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Date

We're lucky to be in a field, a discipline, a career - whatever you choose to call it - which has a tremendous, rosy, powerful future. A recent feature in PM Network has this to say:
"By 2020, 15.7 million new project management jobs will be added around the globe, with an economic impact of more than US$18 trillion." -PMI's PM Talent Gap Report
This actually puts pressure on organizations to find project managers, having to compete for project managers like you. Not a bad position for you to be in, eh?
So here's where it gets interesting to us at EarthPM, where we've been pushing for integration of sustainability thinking into project management with books and blog postings for what seems like a decade. It turns out that project managers WANT (dare we even say need) to be part of the greater effort of their organization. We mean "greater" in both senses of the word:
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The greater, larger, bigger picture that evokes the bigger, enlarged, longer term
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The "greater good' - that is, doing things that help the overall human family and our environment
And, as you've seen in prior posts, organizations are striving for that same thing; just look at the mission and vision statements of various companies. Better yet: look at the mission statement of YOUR OWN company. We just posted a story about this on our own blog. Have a look.
But right now, back to "Feel the Power".
Here are some outstanding quotes from the April, 2014 PM Network magazine that we found particularly poignant:
"Project managers thrive when they see the larger organizational strategy and understand how their initiatives affect it. “Project managers have a lot of passion for what they do. They like to feel like they’re part of a greater good and can help organizations achieve their objectives,” says Scott Fass, PMP, managing director of advisory practice, PwC, a PMI Global Executive Council member in Washington, D.C., USA."
So here is a reaffirmation of what we've been saying: PMs do a better job, and even enjoy the work better when they see how their project fits into the bigger picture. Now - how about that greater-good thing?
"SFE Produksjon lets candidates know of its corporate social responsibility program, especially its focus on green, renewable energy. “Many potential applicants view the positive public image of the company as a favorable trait when considering applying for a position,” says Oyvind Huus, PMP, head of project management, SFE Produksjon, Sandane, Norway."
There it is. Here's a company (and they are by no means alone) stating directly that companies recruit project managers by putting their 'green side up' on the table and communicating their values to PM candidates, with respect to CSR (in this case the environment).
So, you do the math.
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Organizations are going to need more and more project managers
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Organizations are giving increasing value to sustainability as a core objective
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Project managers are increasingly interested in the greater good
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Organizations understand numbers 1, 2, and 3, above.
It all adds up to this:
Excel at your job. Add competency in sustainability. Get in touch with your sustainability-oriented self and develop strategic, long-term thinking capability (without losing that "get'R' Done" PM attitude). You'll increase your ability to thrive even further in this environment of high desirability for project managers.
And feel the power! You are in demand.
Posted
by
Richard Maltzman
on: April 14, 2014 10:07 AM |
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