Patients and Projects – both need an Advocate

I was recently staying overnight with a loved one in the hospital.  She was recovering from an accident, on heavy pain meds, and not fully alert.  We had 2 unusual instances occur that taught us a lesson.  First, we had an encounter with an over-confident nurse who had more assurance in her abilities than she should.  The nurse was hurting the patient, and I had to step in, stop her, and find a replacement.  Second, we had a case of mistaken identity.  A new nurse entered the room to take blood and prep the patient for surgery.  Excuse me, but you’ve got the wrong room and the wrong patient.  Please leave and check your records carefully.

These 2 events happened the same morning to one patient at a top-notch hospital.

Lesson: you need an Advocate in the room at all times.  The same is true for our projects.  You need someone to be the Champion for your project.

While the team performs the work, this Advocate looks out for the best interest of the project and the team.  The project manager should assume that role of Project Advocate.  If you are too busy, assign someone.  My suggestion: look for someone on the team with these qualities: aggressive, assertive, knowledgeable of all aspects of project, aware of stakeholders and their interest, fearless, available, plugged in.  For instance, the Project Advocate or Project Champion should sniff out conversations about new initiatives, big new projects, moving equipment, staff, assignments, cost-cutting measures, travel freezes, mandatory training…anything that may have a potential impact on your project.  Be on the lookout for actions that may pull members off the team, or allocate resources to other projects, or take up space your team is using.  These become obstacles to project success.

Get your Project Advocate out there!  Bark early and bark loudly.  Protect the project.