PMI Global Insights

By: Tyler Norman, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, PMP

I recently presented at the Project Management Institute's PMXPO 2024 event, held on 21 March.  This was a great event with featured speakers, exhibits and networking activities. My presentation, Managing Your Career Path Like a Project, focused on using the project management skills you apply in your day-to-day project management activities to take hold of your career planning process.

Starting with a problem statement on realities for today's average employee, this session laid out a framework and methodology for:

• Defining your actual dream role of the future
• Recognizing what it will take to earn that role
• Performing a personal career audit
• Analyzing the gap between current and future state you
• Building a roadmap to future state you

Lastly, the session concluded with some steps to supercharge your career-planning process, including a few you could begin today. Key takeaways included dedicating a minimum of one hour per week to career development, how to build a funnel of mentorship opportunities, to tell your boss directly what opportunities you want, and to embrace opportunities outside of your comfort zone.

During my presentation, I received a lot of great questions that we didn’t get a chance to cover, and my responses are below. 

Q: What advice would you give for implementing a system-wide revamp towards providing all your workforce with these powerful career development skillsets?

A: The best advice I would have for deployment of these methodologies across a broader population would be to share the principles in a fundamental way and with guidance on how to tailor approaches for your staff (who undoubtedly vary in background and skill sets). Next, I would regularly revisit the principles and perhaps even organize smaller working groups to share notes and reinforce behaviors.

Q: The core here is consistency - how did you stay consistent with this practice?

A: The key to maintaining consistency is to systematize these practices, keeping the effort to regularly perform them low. If you make the process a major time and effort lift, it will risk consistency, as it will be more difficult to fit into your schedule. Lastly, be forgiving to yourself. If you miss a period of time, don’t feel that you've lost all progress, but simply pick back up where you left off and continue to build upon yourself.

Q: How do we select a trusted advisor?

A: Finding trusted advisors is a lot like finding best friends. It generally happens organically and is built upon foundational relationships of trust and mentorship. Ask yourself, "Who would I go to if I were facing a challenge in the workplace and wanted to bounce some ideas off of another person I trust?" and you're likely on the right track.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for someone who is changing careers into project management?

A: The principles shared apply, but could be tailored for the specific skillsets required from project managers. Survey project manager roles with companies you would like to work for, and note commonly-listed requirements that you may not have and can target for obtaining. One way to super-charge this transition would be in seeking project management learnings, such as the many offered by PMI.

Q: How do you find mentee opportunities?

A: Joining your local PMI chapter is a great place to start, as many chapters facilitate mentorship programs. Beyond that, identify contacts that you believe you can learn from and ask for mentorship in ways that are low stakes and low time commitment in nature, such as coffee meetings or starting with electronic correspondence.

Closing

I had a great time presenting, and the full presentation will be on demand through 31 January 2025. Visit PMI's PMXPO 2024 for more details.

By: Klaus Nielsen, MBA, PMI-ACP, PMP

I have been working with the business case for years. Sometimes it’s a one pager and sometimes it’s 100+ pages illustrating the diversity we need to address. It’s my experience that most practitioners fully understand what a business case is all about – “A business case says: ‘Here is what needs to be done’ and backs it up with evidence.”

However, what are we using the business case for? Is it just approval & getting the money, or something more? What it contains varies very much by the context. Most business cases contain the project description & context, the cost, benefits, risks, executive summary, scenarios and so on, but how it’s covered and the details vary upon the context and pages available. This means that for each section of the business case, the type of content may vary greatly depending on the context. 

We have solved this problem by creating process goal diagrams, which some might recognize from Disciplined Agile. That means for each section of the business case, we present an option list, so the choices for ways of working/tools/techniques are clear to all. 

Let’s say you are going to write the section of the business case describing the reason for doing the project. Some of these options might include opportunity statement, problem statement, study or POC result, project type/categorization, internal/external factors, cause and effect diagram, SARIE, and so on. Choices are great and foster important conversations about our ways of working. To support this, we have created and collected templates for many of these options, so at the end of the training everyone has a comprehensive collection of templates to bring home. During the training, everyone can choose which templates to use for different sections of the business case, which provides flexibility and, when the results are presented, the application of the various templates are illustrated as most groups select different templates to work with.

Sorry to break it to you, but many business cases are somewhat flawed. Most business cases have underestimated the costs and overestimated the benefits. This is a common problem. Taking optimism bias into account might reduce this problem. A simple way to apply optimism bias is the use of weights, so estimates of costs are increased with a factor. This is just one example of some of the problems organizations are facing and we aim to discuss and possibly solve during the training. Other topics are around the business case in an agile environment (Do we need it? If we need the business case, then how much/little to include? Alternatively, a business case is a business case regardless of ways of executing it), the use of risk management related to the business case, for example, and the probability of higher costs or lower benefits, not just execution risks. 

We have been running this course multiple times a year since 2020 with participants from most parts of the world, where the wisdom of all these people has been included in the material together with leading research, best practices, and the national standards from the United Kingdom, for example, which have turned this course into a truly international course and content which many may benefit from.

