Increase in Certifications in 2014

Another great year was had in 2014 for Project and Program Management Certifications. If you of the 50,000 that gained your Project Management Institute (PMI)® Certification during 2014, then a heart congratulations. So how did the statistics work out ....

• Project Management Professional (PMP)® showed an increase of 7.51%
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® showed an increase of 11.12%
• Program Management Professional (PgMP)® showed an increase of 16.68%
• PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)® showed an increase of 16.33%
• PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)® showed an increase of 16.22%
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® showed an increase of 56.91%

It is safe to say that the real mover is Agile. With over 55% uptake on the certification in 2014 there is a constant demand and acceptance from industry of the value of the ceritification.

If you wish purse the ACP certification, we at Turlon (a Registered Education Provider with
PMI®) provide a Exam Preparation Course

http://turlon.com/frontend/data/files/Agile_Certified_Practitioner_ACP_Training.pdf

8 Essential Skills for Program Leadership

Project and Program Management are terms that are used in the same sentence with the same meaning. Very often project managers need to be program managers and vice versa. The project and program manager must have interchangeable skills that are not written down anywhere. Program managers should have the ability to react, manage problems, deal with conflict as well as serving the business. This session will look at the skills that program managers need in order to become program leaders.

It is now how a program is managed, it is important how it is led. This statement require program managers to be able to understand some core skills that should be developed and delivered on: -

• Leadership Skill 1: - Your ability to Serve you Team which is Servant Leadership
• Leadership Skill 2: - Manage YOUR development and understand how to get to best from you as a  Program or Project Manager
• Leadership Skill 3: - Being a Critical Thinker to question and challenge, and adapt new ideas and frameworks to suit different context
• Leadership Skill 4: - Be a Sales Person by focusing on achieving value and realizing benefits by thinking about Program and Project Management
• Leadership Skill 5: - Think about others Communication Values with the skills in developing and adapting project information and reporting
• Leadership Skill 6: - Be a Problem Solver to structure problems, seek out facts, engage with others, be innovative and creative in developing solutions
• Leadership Skill 7: - Negotiation is one of the skills where all parties are satisfied with the agreement. Develop and practice negotiation skills both within the project team and external to the team with other stakeholders, sponsors, contractors
• Leadership Skill 8: - Sponsor engagement by ensuring the right results with the right people

These skills of a Program Manager is just not thinking about how to get something done but it is by managing your environment, the people around you and by developing yourself. 

So if you are about to become a program manager, think of the following as you step forward:

1. Understand what the challenges that program managers face
2. Identify how to switch from program management to program leadership
3. Identify the techniques that can be used to on-board team members
4. Focus on your ability to become a problem-solver and how to use these skills
5. Understand that conflict is good in project and that the role of the project manager is to manage it
6. Use critical thinking to understand results and modify behavior
7. Be able to understand the principles behind servant project leadership and how to implement it.
8. The ability to influence sponsors and team members alike in non-ideal situations.
9. Understand how to effectively communicate project results and status 
10. To be proactive and reactive in managing project situations and conflict.

The 3’C’s of Project and Program Management … Managing Crisis, Change and Conflict

Project and Program Managers used to be judged by how well they responded to a crisis – now they are judged by how well they anticipate one. In a world with increasing uncertainty lies a dire need to re-frame leadership competencies. There is a need for a resilient and positive mindset in the world of project and program management. Change is even more difficult in this environment where conflict within the organisation is almost inevitable. So the current-day project and program manager challenges often rely on the development and management of the 3C’s: -

 

1.    Anticipation and Reaction to Crisis

2.    The Management and Approach to Change

3.    The Dealing and Expectation of Conflict

 

Crisis, change and conflict can happen at any time, in any situation.  Even if you think you have all your bases covered, guess again. It can come in all shapes, sizes, degrees and from many angles – from natural disasters, technical problems, internal corporate issues and non-compliance with contract. They can happen at the drop of a hat and be very devastating to any project and / or program manager if not managed properly.

