Grand stage, many acts — Welcome to Program Management
Welcome to the realm of Program Management, where the program’s master sends the entire opera troupe off on a grand tour. Bringing a single performance to a brilliant finish is already a mammoth task — but an extended run with countless shows, changing venues, and a colourful bunch of eccentric artists? Welcome to the real world.
Because the essence of Program Management is not simply that one project succeeds, but that many projects interact in harmony, pursue an overarching goal, and ultimately deliver a tour the audience applauds. Until then, you’ll need to master the choreography of logistics, soothe bruised egos, stop the money-eaters, and rescue the schedule before it collapses in the orchestra pit.
The Program Lead: a maestro pulling the strings.
The director-magician doesn’t just juggle performers to keep the stage picture coherent — they also act as the guardian of the backstage, ensuring the machinery runs smoothly, and as the ringmaster of a travelling circus, making sure the whole outfit doesn’t fall apart on the road.
- The creative minds and pace-setters (your “idea leads”) bask in their personal artistic vision and long to shine in the spotlight.
- The melodists and the ensemble (your “teams”) strive to stay in sync while the score is being rewritten—again.
- The patrons (your “funders”) want full houses, but without paying extra for sets, costumes, or rehearsal time.
- And the audience (your “stakeholders”) expects a flawless performance, blissfully unaware that backstage the scenery is currently on fire.
And yet the spectacle must go on.
Triumph or mayhem — it all rests in the hands of the tour leader.
Now and then, everything lands in perfect harmony. The performance finds exactly the right tone, the ensemble moves as one, and in the end you collect standing ovations as if they were part of the contract. And then there are the other days: when the divas revolt, the maestro is nowhere to be found, and the stage tech decides to go on strike — while you, as the artist of organisation, still have to make it look seamless, because tomorrow the troupe packs up and moves on.
Because the audience isn’t interested in the turbulence behind the curtain. In the end, only the show counts. The craft of programme management is to keep the full picture in view, tackle difficulties before they run wild, and ultimately present a performance that sends the masses into rapture.
The stage is set, the show begins — and you are directing the whole affair.
The journey has only just begun. Next stop: another expedition into the world of programme management.