Career Crisis: When Foundational PM Skills Erode
byMany experienced PMs are now operating in an environment that bears very little resemblance to the one that they were trained in. And that can be disconcerting.

Many experienced PMs are now operating in an environment that bears very little resemblance to the one that they were trained in. And that can be disconcerting.
Learn how PMI Study Hall™ can be your ultimate study buddy for PMP exam success! Plus, get more help jump-starting your career with
PMI's Career Central, your hub for knowledge, connections and resources! And visit PMI's Project Management Job Board! Military veterans can also contact their local PMI chapter for more info on the Military Veterans Program. Read more about how PMI can help!
Community Champion
5
Votes: 5
5
Eduard Hernandez
Eduard Hernandez replied Aug 8, 2026
20
Votes: 0
0
Julia Cooper
Julia Cooper replied Aug 7, 2026
2
Votes: 0
0
Stelian ROMAN
Stelian ROMAN replied Aug 6, 2026
21
Votes: 3
3
Luis Eduardo Reyes Plasencia
Luis Eduardo Reyes Plasencia replied Aug 5, 2026
24
Votes: 6
6
Luis Eduardo Reyes Plasencia
Luis Eduardo Reyes Plasencia replied Aug 5, 2026
7
Votes: 2
2
LALIT NAINWAL
LALIT NAINWAL replied Aug 4, 2026
Community Champion
3
Votes: 3
3
Saleha Mubeen
Saleha Mubeen replied Aug 4, 2026
13
Votes: 2
2
Julia Cooper
Julia Cooper replied Jul 30, 2026
4
Votes: 0
0
Robert Snyder
Robert Snyder replied Jul 26, 2026
5
Votes: 0
0
Lissette Indhira Pimentel Sosa
Lissette Indhira Pimentel Sosa replied Jul 24, 2026
PMI Team Member
See all Career Development Influencers
We start the new decade with a bang as we present the 13th edition of our annual virtual conference and exhibition! Whether you’re a seasoned PM or new to the field, PMXPO provides an excellent opportunity to learn, network, earn PDUs and broaden your perspective on project management. This year’s show is headlined by keynote speaker Cara Brookins, a bestselling author who rebuilt her broken family by building her own house watching “how-to” videos on YouTube.
Join us for PMI Business Analysis Virtual Conference 2019! This virtual event will explore the latest trends in business analysis and provide you with the insights, resources, and tools to advance your career and enhance project success.
The PMI Talent & Technology Symposium 2019 explores the impact of rapidly changing technologies on the project management profession across industries. Participants will gain an understanding of how to better position themselves for growth and to identify talent for their project teams.
**PMI Led Webinar** As the first and only global standard for AI in portfolio, program, and project work, "The Standard for Artificial Intelligence in Portfolio, Program, and Project Management" (PMI 2026) gives project professionals a practical foundation for applying AI responsibly. This webinar will help attendees understand the Standard’s guiding principles, performance domains, and applied use cases — and how to use them to bring more structure, accountability, and confidence to AI adoption. The Standard for Artificial Intelligence in Portfolio, Program, and Project Management - https://www.pmi.org/standards/artificial-intelligence
This content is from PMI. It is not PDU Bearing Path to PMP: 2026 PMP Exam Change provides aspiring PMP® certification holders with a practical, forward‑looking overview of the updated PMP exam launching on July 9, 2026. This session breaks down why the exam is changing, what’s new in the updated content outline, and how candidates should adapt their study plans to stay on track. Attendees will walk away with clarity on what to expect next and how to prepare with confidence for the next generation of the PMP exam.
You have likely come across a SWOT analysis, which maps strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This template applies the SWOT concept to your career development plans to help you build on strengths, address areas of weakness, leverage opportunities and monitor threats.
You may be the most brilliant project manager out there, but it doesn't count for much if it comes at the expense of everything else. You are more likely to establish a sustainable, long-term PM career when you can balance your life with your work. This workbook allows you to leverage agile principles to do that. Use in conjunction with the Agile Your Life webinar.
To help you think through each of the sustainable PM drivers and how they apply to you, use this template to assess yourself and develop your plan for becoming a sustainable PM. Use in conjunction with the article Becoming a Sustainable Project Manager.
Taking time to reflect on ways you have integrated your PM skills into your day-to-day life can be an invaluable exercise. The more consciously you are aware of your competencies, the more successful you may be in your PM career—and your life journey. Use this simple worksheet as a starting point and in conjunction with the article Applying PM Skills to Day-to-Day Life.
How content you are in your current and future career potential? With your physical and mental health? With your current and future financial status? This assessment will help you think through areas in your life that are most important to you—and develop a practical and sustainable purpose statement to guide you when to say "yes" to some things and "no" to others. Use in conjunction with the blog "Your North Star – Creating a Practical and Sustainable Purpose Statement."
How do you advance your career if the roles you aspire to are undefined? Your tactics must show you have the newly prioritized skills—and get this information to those who can influence your career.
Question: A new PMP® exam is here. The head of our PMO asked me to see if it would have any effect on how we train our people to sit for the exam. Also, does it foretell any changes we may need to make in the way we do business? I’m concerned that there may be new information or alterations in the way existing employees, whether PMPs or not, should be conducting the day-to-day business of our organization if we want to stay competitive?
The role of the project manager continues to evolve, and it’s hard to nail down exactly will be needed as time moves forward. But business acumen and sustainability are becoming essential parts of our occupational evolution.
Project managers are no stranger to feedback. Some of it is positive, some more constructive. But how can we take what we hear and actually do something about it? Keep these seven tips in mind.
PMs need to connect delivery to higher business goals. Knowledge of your organization’s business strategy shapes how you facilitate decisions and communicate alignment. Fortunately, you can build this capability without formal training.
Business acumen is often framed as something that is possessed. It is described as something that you have, or you do not. Not only is this notion incomplete, but it is a dangerous one. It presents business acumen as a tangible something to be acquired, a checkbox to be attained, finite and specific.
This is a Partner Voice highlight with the PMI Educational Foundation’s long-standing partner, STEM Racing. This article accompanies the on-demand webinar Building Future Project Managers: Real-World PM Skills Through STEM Racing.
Business acumen can feel abstract. We see it in job descriptions, but what does it actually look like? Here are seven easy ways to demonstrate business acumen every day.
Leaders who build trust intentionally, empower others consistently—and attract those who lead with humility and purpose—allowed this practitioner to move into being a project manager instead of a project messenger.
Business acumen may just be the single most important discipline that a project manager needs to master today. And it can have a significant impact on a career. Here's why...
Employers often favor candidates who already have real-world execution experience. That leaves many capable professionals stuck trying to break into a field that increasingly expects them to already know how to operate inside it.
Business acumen isn’t just something that executives or other higher-ups have—it’s a skill that project managers can access and exhibit on a regular basis and within each project, no matter the size of the endeavor or type of industry.
Thinking about volunteering? A longtime practitioner reflects on her 33-year journey that began after attending her first conference in 1992. Through her many roles, she gained invaluable skills, friendships, and opportunities, and encourages others to make a meaningful impact.
|
"If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank." - Woody Allen |