The Accidental Project Manager: Coming In From the Cold

Mark Mullaly is president of Interthink Consulting Incorporated, an organizational development and change firm specializing in the creation of effective organizational project management solutions. Since 1990, it has worked with companies throughout North America to develop, enhance and implement effective project management tools, processes, structures and capabilities. Mark was most recently co-lead investigator of the Value of Project Management research project sponsored by PMI. You can read more of his writing at markmullaly.com.

 

Most people working as project managers today didn't set out with that as their career path. In point of fact, for many project managers it still isn't their career path. The position of "project manager" doesn't appear on their business card or in their job description. And yet, they are project managers nonetheless.

Many still have full-time jobs and functional responsibilities, and the task of keeping one--or several--projects in line is just one of many balls they juggle as they navigate their day. While their role is informal or ill-defined, these accidental project managers make up a significant percentage of the project management community.

Before we continue, some facts. Based upon research we have conducted in our Organizational Project Management Baseline Study:

• 69% of organizations have no formal organizational definition of project management roles and responsibilities.
• 62% of project resources are allocated to projects on a part-time or informal basis.
• 81% of resource assignments occur with no formal coordination or organizational management.
• 64.5% of project managers have little or no formal training in project management.

The reality is that many project managers have no clear appreciation or understanding that project management is what they actually do. In their eyes, they just "get stuff done." The fact …

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