 

Regardless of the type or size of crisis, change and conflict, it is important to effectively plan and manage for them in the event of one happening and also for during one. This minimises the shock and stress of the situation and effectively shows the true qualities of any project manage.

 

If you agree, why not step back and be accepting that the plan is the non-essential, it is dealing with the change within it. Moving forward means a positive attitude and acceptance of what lies ahead. Embrace and be-friend the 3’C’s and you will have made a friend for life.

How to transition from Project to Program Management

The world of project management is becoming all too familiar. Yes, there are still challenges and learning to be had but when project management is discussed it is known on how to develop and mature. As a project manager, the biggest driver is being able to deliver under the pressures of time, cost and scope constraints and can be considered to be a balance of project management skills, leadership skills and process management skills.

 

One of the items that gains continual attention now … is how to transition from project to program. If you are in a PMO, you may have heard the following question, which of the project managers is ready to take on the program of work? This is now the easiest question to answer because first we ask ourselves, what is exactly Program Management and what do we mean by it.

 

In projects, we talk about planning, team development and process management. Whereas in programs we talk about business delivery, team dependencies and strategic management. They are two different sets of skills and to assume that a project manager can develop these without guidance / structure is a lot to ask. The first step in transitioning from project to program manager is to develop the mind-set for program management. For example, moving from the world of project / timeline delivery to program strategic execution.

 

My 10-steps or factors that are essential is developing professionals from a project manager’s role into a program management role are: -

 

1.       Think Business instead of Delivery

2.       Think Dependencies instead of Schedule

3.       Think Escalation instead of Reporting

4.       Think Strategy instead of Scope

5.       Think conflict instead of Crisis

6.       Think Governance instead of Teams

7.       Think Transition instead of Transfer

8.       Think Challenge instead of Salary

9.       Think Relaxation instead of Stress

10.   Think Program Triple Constraints (Benefit, Customer, cost)

 

Why are these different from project management? To answer this question, they are all business related and not one of them are focused on the task mindset that is often evident in project management. This is the subject matter of the paper I will be presenting at PMI^® Global Congress 2014—North America on the 27^th October in Phoenix, AZ

 

To Serve or not to Serve?

Should we or should we not serve ... that is the question ... well, it is one of many questions that should be asked. The idea of servant leadership is to serve those they lead. So why don't we do this more and serve those that we lead rather than manage those that we lead? There are a few factors that we, as project practitioners, need to take on board to make this a reality

Become a transformational leader

Rather than act in a certain way in order to gain the trust and avoid the pitfalls of human nature, why don't we tap into the needs and values of people and inspire them with new possibilities that raises confidence, conviction and desire to achieve a common, moral, motivating purpose. This is commonly referred to as a 'transformational leader' and is an core element of servant leadership

Is this a risky method of leadership ... of course it is but the value and result is one of empowerment rather than management. Is this worth doing ... well, that is based on the 3 characteristics of leadership: -

• Your Environment will support transformational leadership?
• Your People will respond to transformational leadership?
• You will Embrace transformational leadership?

One of the key objectives in the workshop titled ‘The NEW Skills of a Project and Programme Manager’ is to focus on the servant leadership and develop these skills to become a leader within projects.

Create the Vision for Others

To be a servant leader, there must be a direction for people to follow.  Does lack of vision mean lack of leadership? Is it because we lack vision? The reason is not because we don’t have a vision, it is because the vision is cosmetic and not focused on those we lead. The vision needs to be exciting, adapted and most importantly it can be connected with. If not, we become a ‘transactional transformational leader’ in a management world. Yes this is a sentence full of words, but what it means is that we may talk the talk but not walk it.

Hear about the other factors that constitute Servant Leadership for Project and Programme managers in my new workshop titled  The NEW Skills of a Project and Programme Manager.