Dealing with the human side of project management - generating an effective team culture in an environment where project managers must influence without authority - continues to be one of the most consistent challenges to project managers. Master the Wizardry of Project Management offers a solution to this challenge - a project management framework that's based on the application of principle-centered project leadership. You'll succeed by using a simple, repeatable, and flexible set of seven principles for creating and sustaining high-performing project teams. The seven principles of this framework are: Accountability - attaining 360-degree agreement among stakeholders Supportability - defending the viability and realism of your project or program Transparency - sharing information freely among stakeholders Consistency - establishing processes that will be used throughout the life of the project or program Scalability - determining exactly how much planning is required Repeatability - using lessons learned to support current project decisions Commitment - obtaining organizational support and demonstrating personal commitment The book reframes the process of engaging project team members in the planning and execution of projects to ensure a high probability of success. You'll learn how to apply the seven principles at every level of your organization, beginning with individual project team members and extending up through your project organizational structure to the executive suite. Understanding how to apply these principles will give you insight into developing and practicing an innovative leadership style that will help you address your challenges. Mastering this framework and the seven principles will enable you to successfully navigate the difficulties inherent in managing projects or programs of any size and complexity.

Author Biography

Jimmie L. West, Ph.D., PMP, is the Vice-President of Mindavation, North America, an innovative project management services firm with offices in the United States and Australia. Jim has 25 years of project, program, management experience as a practitioner, consultant, and educator. As the VP of Mindavation NA, he provides leadership in advisory, professional development, and professional services to small-to-medium-size organizations. Jim has delivered more than 1,000 project management courses to more than 20,000 participants in 37 countries. He has also served as a professor for George Washington University, the University of Maryland College Park, and the University of Maryland University College, and is currently an adjunct faculty member with Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV. Jim has written 23 articles in the field of project management, including a research article in the referred Project Management Journal, and is a contributing author to two project management textbooks. He presents regularly at several international project management professional conferences and at local Project Management Institute chapters in the United States and Australia. He is also a certified Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) facilitator, a Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI) Level 2 facilitator, and a certified executive coach.