PMI Global Insights

By: Te Wu, PMI-RMP, PMP, PgMP, PfMP
CEO, PMO Advisory LLC

Congratulations on being a project professional.  As I am sure you already know, project management is an exciting place to be.  Just think about the many positives: 1) Projects are rarely boring as they are often unique; 2) projects have a lot of challenges to keep you on your toes; and naturally, with every challenge, there are opportunities to build your skills and enhance your visibility; and 3) if you are certified, then you have probably heard about the compensation advantage.  The advantage with certifications like the PMP is so well known that even CNN wrote an article about this a few years ago.  Just Google the terms “poor man’s MBA” and you can find that article.

But as a project professional, chances are you are very busy with confronting the latest problems and tackling risks. How often have you sat back and wondered about your career in project management? What should be the next step? Should you pursue certification? How do you turbocharge your career?  If you are already asking about these questions, then my presentation at the upcoming PMI Virtual Experience Series event on 9 December is for you.

This presentation is designed for project professionals of all levels, and it strives to accomplish three goals:

1. Highlight the challenges and opportunities in project management. In short, the performance of project implementation today is still poor across many sectors.  For example, PMI’s most recent study in its Pulse of the Profession showed that 11.4% of all money spent on projects is wasted. But with every crisis, there come exciting opportunities.
2. Next, I will present a career roadmap that covers the broad spectrum of progression from entry-level to the chief project officer. I will describe the key accountabilities and responsibilities and how professionals climb the career ladder.  Just as importantly, I will map the PMI certifications to this ladder.
3. For career growth, I will apply Edward Deming’s quality improvement wheel that includes four steps for continuously building your career. Through Plan, Do, Check, and Act, project professionals can continually refresh, examine, and achieve the next stretched goals.

In the final part of the presentation, I will provide concrete ideas on how project professionals of all levels can jump-start their career development immediately and start climbing upward.  With the project economy growing ever larger and projects taking center stage as the primary vehicle for value creation, all of you have the potential to reach the topmost level of the project management career ladder – becoming the Chief Project Officer.

Excited?  Please join me on Wednesday, 9 December at 11 a.m. EST (UTC-5) at the PMI Virtual Experience Series event for this presentation and take part in the questions and answers with me and the rest of the PM community. I am looking forward to seeing you at the event.