Facilitating Level 3: Strategic Portfolio Alignment 153
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STEP 1: PLAN AND CONDUCT THE PROSPECTIVE
Before conducting the rst prospective with the senior management team,
the coach and the PMO work together to (a) identify and clarify strategic
objectives, (b) develop a list of investment priorities, (c) identify partici-
pants, (d) assess team members’ readiness, (e) outline an initial under-
standing of roles and responsibilities, (f ) collect information related to
key performance indicators, (g) establish an agenda, date, and time, and
(h) conduct the prospective.
2. Execute
the Strategy
1a. Identify and
Clarify Strategic
Objectives
1b. Develop List
of Investment
Priorities
1c. Identify the
Participants
1d. Assess Team
Members’
Readiness
1e. Clarify Decision-
Making Roles and
Responsibilities
1f Obtain the
Project
Dashboard
1g. Establish the
Agenda, Date,
and Time
1h. Conduct the
Prospective
3a. Collect Project
and Program
Performance
Data
3b. Meet with
Team Members
Individually
3c. Establish the
Agenda, Date,
and Time
3d. Conduct the
Retrospective
䡲
Action Items
䡲
Investment Priorities
䡲
Project Charters
䡲
The Project
Dashboard
䡲
Decision-Making
Roles and
Responsibilities
䡲
Changes to the
Strategic Intent
Statements
䡲
Practices to Sustain
or Improve
3. Plan and
Conduct the
Retrospective
4. Update the
Project Portfolio
1. Plan and
Conduct the
Prospective
FIGURE 7.1
Steps for Level 3: Strategic Portfolio Alignment
154 Implementing Multi-Level Learning
American Management Association
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Step 1a: Identify and Clarify Strategic Objectives
As discussed in Chapter 3, establishing goals that are clear and con ict
free is critical for teams at all levels. This is perhaps even more important
for senior teams because of the impact they have on communities both
internal and external to the organization. More often than not, the CEO,
the head of a business unit, or the leader of a division will have committed
to a number of annual performance objectives, often with accompany-
ing quarterly breakdowns. These may pertain to nancial, operational,
customer, or employee objectives for the organization overall. Financial
objectives might relate to market share, revenue growth, cost reduction,
margin improvement, or share price targets. Operational objectives might
relate to developing new products, rolling out new IT systems, improv-
ing productivity, opening or closing facilities, or closing and transform-
ing units, locations, or acquisitions. Customer objectives may pertain to
acquiring new customers, enhancing service levels, improving loyalty
and customer satisfaction, or nding new sources of revenue from dif-
ferent customer segments. Employee objectives might include providing
expanded career paths for employees, developing programs to rotate top
talent, or upgrading performance management systems.
Needless to say, senior teams may be “on the hook” for any number
of objectives, whether they be quantitative or qualitative in nature. The
PMO and the coach attempt to gather these objectives beforehand, so that
they can understand what the team is responsible for accomplishing and
in what time frames.
Step 1b: Develop a List of Investment Priorities
The PMO may also have developed—or will want to develop—a list of
“investment priorities,” or initiatives that represent potential projects and
programs that will enable the organization to execute its strategy. These
initiatives may be vague initially, and funds may also be allotted to each
“bucket.” Where possible, the PMO leader should obtain this information,
as it will serve as a jumping- o point for establishing project and program
priorities. As shown in Figure 7.2, this list should include the name of
each potential initiative, a problem or opportunity statement, the scope,
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FIGURE 7.2
Investment Priorities
Rank Category Initiative Problem Statement Objectives Scope
1 Marketing New Customer
Acquisition
Strategy
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Establish new sales
channel for product
enhancements
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2 Product
Development
New Product
Launch
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Launch product
upgrade in fourth
quarter
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3 IT Enterprise
Software
Implementation
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Complete
the process
and systems
improvements
for back offi ce
operations
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4 Product
Development
New Customer
Web Site
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Provide customers
with new and
enhanced web site
by third quarter
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5 Sales Streamline
the Business
Development
Process
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Reduce new sales
closing cycle by
30% before year
end
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156 Implementing Multi-Level Learning
American Management Association
www.amanet.org
the potential objectives, the amount of funds allocated, and the initiative’s
rank in relation to other initiatives. It may also be useful to develop criteria
for tanking these investment priorities against one another. For example,
they may be evaluated against such criteria as their ability to improve the
customer experience, reduce costs, move the organization toward its in-
tended strategy, or improve employee engagement.
Step 1c: Identify the Participants
Usually, who should attend the senior team prospective is obvious. It may
be a direct re ection of the organization chart. More often than not, it
includes the leader of the organization and her direct reports. In some
situations, however, the senior team may need additional expertise, either
from within the organization or from outside. The coach and the PMO
leader should ensure that these people are included as well, even if only
for the speci c portion of the meeting that applies to their domain of
expertise or decision- making authority. For example, the company may
have signed a multiyear outsourcing agreement with a key strategic busi-
ness partner. A representative of this group might attend if decisions that
require the partner’s commitment and leadership are to be made. Keep in
mind that while a more junior person may be required for her expertise,
this individual may, depending on the climate and culture, be “outgunned”
or intimidated, leading to distortions in her ability to contribute e ectively.
This is something that the coach should note beforehand, and perhaps
discuss with other team members prior to the meeting.
Step 1d: Assess Team Members’ Readiness
Prior to the prospective, and after identifying the goals and the attendees,
the coach will want to hold a short discussion with each team member to
describe the purpose of the session and get his feedback on the agenda. It
is at this time that the coach can both clarify her role and ask questions that
will help to clarify goals, roles, and procedures. The coach may identify
potential con icts and, as discussed in Chapter 4, may need to ask ques-
tions beforehand that help her understand the underlying needs of each
member.
Facilitating Level 3: Strategic Portfolio Alignment 157
American Management Association
www.amanet.org
Step 1e: Clarify Decision-Making Roles and Responsibilities
The PMO leader will want to develop an initial draft of the decision-
making roles in relation to decisions about the project portfolio. The RACI
tool described in Chapter 3 can be a useful tool for this purpose. Certain
members may be recommenders and others approvers for key decisions,
such as which projects should be launched, how these projects will be
managed, and which projects should be cancelled or repurposed. As dis-
cussed previously, it is especially important to have consensus on portfolio
decisions that a ect multiple groups. Figure 7.3 shows an example of a
RACI chart for one organization’s project portfolio decisions.
Step 1f: Obtain the Project Dashboard
Many organizations have a “dashboard” that provides updated informa-
tion on the status of projects and programs and how they are performing.
As discussed in Chapter 4, the PMO is often responsible for putting this
information together. Each project may be rated red, yellow, or green in
tra c light fashion, with red indicating that a project is in trouble and yel-
low that it is in danger. Red indicates that it has slipped in delivering on
its objectives, time frames, or other expectations. There may also be an
update on when the next review or “tollgate” is to occur for each project,
and where each project stands in terms of its timeline and milestones. An
example of a simple project dashboard is shown in Figure 7.4.
Step 1g: Establish the Agenda, Date, and Time for the
Strategy Prospective
Depending on where the organization is beginning, a strategy prospective
can take anywhere from two to three hours to two to three days. At the
outset of a major strategic initiative or business transformation, the team
may need to have a few days o -site to set its direction for the upcom-
ing time period. In other situations, the organization may have already
been reviewing the project portfolio regularly as part of a project review
process, reducing the time required. Based on the information collected
in the earlier steps, and with knowledge of e ective group processes as
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