Project Managers' Dilemma

"Project Authority..... You've got it only if you think you've got it."

How can a Project Manager be responsible for the outcome of a project if he/she has no authority over resources and decisions in the orgainzation? After all, there are very few people who report directly to the project manager, especially in a Matrix organization or for a consultant project manager like myself where we have to manage project for a client and the team members mostly belong to the client organization, other vendors or sub-contractors. To complicate matters further, none of the above players have a direct reporting relationship.

"They've given us all the responsibility for the project, but minimal authority over what we need for the project...... Responsibility without associated authority!" is the common lament of project managers. I guess this is always the case, we will never have the authority we wished we had but we will always have the full responsibility for the project.

In fact the very reason we are asked to be the project managers is usually because of our skills to manage this dilemma.