I’m worse at what I do best
And for this gift, I feel blessed
Our little group has always been
And always will until the end – Nirvana
Project management has been a profession for decades. But like Nirvana, are we worse at what we do best too? Projects continue to be challenged in their delivery (reference years of the Standish Group’s Chaos Study). Projects that are run by professional project managers are still not delivering at the rate of success we need them to.
Project Managers are a global community. With a nod to Kurt Cobain, our little group is not going away. However, as a group, we are not always good at demonstrating the value that we add. I believe that we are better than we are generally perceived to be. It is through career development, training, and continued experience, that we strive to improve. But, as a global community, how do we be better at demonstrating our value?
Project Management Certifications Won’t Fix It
With the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional certification acting as the ante to sit at the project delivery table, more and more people are becoming certified. I too am a member in good standing; however, I want to be clear: the book-smarts needed to obtain the PMP designation do not automatically make certification earners into effective project managers. While it all depends on circumstances, in many cases, I’d rather work with a seasoned experienced PM without a PMP, than with a journeyman PMP holder.
Don’t get me wrong: There is value in the PMP.
- Learning the lexicon of a global profession
- Understanding the theories that drive practice
- Gaining insight into the way things could work, if only all our projects came out of a book
These are all valuable tools. In fact, I’m a little dubious of why any PM would not have a PMP. But when delivery does not happen as planned, it is hard to hang one’s hat on a certification framed and hanging on the wall at home. So, how do we get better?
Operationalize Your Learning
As a larger community, we must begin to share our successes – and stories of failure – more often. Sure, it’s hard for me as a consultant to share all my tips and tricks; I don’t want to put myself out of a job. However, if we can begin to focus more on sharing, we can leverage the overall perception of what PMs can offer. We are not just agenda makers, minute takers, project schedulers, nor cat-herders. We have the innate solutions to problems that help avoid common project missteps. So let’s bring those into action!
I would encourage you to not only create an issues log, but create an issue tracker that enables you to know who said what, when they said it, what needs to be done when it needs to be done, and by whom it needs to be completed. Afterward, you can actively manage those issues or actions! Lastly, develop a project plan that is simple to read, maintain, update, and (most importantly) communicates the information to business partners in a language they will understand.
Moving to Added Value as a PM
As professionals, we must move beyond doing the “tasks” that are associated with project management and begin developing the extra value we get from sitting at the helm. I would encourage you to not sit idly by tracking, logging, and reporting status. As a PM you must lead, drive for change, advocate for risk management, dependency management, issue management, and then act as the standard-bearer in demonstrating how.
“When a problem comes along, You must whip it…., When something’s goin’ wrong, You must whip it.” These are the immortal words from Devo. These words should be your rallying cry as you deliver your organization’s initiatives.
Project managers are important, which is why we discuss all things project management, PMO, and more over on TSI Insights.