I look forward to offering Business Case—Best Practices for Success with Klaus Nielsen again March 20-21 and September 16-17. Visit the PMI Training website for more details.

By Joy Beatty

The PMI Global Congresses have a reputation for featuring outstanding keynote speakers. 2023 was no exception, starting with a riveting talk by Cassandra Worthy of Change Enthusiasm on C.H.A.N.G.E. Traits®. She radiated energy and enthusiasm, and more importantly, provided valuable insights on how to adapt and thrive in the ever-changing work environment.

As someone who has worked passionately in the software requirements space for a couple of decades, I’m always keen to solve hard business problems with software, but I have been most drawn to solving the hard stakeholder problems. As my career has progressed, my role has shifted, and the challenge of leading people has become more important than ever, and frankly, much harder. I suppose it’s natural that I spent this PMI Conference gravitating to the talks that deal with humans and their feelings the most.

Here are a few takeaways from Cassandra’s keynote. I’m hopeful this is useful for those in the community who couldn’t attend, but also to people like me, that want to relive the excellent ideas!

Takeaway 1: Talking about change without talking about emotions is pointless. We are human. We feel. Cassandra shares this idea of “Change Growth” which sits at the intersection of change and emotion. She emphasized that while most of us understand that growth often entails discomfort, her research indicates that people genuinely embrace this unease. Ultimately, to ensure success without alienating individuals, we must be mindful of how we navigate change, being attuned to emotions.

Takeaway 2: Change Enthusiasm has developed a “simple” framework for how you show up during change: Signal. Opportunity. Choice. It’s about noting the uncomfortable feelings as a signal. The signal triggers the awareness that we are sitting in a moment of opportunity. The opportunity lies in choosing to act differently rather than merely sitting in discomfort or, worse, giving up.

Takeaway 3: In Cassandra’s words, “Be bitter or be better.” This is closely related to the 2nd takeaway, but it deserves its own call out because it’s really such an amazing phrase. I have long since believed people are well-intentioned, even when they are making me frustrated or mad. Leaning into that belief during moments of personal discomfort and determining how we respond holds significant value. Are we going to be frustrated or annoyed - or maybe even elevate to being irate? Or are we going to be calm and rational - and maybe even relaxed? We have the choice to elevate our response – are we going to be kind or are we going to be the jerk? I choose Better!

Takeaway 4: Transformation doesn’t happen to us, it’s for us. I’ve been saying a variation of this for about 15 years with clients. Sometimes it’s to business stakeholders who complain, “Why is IT doing this to me?” Or the IT stakeholders who groan, “Why do the business stakeholders keep changing their mind?” At the end of the day, we all want to do the right thing and do it well. Rooted in transformation is an end goal to make things better, no matter what seat we are in. So, what if we change the script so that transformation isn’t happening to us, but rather is intended to help us? If we do that, we will absolutely show up in a more cooperative space.

Takeaway 5: Create an environment where we can feel heard. This points back to takeaway #1 where we were reminded that people have emotions, and it’s ok. What if we allowed people to express their true emotions instead of squashing them or making people feel badly for having them? I’d argue we should go so far as to embrace vulnerability. A great way to create this culture is to be this culture. What if we were vulnerable and shared when we were frustrated? What keeps us from being honest about that today? Do you know someone who warrants feedback on creating a safe environment for open and honest communication? Then have that hard conversation. Be the leader that makes it safe for everyone to be heard.

I could go on for hours about this talk and probably will now that I’m back in office! Cassandra left a mark on my mind. She’s up there with Brené Brown in how she is changing the “HOW” we show up at work.

By: Priya Patra

I am back after attending PMI Global Summit 2023, and it was just as amazing as ever. The theme of this year's summit was "The Future of Your Work," packed with knowledge and practical tips on how to embrace the changing world of work and prepare ourselves for the future.

Here is a summary of my takeaways from the four days at Summit:

Day 1

• Volunteers are the heart of PMI: The event kicked off with a special session for PMI volunteers. It was heartwarming to hear from Brantlee Underhill, PMI's Chief Community Officer, and to learn more about how PMI is investing in its volunteers.
• AI continues to be a central focus: One of the big announcements at the session was the launch of PMI x AI, a new initiative to help project professionals learn about and use AI in their work. This is a great example of how PMI is committed to staying ahead of the curve and helping its members prepare for the future.
• Be the best you! A keynote from Shane Snow, who spoke about the importance of intellectual humility—the ability to acknowledge that you may be wrong, a skill that is essential for success in the AI age.

Day 2

• Stronger together: CEO Pierre Le Manh's opening remarks on the value of the project management profession were both timely and refreshing. He committed to PMI doing more to raise project success rates responsibly and to maintain a laser focus on the profession. He also announced PMI's acquisition of PMO Global Alliance, a sign of PMI's commitment to the PMO community.
• Change has changed: Cassandra Worthy gave an energetic talk on change, in which she argued that we need to adopt a "change enthusiasm mindset." She also shared a three-step approach to change:
  • The Signal: Identify the signs of change.
  • The Opportunity: See change as an opportunity to learn and grow.
  • The Decision: Decide how you will respond to change.

