Catching Up with PMI’s Board of Directors: Takeaways from PMXPO’s “Ask Me Anything” Session

 

By David Summers
Executive Communications, PMI

At  PMI's Virtual Experience Series: PMXPO on 24 March, attendees engaged members of our Board of Directors on various topics in an “Ask Me Anything” style session. Unfortunately, we could not answer all the questions individually due to a lack of time. But we have had a chance to review submitted questions and have selected a few topics to highlight in the interest of sharing insights which will help you understand the what PMI is doing to address your needs, wants, and aspirations.

Project professionals will always be at the heart of our community, and PMI is committed to continuing to provide the resources, experience, and knowledge they need to support their personal and professional success. As we expand our focus to include individuals who seek to drive change but do not consider themselves project professionals, our core community will play a critical role in welcoming and mentoring these aspiring changemakers.

PIVOT YOUR CAREER

We saw a lot of questions centered on how to kickstart your project management career and what’s next. In an increasingly projectized world, PMI professional certification ensures that you’re ready to meet the demands of projects and employers across the globe. With a PMI certification behind your name, you can work in virtually any industry, anywhere globally, and with any project management methodology. Wherever you are in your career, we have a certification for you. Find out more about our current certificates.

PMO MATURITY

A lot of you had questions about “PMO” maturity. Since the 1990s, there has been a significant movement worldwide toward creating a Project Management Office (PMO), which has increased during the last decade. The PMO has a vital role to play as the world transitions into a post-pandemic era. Often misunderstood as a department confined to governance and compliance, we see PMOs moving beyond the tactical execution of projects and performing a broader range of activities that drive strategic value for their organizations. These evolved PMOs embrace new technology, focus on team culture, and help develop project managers into ambassadors for value creation. For a deep dive into the evolution and the role of PMO, download this free report – PMO Maturity.

THE MANY SHADES OF AGILE AND WHY DISCIPLINED AGILE?

Agile took center stage with many questions. Let’s be honest - Agile frameworks can be a good starting point, but they keep many organizations from the improvement they expect. This is because business agility comes from freedom, not frameworks. And when you pair the freedom to choose from the best of agile, lean, and traditional sources with the guidance to make better choices, you get Disciplined Agile (DA). This hybrid tool kit harnesses hundreds of agile practices to guide you to the best way of working for your team or organization.

Find out more about What can DA do for you?

UPSKILLING TO THRIVE AND SUCCEED

A consistent theme from participants across career stages is how to evolve to the next level. “How can I be a better project professional?”, you asked. At PMI, we believe in continuous learning that comes from upskilling. Unless organizations promote a culture of continual learning, the global demand for project management talent is unlikely to be filled by 2030. Organizations need to champion new learning initiatives and explore partnerships to equip employees with the necessary project management skills to foster their talent.

These capabilities include power skills such as collaboration and leadership; business acumen to create more well-rounded employees; and mastering new ways of working, such as tech-enhanced problem-solving tools.

Download the Talent Gap report to know more about the Ten-Year Employment Trends, Costs, and Global Implications.

THE TRENDS IMPACTING THE PM LANDSCAPE

While the future is yet to come, we always want to grasp it. Today PMs are keen on knowing how the key trends will impact their careers. This event was no exception, with lots of questions coming about the outlook for project professionals and what direction to look for in the future.

We hear you loud and clear!

A great place to start is the recently released Global Megatrends 2022 report. Megatrends gives you a more extensive outlook at the impact of critical trends on project professionals and provide them with a direction to understand the world’s rapid transformation and the global context in which they work, so they can use projects to solve complex problems.

SUSTAINABILITY

Maintaining relevance is always central to PMI’s agenda. It was great to see so much interest from attendees on sustainability. We are looking aggressively at concepts like Environment, Sustainability, and Governance (ESG). PMI is also excited to announce that  Green Project Management (GPM) and PMI have forged a strategic partnership to equip project managers with the tools and expertise needed to deliver more excellent value on global sustainability strategies, goals, and visions. GPM is an internationally certified social enterprise whose mission is to decouple socio-environmental degradation from economic growth on a global scale.

The alliance will provide PMI’s global community of certification holders, members, volunteers, and other stakeholders with an introduction to GPM’s industry-leading models and deep expertise in advancing sustainability through innovative practices in project management.  Find out more on this partnership.

PARTING SHOT

Like any community and enabler of knowledge, we at PMI constantly innovate to bring a high degree of relevancy to our offerings. We bring the inherent skills for project managers across industries to continuously evolve to a changing business landscape and enable the project managers to deliver the intended business outcomes.

Today, project management skills are essential for diverse industries, not just for IT professionals. A case in point: we have been engaging with other sectors like construction industry professionals for many years, and late last year, we launched the Construction Professional in Built Environment Projects (CPBEP), our first industry-specific solution tailored for construction professionals. These are exciting times for project managers, and they are uniquely positioned to pivot organizational and societal changes on a grand scale.