You step into your new PMO role with big plans. You’re ready to bring structure, strategy, and results. But within your first week, it hits you:

• Every department has its own list of “critical” initiatives.

• Projects are flying in from all directions—with no clear intake process.

• Teams are overwhelmed, resources are overcommitted, and leadership can’t agree on what’s most important.

Sound familiar?

You’re not alone. Many new PMO leaders are thrown into environments where prioritization is more wishful thinking than real practice. But here’s the good news:

🎯 You don’t need a formal intake process to start adding value. You just need to ask the right questions, use the right frameworks, and start the right conversations.

This article will show you how to do exactly that.

 

Your Reality Is More Common Than You Think

A PMO is often brought in because things are already messy: too many initiatives, unclear value, frustrated teams, and a leadership group struggling to see the big picture.

There’s often no consistent intake, no shared decision-making criteria, and no portfolio-level view of what’s happening across the organization.

That means most PMO leaders are not inheriting well-oiled machines. They’re walking into reactive environments where prioritization is informal, inconsistent, or completely absent.

And yet—this is the best opportunity for a PMO to shine.

 

My Story — Starting Without Structure

When I stepped into a new PMO leadership role many years ago, I discovered that over 80 initiatives were active—and no one could tell me which ones mattered most.

There was no intake process, no criteria, no central view. Every request came in as “high priority.” Leadership wanted results (although the expected business outcomes were TBD for many new initiatives), but didn’t know what to cut or where to focus.

Rather than wait for formal governance or create more paperwork, I did something simple:

I met with key leaders one-on-one, listened to their pain points, and sketched a Value vs. Effort matrix on a whiteboard.

Just that—no fancy software. But those conversations created the alignment we desperately needed. We didn’t need a process manual. We needed visibility and focus.

 

You Don’t Need an Intake Process to Start Prioritizing

Let’s make this clear:

✅ You don’t need a portfolio tool to begin prioritization.

✅ You don’t need governance documents to facilitate the right conversations.

✅ You don’t need full executive alignment to bring clarity.

You just need to start.

As a new PMO leader, your role is not to “own” prioritization—it’s to facilitate better decisions across the organization.

Here’s how.

 

Start Simple with the Value vs. Effort Matrix

The Value vs. Effort Matrix is one of the most powerful tools a new PMO can use. It’s simple, visual, and effective—even if you’re starting with Excel.

What It Looks Like:

How to Use It:

1. List all active and proposed initiatives. Don’t worry about perfect data.

2. Estimate the effort (resources, time, cost) and expected value (alignment to strategy, ROI, stakeholder impact).

3. Plot each item on the grid.

4. Share it visually with leadership—this is where alignment starts.

You can use Excel to build the matrix. But if you want better collaboration, visibility, and stakeholder buy-in, Smartsheet is my go-to product!

 

What to Do When There’s No Data

One of the biggest objections you’ll face is:

“We don’t have enough data to score value or effort.”

That’s okay.

The goal here is directional accuracy, not perfection

Instead of debating numbers, facilitate a structured conversation:

• “What impact does this project have on our strategic goals?”

• “How many people are needed to deliver it?”

• “What’s the risk of not doing this now?”

You’re not building a report—you’re building consensus.

 

Stakeholder Conversations That Drive Clarity

Here’s a simple 3-step conversation flow I use with stakeholders:

1. Explore Pain Points

• “What keeps you up at night right now?”

• “Which initiatives are critical for your team’s success this quarter?”

2. Visualize Trade-Offs

• “If you could only fund 3 projects this quarter, which would you choose?”

• “What would you deprioritize if resources got cut by 30%?”

3. Align on Criteria

• “How should we define value—financial return, customer impact, compliance?”

• “Can we agree to apply this framework across the board?”

These conversations shift the focus from emotion to decision-making.

 

Mistakes New PMO Leaders Should Avoid

Many PMO leaders fall into one of these traps when trying to introduce prioritization:

❌ Mistake #1: Waiting for a formal intake process

You don’t need permission to bring clarity.

❌ Mistake #2: Relying on urgency instead of value

Just because it’s urgent doesn’t mean it’s important.

❌ Mistake #3: Not capturing rationale

Document why decisions were made. This builds trust and transparency.

❌ Mistake #4: Letting politics override logic

Your job is to bring structure—don’t let internal politics derail decision-making.

 

How Smartsheet Can Accelerate This Work

If you’re using Excel to get started, great. But once you’ve gained some traction, it’s time to scale.

That’s where Smartsheet comes in.

With Smartsheet, you can:

• Build a live project intake tracker

• Create a visual prioritization dashboard

• Enable real-time collaboration with stakeholders

• Track resource allocation and effort estimates in one place

I often help PMOs set up simple Smartsheet templates that deliver immediate value without overwhelming the team.

 

Why Prioritization Builds Credibility

Many organizations struggle with prioritization because they lack a clear definition of “value.”

As a result, strategic alignment becomes subjective, and the loudest voices often determine what gets funded.

In our work with new PMO leaders, we consistently see the same pattern:

• No intake process

• No shared prioritization criteria

• Teams stretched across dozens of low-impact initiatives

That’s exactly where you can start making a difference—even without a formal process in place.

When you bring clarity to chaos, you earn trust. When you facilitate conversations that help leaders focus, you position your PMO as a strategic asset—not just an admin function.

 

Quick Wins in Your First 90 Days

Here’s what I suggest for any new PMO leader walking into prioritization chaos:

✅ Week 1–2: Interview stakeholders and ask what matters most

✅ Week 3–4: Draft your first Value/Effort matrix in Excel

✅ Week 5–6: Facilitate a working session with leadership using the matrix

✅ Week 7–8: Set up a lightweight tracker in Smartsheet

✅ Week 9–12: Help leadership revisit the top 10 initiatives and cut the noise

It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be useful.

 

Lead Through Clarity

You don’t need to be the most experienced PMO leader in the room. You just need to be the one who helps others make better decisions.

• Start small.

• Make it visual.

• Ask better questions.

• Facilitate clarity.

That’s how prioritization becomes a habit—and your PMO becomes a strategic partner, not an administrative burden.

 

Ready to Bring Focus to Your PMO?

If you’re a new PMO leader struggling with too many projects, too little structure, and unclear priorities, let’s chat.

I offer a free 30-minute strategy call where we can talk about what’s working, what’s not, and how you can start making an impact—today.

You don’t need a process to start leading. You just need clarity—and the courage to facilitate it.