Tribute to Program Managers Everywhere

When they are not posing for the camera in a 19th century?Rothschild castle in the vicinity of Paris, they are spending most of their time at work creating transformative learning experiences. These wonderful people known as Program Managers or PMs in the world of Learning & Development are at the heart of learning journey delivery from start to finish.

Assisting them are other wonderful people specializing in fields like Marketing and Communications, Process Facilitation, Video and Photography.

From left to right, my 2022 extended PM family - with many, but not all relatives present: Nathalie Marchau (PM Coordinator), Llywelyn ap Myrddin (Process Facilitator, a PM's best friend), Ritwika Maiti (PM), yours truly, Magdalena Wójcik-Chrapa?a (PM), Patrycja Gielecińska (Marketing & Communications, another PM's best friend), Volodymyr Grymailo (PM), and Tomasz Cwiklinski behind the camera (Photographer, definitely a PM's best friend).

These thoughts are dedicated to them and all passionate PMs everywhere.

Using an example of brilliant musical performance as a metaphor for exquisite PM work, I hope to outline some of the key levels of PM excellence that I have witnessed in action.

If you are aware of any unsung heroes among the PMs you are working with in and across your teams, do let them know how amazing their work is, the difference they make, and how grateful you are for having them.

[00:00-00:27] As with any true professional, a PM's reputation precedes them. The same is true for any great program whose alumni speak for its quality and impact.

The audience is charmed before the first "Hello."

This is testament to the thorough preparation that goes into launching any learning event and every learning journey milestone.

Oftentimes, it is not one PM, but generations of PMs who make a program a resounding success. We all stand on the shoulders of giants. My respects to Swati Devgan PRINCE2? and Neha Kalelkar for paving the way for me in their PM role.

[00:33-00:54] The prep and mini set-up that is visible to the audience at the start of a live performance ("let's see what we've got over here," "let's sit") is just a drop in an invisible ocean of effort, a few seconds of prep out in the open building on hours of intense individual and collaborative work that remains unseen.

[00:55-01:18] PMs push forward, exploring all sides of the learning mechanisms they employ, looking for fresh nuances, sound combinations, varied tones and registers, re-strategizing to obtain desired effects and outcomes. They also strive to surprise.

[01:19-02:05] PMs are not afraid tap into vulnerability and reach out to the depths of what can hinder and elevate the learning experience. All in the service of generating engagement.

[02:06-04:11] And the reactions they get are, without fail, a measure of the PMs' intensity of effort. Among the most desired reactions being the gifts of

• sustained engagement ("yeah, go ahead, clap")
• sustained flow - a translation of collective grooving, my favorite! - when the audience is transported to another level and often sends out signs of elevated emotional and cognitive states - "aha" moments (claps, hearts, smiles, thumbs up and hearts on virtual collaboration platforms)
• sustained return in and out of awe - charting individual experience maps unique to every single learner.

[04:16-06:38] In times of hightened expectations, fire fighting or dealing with escalations, PMs take pauses for reflection. Experienced PMs role-model reflective rather than reactive approaches to problem solving, acting like lighthouses in a storm: solid points of reference lighting the way out of crisis.

One size fits one. Each learner is unique.

Knowledgeable PMs recognize and leverage that to the fullest, again and again.

"Love doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints,

It takes, and it takes, and it takes...

We keep loving anyway,

We laugh and we cry and we break and we make our mistakes and if

There's a reason I'm by your side,

So many have tried...

I'm willing to wait for it, I'm willing to wait for it..."

When their efforts do not pay off in the short term, PMs are "willing to wait for it."

They keep an eye to the future and its endless realm of opportunities.

[04:39-08:03] Visionary PMs can see past the obstacles. They know that there is a road to greatness for them and the learners in their care in spite of many turns that may sway some to think they reached a roadblock or a dead end.

"I'm not falling behind or running late

I'm not standing still, I'm lying in wait..."

[08:04-09:32] Great PMs give credit where credit is due, openly.

"People throw the 'g.o.a.t.' (greatest of all time) around all too casually in this generation and I think that when you have an actual 'g.o.a.t.' in the house, you gotta pay respect..."

Witnessing the work of amazing PMs leaves us with the thought of "endless possibilities for re-invention."

These dedicated people inspire us by constantly reinventing themselves beyond the constraints of their PM role.

"Thank you for taking this journey with me."

I am Alina Beckles and "I will see you on the other side."