Let’s be honest—being a PMO leader isn’t for the faint of heart. You’re expected to juggle competing priorities, limited resources, and a never-ending stream of project requests, all while trying to keep the organization pointed in the right direction. And one of the trickiest challenges? Making sure your project portfolio actually supports your company’s big-picture goals.
Sound familiar?
You’re not alone. Strategic alignment and prioritization is one of the most common pain points we see when working with PMOs—whether at growing startups or established enterprises. Leaders like you want better visibility across the portfolio and a clear, consistent way to evaluate which initiatives deserve time, money, and attention.
The good news? There is a way forward—and it doesn’t have to involve drowning in spreadsheets or endless steering committee debates. In this post, I’ll walk you through a practical, approachable strategy to bring clarity and control to your portfolio. It’s based on years of experience helping PMOs get out of the weeds and into a more strategic, confident role.
Let’s dive in.
Step 1: Clean Up the Intake Process (Seriously—Start Here)
One of the biggest reasons PMOs struggle with prioritization is because there’s no consistent way that projects get proposed. Ideas might come through email, Slack, hallway conversations… or they don’t get formally submitted at all.
So, first things first: give everyone a single, clear way to request new projects. That might be a form in your project management tool, a dedicated SharePoint page, or even a well-structured intake doc in Google Forms. The key is consistency.
Then—this is important—make sure that intake form actually captures the info you need to make a decision. A few must-haves:
- What’s the business objective?
- How does this tie back to our strategic goals?
- What’s the expected ROI (financial or otherwise)?
- What resources are needed?
- What are the risks?
This doesn’t need to be a novel—keep it lightweight. But having everyone start with the same foundation means you can evaluate requests apples-to-apples, instead of chasing down context every time.
Step 2: Get Clear on What Strategic Fit Really Means
“Strategic alignment” sounds great… but ask five executives what it means, and you might get five different answers.
That’s why it’s so important to define, together, what strategic alignment actually looks like in your organization. Is it supporting digital transformation? Reducing costs? Expanding to new markets? Improving customer experience?
Once you’ve got those strategic pillars identified, you can build a simple scoring model to help evaluate initiatives. No need for a fancy algorithm—just a way to rate projects across a few categories like:
- Strategic alignment
- ROI or value
- Risk level
- Urgency
- Resource impact
A weighted scorecard like this helps take the emotion out of decision-making and gives everyone—from executives to project managers—a shared language for prioritization.
Step 3: Set Up a Review Cadence That Actually Works
If you’ve ever tried to wrangle an ad hoc committee of execs to review project proposals, you know how that goes.
Instead, try creating a standing Portfolio Review Board—a small group of cross-functional leaders who meet (say, quarterly) to review and prioritize initiatives. These sessions work best when they’re:
- Short (an hour is plenty)
- Structured (everyone comes prepared with the same info)
- Focused on trade-offs (not just updates)
Your job here is to facilitate good decisions, not just present data. Be ready to talk through resource constraints, strategic shifts, and what trade-offs might look like if you say yes to one thing over another.
Bonus tip: Use a “what-if” scenario tool (most modern PPM platforms have one) to help visualize different portfolio combinations based on constraints like budget, headcount, or timelines. It makes the conversations more concrete and much less theoretical.
Step 4: Get the Right Tool for the Job (and Actually Use It)
Let’s talk tools for a second.
Too many PMOs are trying to manage complex portfolios in Excel—or they’re using three different systems that don’t talk to each other. It’s no wonder it’s hard to get a clear view of what’s going on.
If that’s you, it might be time to consolidate. A good PPM (Project Portfolio Management) tool will help you:
- Centralize project intake and scoring
- Visualize your portfolio in real-time
- Track resource capacity
- Align projects with strategic goals
- Support scenario planning and reporting
You don’t need to go straight to expensive and complex software if you’re just starting. Tools like monday.com, Smartsheet, or Planview AdaptiveWork can scale with you. The trick is picking something that fits your org’s size and culture—and then building adoption slowly and intentionally.
Start by simple by rolling out just one feature, like project intake or prioritization scoring. Let your stakeholders see the value and build from there.
Step 5: Know Where You Stand, and Where to Focus First
Before launching a big change effort, take a step back and ask: Where is our PMO today?
A quick PMO maturity assessment can give you valuable insight into where you’re strong and where there’s room to grow. It also helps you avoid wasting time fixing things that aren’t broken.
Look at areas like:
- Governance and intake
- Portfolio visibility
- Resource planning
- Strategic alignment
- Tools and reporting
- Stakeholder engagement
Once you’ve done that, pick a few high-impact, low-resistance improvements to start with. Maybe that’s standardizing project intake, standing up a quarterly review board, or rolling out a basic prioritization model.
The key is to make meaningful progress without overwhelming your team (or your stakeholders). Small wins build credibility—and momentum.
Final Thoughts: You’re Not Just Managing Projects—You’re Shaping Strategy
Here’s the thing: PMO leaders like you are in a unique position. You’re not just overseeing project execution—you’re shaping how your organization brings its strategy to life.
That’s powerful.
When you create a clear, consistent, and transparent way to evaluate and prioritize work, you build trust. You help leadership make better decisions. And you make sure your team’s energy is focused on what really matters.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. Start where you are. Build as you go. And remember—you’ve got this.
Want a little help along the way?
We’ve worked with PMOs of all shapes and sizes to design smarter portfolio processes, pick the right tools, and get real alignment across the business. If that sounds like something you could use, we’d love to chat. You can contact us via ppmanswers@kolmegroup.com or visit our services page at www.kolmegroup.com.
Let’s build a better portfolio—together.