Building a PMO That Lasts: 8 Key Lessons
K.C. Baroody is a Senior Strategic Transformation Portfolio Manager.
Throughout my career in HR and Operations, leaders have called to establish a project management office (PMO) to enhance the prioritization of work and resources. Despite having done this before, I was unsure where to begin when my current organization embarked on this journey.
Each PMO is tailored very specifically to the needs of the organization it supports. In our case, numerous projects were already underway, but there was a lack of visibility into what was in progress and how those efforts aligned with our strategic goals.
My go-to response when a leader states they want a PMO for their organization has always been, “Are you sure?” There may be an awareness that a better way to govern projects and manage organizational resources is needed.
Still, leaders may not fully grasp the disruption to business-as-usual processes and commitment required to implement a PMO successfully. I will caution against change resistance, the contortion of semantics (what is or is not a project), the overuse of the phrase “go slow to go fast,” and the likely need to hit the “reset” on most if not all the organization's in-flight projects.
In short, standing up a PMO, much like taking off one’s jeans, is a clumsy enterprise. But once the team finds its rhythm, it can be a powerful driver in monitoring progress against strategic objectives…
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