PMO = what does it mean or should I say what does it stand for?
I have been told by others, both inside and outside the profession and even that ultimate source Wikipedia that it stands for:
- Program Management Office
- Project Management Office
- Portfolio Management Office.
in the PMBOK on Page 11 of the fourth edition it says the PMO is a Project Management Office.
As Project Managers we tend to get very tactical very quickly. We dive in and make things happen.
I want to take a different approach to the concept of PMO. Let’s do out of the box thinking before we dive in. To that end let me suggest at its broadest PMO is a concept of behaviour that can be expressed in a formula.
P+M=O where the P is people the M is motivation and the O is opportunity.
Yes that is what I truly believe it stands for. The key predictor for a successful project is the quality and engagement of the people plus the level of motivation or commitment and when both are high we are on our way to an extraordinary opportunity. We may have to experiment to get the quantities of P and M correct but when we do wow, the O is outstanding.
I have strong beliefs in how a PMO should be set up to create that opportunity. The opportunities have to be there for all people/stakeholders so they can answer positively to “What’s in it for me?” If I were to summarize this grouping of stakeholders at a high level it would fall into three buckets for me. In bucket one you have yourself, in bucket two you have the organization including the project team and in bucket three the client. I believe if you focus on the build in this order you will end up with your client as number one.
Let’s get back to the formula P+M=O. I have learned over my years that I cannot motivate others, they can only motivate themselves. I think that is true for all of us, we cannot motivate others. So how do we get them to self-motivate. That is the tough part! Well I have some thoughts on this and will share them over the next few weeks.
I think in order to build a PMO that lives up to the formula you need to start with Vision. Yes I said the V-word!!, overused and sometimes not as well understood as it may be. But think for a moment what it would be like to have a clear, aspirational vision such that it drove what you did every day and made a positive difference, for you, for your organization and your client. Wouldn’t that be the kind of place, the kind of PMO you would want to work in? Again, more later on vision and motivation. Meantime your comments are welcome.
Carl Sergeant, PMP, brings an entrepreneurial, results-based focus to his consulting and presenting practice based on more than three decades of project, program and portfolio management experience. Carl Sergeant can be contacted at 1 905 466 7778 or [email protected] or see the Carl Sergeant Consulting website www.strategeant.com
