2010 Project Management Trends?

Late last year, ESI International a surveyed a global panel of consultants and senior executives and identified the top ten project management trends in 2010.  Some of these seem a little strange, but we have to keep in mind that part of ESI International's business is delivering project management training.

According to the survey the top ten project management trends are:

1. The implementation of new Project Portfolio Management solutions will soar

2. Reliance on Requirements Metrics to measure performance will increase

3. Senior Executives will embrace the value of Project and Program Governance

4. PMOs will go to the next level with Business Analysis Centres of Excellence

5. Demand for Agile Project metrics will increase

6. Vendor management and program outsourcing will move front and center

7. Risk Management will become a Project Management obsession

8. Crisis environments will leverage Project Portfolio principles for better outcomes

9. Project management learning measurement will no longer be “a Nice to Have”

10. Project management learning will push out of the classroom

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Ten Keys to Civility

A local foundation here in Florida, USA has developed a set of "Ten Keys to Civility".  These are a perfect set of guiding principles for the project manager. Click here to view their website and find out more.

TEN KEYS TO CIVLITIY

Respect Others - Honor other people and their opinions, especially in the midst of a disagreement.

Think Positively - Keep an open mind and assume others have good intentions.

Pay Attention - Be aware and attend to the world and the people around you.

Make a Difference - Get involved.

Speak Kindly - Choose not to spread or listen to gossip.

Say Thank You - Let others know they are appreciated.

Accepts Others - Our differences are what make us interesting.

Rediscover Silence - Keep noise to a minimum.

Listen - Focus on others in order to better understand their points of view.

Keep Your Cool - Accept life's challenges with grace.

Project Managers Need to Behave

When CIOs were interviewed by ComputerWorld in 2001 regarding what skills a Project Manager should have, the consensus was the following competencies are the most important: Technology, Business, Behavior - not necessarily in that order.

I know that I have lived a sheltered project management life, but I think many project managers haven't sufficiently mastered the "Behavior" competency.   I admit my experience is limited, but I have worked with many project managers, and I believe that we all could improve our skills as they relate to the "Behavior" competency.  We should all be able to agree that in order to motivate people a project manager needs an understanding of human behavior and how to motivate teams.  How many project managers do you know have mastered these skills?  How well do you do in this area?  I can admit that I have room for improvement.

As I said, "Behavior" was listed in the top three of the most important competencies.  I find that to be interesting because other surveys of CIOs find that the number one complaint about project managers is that they are whiners and excuse makers.  How can we change that?  Collectively we must decide as project managers to exhibit the highest ethical and behavioral standards, and take responsibility for our project's results (without whining).  We must be empathic,  good listeners, be trustworthy, and not gossip and participate in destructive office politics.