Project Leadership Roles at TriHealth TriHealth is a company that manages several large hos- pitals and a variety of other health organizations, such as physical fitness facilities and nursing services. Due to the company’s increasing size and complexity, Tri- Health leadership decided they needed to formally de- fine roles of project executive sponsor, project leader, performance improvement consultant, core team mem- ber, and subject matter expert. These roles are shown below.
Project Executive Sponsor
Initiating Stage • Empower project leader with well-defined charter, which is the overarching guide • Clearly define expected outcomes • Demonstrate commitment to and prioritization of project • Define decision-making methods and responsibility— sponsor/project leader/team • Partner with project leader to identify obstacles, bar- riers, and silos to overcome
Planning Stage • Ensure Project Leader understands business context for organization • Ensure Project Leader develops overall project plan • Assist Project leader in developing vertical and hori- zontal communication plan • Demonstrate personal interest in project by invest- ing time and energy needed • Secure necessary resources and organizational support
Executing Stage • Communicate and manage organizational politics • Visibly empower and support Project Leader verti- cally and horizontally • Build relationships with key stakeholders • Actively listen to and promote team and project to Stakeholders • Remove obstacles and ensure progress of project • Ensure goals are met and Stakeholders are satisfied Closing Stage • Ensure closure; planned completion or termination
Ensure results and lessons learned are captured and shared • Ensure assessment of related applications or opportunities • Ensure any necessary next steps are assigned and resourced • Recognize contributions and celebrate completion • Negotiate follow-up date(s) to assess project status Project Leader All of the roles listed are the ultimate responsibility of the project leader. However, in the development of the charter, the Sponsor and the Project Leader will have a discussion about the Project Leader role. At that time, the individuals will determine if the Project Leader needs additional assistance or skills to facilitate the project success and which of these responsibilities need to be delegated to others with expertise in those areas.
• Leads negotiation with Sponsor for charter definition. • Collaborates with Sponsor to clarify expectations. • Provides direction to the team with integrity, leader- ship, and communication skills. • Facilitates productive meetings and supports the team’s decisions. • Prepares the high-level work plan and timeline. • Champions the project on the management level and with the staff. • Leads the implementation of the project. • Manages project flow, including agenda setting, meeting documentation, and coordination of team assignments. • Develops implementation, education, and commu- nication plans for the project. • Responsible for the team and project progress and proactively intervenes to promote team and project success. • Identifies, communicates, and facilitates the re- moval of barriers to enable successful project completion. • Supports the team with tools and methodologies to accomplish goals.
Project Leadership Roles at TriHealth • Facilitates collection and analysis of data. • Leads the team in developing a plan to sustain the change and monitor effectiveness. • Leads team in developing recommended next steps. • Closes project with Sponsor and assure lessons learned are captured. • Establish with Sponsor the dates for post-project check-up and overall measurable effectiveness of project.
Performance Improvement Consultant If the Sponsor and the Project Leader determine addi- tional support/expertise is needed, a Performance Im- provement Consultant can provide the following expertise: • Provides direction to the Project Leader in establish- ing targets and a measurement and monitoring system. • Mentors the Project Leader on leading the team through the project management process. • Collaborates with the Project Leader to prepare a work plan and timeline for the project. Proactively intervenes to promote team and project success based on teamwork and interactions. • Assists the Project Leader in identifying, communi- cating, and removing barriers to enable successful project completion. • Assists in the researching of research, best prac- tices, and benchmarking. • Coaches the Project Leader on the development and implementation of a comprehensive communica- tion, education, and change management plan. • Provides the Project Leader support in assuring reg- ular communication with the Sponsor and Stakeholders. • Offers expertise to the team with tools and method- ologies to accomplish goals. Collaborates with the Project Leader on the collec- tion and analysis of data. • Assures a system-wide perspective is considered and downstream effects analyzed.
Provides change management education and as- sists the Project Leader in developing key strategies for successful change management • Provides coaching to the Project Leader on key strat- egies for successful planning, implementation, and sustainability of the project. Core Team Member • Takes responsibility for the success of the team. • Attends meetings for duration of the project. • Actively participates in team meetings. • Understands the entire range of the project. • Actively participates in the decision-making process. • Supports the team’s decisions. • Completes outside assignments. • Carries out many of the project activities; produces deliverables on time. • Provides testing or validation of decisions being made by the team. • Provides data collection and reporting. • Participates in the communication, education, im- plementation, and evaluation of the project. • Gathers input from the areas they represent, if appropriate. • Shares team decisions and plans throughout the project. • May work directly with Stakeholders or Subject Mat- ter Experts.
Subject Matter Expert • Not a core team member of the team. • Participates in demonstrations/presentations and/or team meetings, as needed. • Responsible for supplying requirements. • Provides input to the team or complete activities based on a specific expertise he or she possesses that is essential to the project