Joni Brown-Irons, M.Ed., Managing Director

I was fortunate to be able to attend the Gartner PPM and IT Governance Summit two weeks ago. As always, I went with a mind to identifying trending in Project Porfolio Management (PPM)field that would help us make decisions regarding future PM College course offerings. I expected to come home with ideas about PPM courses, but to my surprise I found most of the "buzz" centered on a need for project leadership.

Q: Do you have any thoughts around what should be taught to someone interested in PM versus someone hired into that PM role?       

Q: Are there certain industries that value PM training over others?  For example, do tech firms value training over retail project managers?   

In my last post, we discussed the reasons why the term “competency assessment” strikes fear into the hearts of project managers, and began to lay out a five-step plan for overcoming these fears. Let’s continue:

STEP THREE:  Establish a Baseline. A competency assessment helps to tell us what you already know, so we don’t waste your time and our money. Competency assessment helps identify the strengths, opportunities and challenges that leads to targeted training solutions. Baselines also help to establish where you are and where you are going.

When you first mention competency assessment, fear can spread throughout the team:  Why are they measuring competency? What if I don’t measure up?  What should I do to prepare?  What will happen to me if I am NOT competent?