential Qualities of a Successful Project Leader
A successful project leader is one who believes that long terms results can be achieved only through the collective efforts of employees across all levels of the organizational hierarchy and not just from a single privileged individual who is sitting at the top management. A key trait that is required to be a successful project leader is the ability and willingness to train and mentor other team members in areas wherever deemed necessary and guide them towards achieving the organizational objectives. Also, they must lead by example, maintain a clear line of communication with all team members and demonstrate integrity, while also being ready to take tough calls whenever necessary. Further, he/ she must identify potential employees and imbibe various leadership and managerial skills within them to be able to grow the corporate ladder and assume bigger roles within the organization.