#3 - How do I become (and remain) a successful "adaptive project professional"?
Markus Kopko ?
2*LI Top Voice | 19K Follower | IT Program & Project Management | AI Business Transformation | Coach/Mentor | Speaker | CAITL? (Certified Artificial Intelligence Transformation Lead) | PgMP? | PMP? | ITIL4 Strategist
Welcome to the third issue of my newsletter,
" The adaptive project pro"!
After we discussed in the last issues what the "project economy" is and why the "adaptive project pro" is needed, we want to take a closer look at what makes an "adaptive project pro."
What competencies, skills, and abilities do the "adaptive project pro" need to have or develop to succeed in the digital era??
Recently, a valued colleague of mine - Annika Kruszona ( Director Portfolio/ Project Management & Strategy at D.Med Consulting GmbH ) - posted the following:?
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Last week I successfully passed the SAFe Lean Portfolio Manager exam.
Why did I study another methodology after having passed the PMP, PSM & DASSM already?
I am convinced that it is important to have a rich toolbox to make your projects - and in the end the whole company - successful. Context counts - each company, each project and even each phase is different. So the more potential approaches you have the more likely you will choose the optimal one.
So will SAFe now be THE methodology I always (try to) use and implement?
For sure not - at least not the only one. Using just one methodology would limit us too much in our choices to make our projects successful. In the end, each project team should analyse their challenges and choose their own way of working. As PMOs, we can support this by providing helpful toolkits combining different approaches fitting the overall company situation.
So for me the path is clear: Having even more tools at hand now, I will go on challenging the status quo and finding the best solutions for each specific company, project and team context.
Which tools do you have in your toolbox for success?"
That perfectly describes the essence of and the mindset you need as an "adaptive project professional."?
Well, as a project professional, you need a solid foundation of project management know-how to be able to lead projects to success.?
In addition to the methodical and technical project management skills, these are also social skills and leadership skills.?
Project management is ALWAYS a "people's business"!
A primary task of the PM is, for example, the composition and development of a project team, which ideally becomes a high-performing team.?
If one looks into the official PMI training documents of the PMP Certification, the "formation of a high-performing team" is the first task of the PM and forms the basis for the further course of the project and ultimately the project's success. And building and leading a high-performing team requires a not inconsiderable amount of soft- or social skills.
Or as PMI calls them in the latest, just released version of its "Talent Triangle":
"Power Skills"!?
The term "Power Skills" is debatable (and it is debated in the community), but it is simply meant to highlight the importance of these people skills.?
While we are on the PMI Talent Triangle, it is worth taking a closer look because the skills listed here provide an excellent orientation to what skills and competences the "adaptive project pro" should have.
In addition to the "Power Skills" already mentioned, these are the categories "Ways of Working" and "Business Acumen."??
"Business Acumen" considers that the vast majority of projects undertaken in the project economy are customer projects, with which ultimately money is to be earned! (A topic that PMI has ignored for a long time and is only very hesitantly finding its way into publications and teaching materials).
The category "Ways of Working" considers the trend that there is not just one correct way to the goal.
Instead, it is up to the PMs and their teams to define the most promising path to the expected value under the given circumstances. In most cases, this will be a hybrid approach. But "Tailoring" is another topic area we will address in detail in an upcoming newsletter.?
Back to today's topic, which is, however, directly related to this, because only those who have the broadest possible spectrum of methods, models, processes, and practices at their disposal, are in a position to define the best possible approach for the given (project) situation, right??
I.e., as an "adaptive project pro," I should know as many PM methods as possible to be able to put together the best mix for the situation at hand. This mix, in turn, depends on many other factors - such as the skill set of the project team - but as I said, this is a topic for a future newsletter.?
The "adaptive project pro" should have a broad spectrum of competencies, skills, and know-how!
But what exactly should these be??
Each of the three big PM organizations - PMI, APM, and IPMA - has its own definitions (of course), which differ in detail and have significant overlaps.
On the one hand, there is the "Project Manager Competency Development Framework (3rd Ed.)" of the PMI,
then the ICB4 - the "Individual Competence Baseline" of the IPMA, and last but not least
the "Competence Framework" of the APM.
In the future newsletters, we will present each of these frameworks in detail and, accordingly and ultimately, derive which competencies, skills, and abilities the "adaptive project pro" should bring along and master.?
PMI's PCDF, for example, distinguishes the competencies that PMI believes a project manager must have or develop into two categories.
These are the so-called performance competencies and then the personal competencies. The latter includes competencies such as "communicating, leading, managing, and professionalism."?
What has been completely neglected so far are the digital competencies required in our digital age, such as "data-driven decision making" or "security and privacy," which PMI itself highlighted in its
So it seems the existing competency frameworks need to be revised and updated.?
Over the course of this newsletter, we will attempt to develop a "Map of Competencies and Skills for the Adaptive Project Professional." (i will try to provide a frist draft in the upcoming newsletter).
So I would like to call this newsletter a "journey,"; a "journey" whose goal is to provide transparency and guidance on how each of us involved in the project business can become and remain an "adaptive project professional" (a journey that, by the way, will probably never end).?
And every journey has a beginning.
So consider the previous newsletters as a "preface," so to speak, preparation for our journey.?
I look forward to taking you on this journey and wish you an educational time until next time.
Markus
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Here is an overview of the past issues and the upcoming newsletters:
Thanks for the article Markus, Thanks for mentioning the top six Digiatal Age Skills for Project Delivery