I used to believe that if you hired smart and reliable people, success would quickly follow.
Many of our first hires were individuals that I either knew directly, had worked with in the past or had come well recommended. I often glazed over project logistics and ways of working with candidates in interviews, fully assuming they had been exposed to how project management offices were staffed and supposed to function.
It wasn’t until a former busines partner of mine pointed out that our team required further clarity around their specific roles and how it relates to a given project. Through further exploration, I realized there were additional aspects and tools that needed to be defined in order to ensure success with future initiatives.
I set to work on mapping out a new system for helping organizations approach and structure projects and teams. I knew firsthand that there were a few key elements this new framework would need to address, including:
- Roles & Responsibilities – who’s delivering the work? Who’s responsible for what and how does it contribute to the overall project?
- Goals & Objectives – what are we setting out to accomplish? What does success look like? And how do we get there?
- Processes & Procedures – how does work get done within the organization? How do the different business units play a role?
- Choices & Decisions – how are decisions made? What people, systems and stakeholder do we need to account for?
- Systems & Tools – What can we use to create value? What tools can we use to get the job done?
The initial concept I developed revolved around five “swim lanes”, with each lane aiming to address the challenges outlined above. Working with Mark Jones, the Director of Consulting at Epigen, we recognized that these elements were actually interdependent and shouldn’t be isolated to a single lane.
We also started to identify the broader application of the framework to organizations, projects and teams, over and above the Project Management Office.
This led to the creation of the Five Lenses – a simple system for organizing work functions and human resources for staffing, understanding organizational design, inspiring strategic thinking and assessing performance.
The Five Lenses include:
People & Culture – the people who make up the organization, their roles and how they interact with one another.
Strategy – The philosophy and thinking that drives the planning activities, goals/objectives-setting activities, and communications/outreach activities in an organization.
Operations – The processes and procedures people follow to produce what the organization sells (even if the “product” is a service).
Governance – The decision-making infrastructure of an organization. This includes any individuals, groups, systems or stakeholders that are responsible for how decisions are/will be made.
Technology – The tools used by the people within the organization to operate and/or produce the organization’s product or service and create value.
The framework establishes an easy and effective way to help teams unearth pain points, expedite projects and create more collaborative work environments. It ensures all aspects of an initiative are fully thought through, with the ability to weight and score each lens to provide measurable performance and feedback.
In my next article, I’ll explore how I’ve successfully applied the Five Lenses to organizations and projects to date. I’ll dig into the framework in greater detail, and discuss key questions to consider when implementing the Five Lenses with your organization.
