What level of authority do you give a project manager?

i'm a partner in a small business(25 employees) with three owners with equal share. we have have too much business for the three of us to wear all the hats. what should do?

www.julianandssons.com

Your not thinking of project managers are you? Usually partners will focus on one functional area of the business and consult each other for strategic decisions and on the company's direction. Who's the best with finance, who's best with production and logistics, Who develops the products and services and markets them? ... Who has the money. If one of the partners is the money he might get the share of profits but not be involved in day to day activities.

By assigning partners to different projects you risk fracturing the direction of the business and loosing focus. Assign the project and its management to the most qualified employee on the project team, or to a single employee who will manage all the projects.

Make one person in charge of advertising/marketing/promotions/custome... service, one person in charge of finance/accounting, and one person in charge of human resources/staffing.

Or if you don't have that much needs in one area.... well, it's hard to say without knowing what industry you are in.

First the project managers need to understand the vision and buy in to making it happen. Second- you need people you trust. Third- decide how you want them to report to you. Leave all final decisions in your hands or have the top stuff come to you to sign off. In any case, use a daily reporting system so you will know what took place and can counter anything that is not as you want it. There are so many ways to do that.

In our place:-
Managing director - in charge of the running of the place, and has the final word on any decision.
Production Manager - in charge of production, (obviously), staffing, personnel issues.
Projects manager - in charge of R&D, Health and Safety, using either the 3s or 5s protocols, and perfomance data analysis, ( output and staffing).
LOL, 3 managers for 25 employees!

A project manager should have full authority to manage the project he or she is assigned to. That is the only way it works. The owners should not micro manage the business.

Perhaps you should think about turning the business over to a good manager with some type of incentive program that rewards success.

The same goes for productive employees who show enthusiasm and have productive ideas.

Think about delegating authority to individuals you feel competent. Incentives such as stock ownership, profit sharing, investment in future ownership etc motivate employees and bring the their enthusiasm of positive accomplishment.

Also your partners and you should all have precise management areas to which you specialize. For example one partner handles the books, controls and projections and receivables/pay ables. Another should handle sales/contracts. Another could be in charge of production control, capital investment and that stuff. that all depends upon your personalities, interests etc. That is the problem with partnerships.

Perhaps you should go public, divide the ownership shares and let someone else manage the business.