Day 3

• AI is an accelerant: Armida Ascano gave a fascinating talk on forecasting micro-generational desire. She took us through nine microgeneration formative years—including impactful global events, media, and pop culture—from Baby Boomers to Gen Z. She also shared some tips on how to optimize this information as a project professional, including a reusable framework behind all four generations. The cherry on the cake was the worksheets of 10-15 brainstorming questions to draw about applicability.

Day 4

• Embrace curiosity: I had the privilege of leading a session on how to use curiosity to lead our teams into the future. I shared some everyday tips on how to use the power of questions to make our teams more energized and innovative.
• Start from zero: The closing keynote of the summit was delivered by Christopher Barton, founder of Shazam. Barton shared his story of starting Shazam from scratch and overcoming many challenges to achieve success. He emphasized the importance of defiance, persistence and obsession in achieving your goals.

Here are some of the things I will focus on after attending Summit:

• Hone my intellectual humility: This means being open to new ideas and perspectives, even if they challenge my own beliefs.
• Embrace change with new rigor: Change is inevitable, so it's important to be prepared to adapt and embrace it.
• Lead multi-generational teams effectively: Each generation has its own unique strengths and perspectives. Effective leaders are able to leverage these differences to create high-performing teams.
• Get rid of all inhibitions: Don't be afraid to ask questions, take risks and try new things.
• Start from zero: Don't be afraid to start over if necessary. Sometimes the best way to move forward is to start fresh.
• And last but not least, I would continue to embrace curiosity!

What would you do differently? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

By: Mayte Mata-Sivera

Imagine two project managers from Utah—one of them Black and the other Spanish—sharing an Uber ride to the PMI Global Summit in Atlanta. Overhearing our conversation, the rideshare driver chuckles, assuming it's a joke that both of us live in Utah. After that awkward yet fun conversation is when I decided to pay close attention to the diversity on display at the conference.

Here is what I observed…

1. Diverse attendees: There were attendees representing various industries, not only technology. We also had the opportunity to network with professionals from construction, healthcare, education, retail, banking, and more. We met people who were at different points in their careers, from people that just started their journey into project management to seasoned PMO leaders. Finally, so many countries of origin were represented. I was amazed at the people coming from Europe, Africa and LATAM. This diversity enriched networking opportunities and facilitated cross-cultural learning.
2. Diverse speaker lineup: This year the lineup of speakers was from various backgrounds, including women, people of color, and individuals from different cultures.

3. Inclusive keynote addresses: The conference kicked off strong with Cassandra Worthy, who spoke about embracing change. Her keynote was incredible, but what stood out was her open admission of the challenges she faced as an executive being a Black, queer woman in leadership. It was a powerful moment, with over 3,600 people listening as she shared her journey, highlighting the difficulties she faced in her career.

   On the second day, Arminda Ascano was the keynote speaker, guiding us through the nine micro-generations and their unique relationships with technology, including artificial intelligence. It became evident that the global session had attendees from different generations, and the keynote shed light on the diversity in the room.

4. Varied topics addressing inclusivity: The conference sessions covered a wide range of topics, including PMOs, AI and project management. Many of these sessions highlighted the significance of diversity and inclusivity (for instance, workshops like "What Does Equitable Stakeholder Engagement Look Like?" and "Create a Flourishing Psychologically Safe Project Team Culture Built on Effective Communication"). Additionally, the session titled "25 Million Projects by 2030? Closing the Gender Gap in Project Management" tackled gender disparities in the field.

   I'd like to give special acknowledgment to Stuart Easton. During his workshop "Too Many Projects: The Serial PMO Killer," he used an example of a couple (male/female) buying a house; however, he acknowledged various types of couples and highlighted that he chose to use a traditional couple as it was easy for him to find visuals for his presentation. His comment demonstrated a commitment to diverse and respectful representations in his presentations. It serves as a reminder of the importance of inclusivity and recognizing all individuals.

5. Inclusivity in food: A lot of vegetarian options! Based on my experience as a volunteer for PMI Northern Utah Chapters, I know how challenging the food service is—including line management, food selection and forecast quantities. 

   So, cheers to the organizers because every day in each of the meals was a yummy vegetarian option! There were challenges as always; however, let’s highlight the bright spots—that we had a place to sit, eat and relax (and that there was also a vegetarian option in each break).

In summary, the PMI Global Summit in Atlanta marked a significant leap in diversity and inclusivity, especially considering my attendance dating back to the Los Angeles conference in 2018.

Attendees hailed from diverse backgrounds and industries, fostering cross-cultural connections. Notably, speakers and workshop leaders addressed critical topics, emphasizing the importance of inclusion. The commitment to representation was demonstrated by speakers like Stuart Easton. Inclusivity extended to food options. These improvements are promising, and I hope to see further enhancements in the coming years—including gender-neutral bathrooms, mother lounges, and more diverse dietary choices as halal or kosher.