專案管理:職業生涯的一個階段（轉）

PMP現在已不是一個新鮮事物了.在最近的數十年間,幾乎在所有的工業領域,它已變成為一個主流職業.有越來越多的人正在從他們原來職業中轉行變成為一個PM. 當功能組經理同他們的業務分析員測試人員開發人員談到有關職業話題時,經常會聽到他們說他們期望變成為一個PM.不過,剛畢業參加工作的大學生卻很少有人想成為PM.

我們可以看到,成功的專案經理能夠充分理解他周圍的環境,這種理解力只可能透過他們的工作經驗才能夠獲得.任何人都可以學會作為PM所需要的基本技能,但專案管理卻決不僅僅是工具和技術的簡單相加.它是藝術,而不是科學.為了將他自己的風格融入到專案管理中去,PM需要具備一定程度的組織力,學會情緒控制等一些軟技巧.

一個公認的事實是,無論何種工業領域,人們都需要專案管理.那麼,為什麼如此多的組織認為專案經理這種職業的發展已經沒有了發展空間?一些利己主義者想當然地認為PM存在於食物鏈的最上層,自然不可能再會有新的發展. 很顯然事情不是這樣的. 既然如此,為什麼那些組織還會認為職業經理職業的發展已經裹足不前呢?

專案經理之後的職業發展是什麼?
首先想要說的是,專案經理在專案實踐中有很多機會獲取成功的經驗.但也會有例外的情況,總會有些時日,過高的投入將會給專案經理們帶來他們未曾經歷過的挑戰.

那些沒有進一步發展機會的專案經理們,他們中的絕大多數會選擇怎樣的道路呢?也許有人會加入到PMO組織從事專案控制及稽核工作.也有人會從事專案方法論及過程的研究.不管怎樣,要麼退出這支隊伍,要麼在激情過後仍選擇留下繼續作他的專案經理,或者從全職狀態慢慢退出.

從微觀講,一個專案就是一項獨立的完整業務.很多組織自豪地對外宣佈說他們是基於專案的業務組合體.這是在闡述他們的組織是由很多專案有機組合在一起的單位. 話到這裡延伸一下,我們可以理解每個專案經理實際上就是某一項業務的業務首腦.如果你願意深入比較,你還會發現很多有趣的事.

我們的專案經理們每天都會面臨下面的挑戰:
· 專案團隊的管理—確保正確的人在正確的時間做正確的事
· 專案預算的管理—硬體資源,軟體資源以及其它
· 釋出決定—團隊成員遇到問題,他們將首先去找專案經理.
· 溝通—在這方面專案經理起著決定性的作用.如果專案經理不能夠與不同的專案關係人進行有效溝通,並採取不同的溝通方式去適應他們,那麼專案將必然走向失敗.

關鍵的地方我在這裡已經列舉出來.可以看出,專案經理們所面臨的這些挑戰同一個功能經理一個業務首腦甚或一個CEO相比並沒有多少區別.當然,通常說來一個CEO所管理的人員數目比一個專案經理所管理的人員數目要大一些,管理的工作和角色也各有不同,但他們間的管理原理是相通的.

我覺得一個人的職業途徑應該是很清晰的.當他被推薦給高層管理者後,他就要先在某個適當的時候擔任專案經理的角色.一個有著成功經驗的專案經理,在他轉入功能部門從事管理工作後,或者當他擔當其它執行角色時,他將更容易獲得成功.

認清潛力發掘潛力
我並不是建議每個專案經理都得去努力坐到CEO的位置,事實上他們中很多人對此並無興趣.我的意思是,一個成功的專案經理通常具備良好的經驗,這可以幫助他們去運作某一項業務,就如同他們運作一個專案一樣.

在決定公司人員架構時,公司領導層會檢討公司需要什麼樣的人才. 這一點,不同的公司會有各不相同的答案.決定什麼樣的人才型別需要考慮到諸多方面的因素.比如公司的型別,他們的價值觀,他們所從事的行業等.另外,專案經理身上具有的某些特點,也可以供他們參考以弄清楚他們需要些什麼樣的人才.

將來的企業執行官可能都是些有經驗的專案經理,工作中他們將充分發揮他們的專案實踐經驗並取得良好的工作績效.他們能夠在事前將那些可能變成大問題的問題點找出來,消除於萌芽狀態.這一類專案經理在組織中的各個層面都是些擁有高超技巧的溝通者.他們理解自己的同事,知道同事們在工作中將會有什麼樣的表現.還會基於同事的個人需求想出辦法來激勵他們.

在有些人看來,我似乎是在描述一種關於專案經理的理想狀態.他們在懷疑,這是不是真的?為什麼這種狀況還沒有出現?部分原因可能是專案管理模式並沒有形成為壟斷的管理方式,還存在有其它優秀的執行模式. 但答案不會如此簡單,其實專案管理模式與其它管理模式並沒有很明顯的區別,它們各自的技巧是相通的.

那麼該如何舉薦一個專案經理去擔當領導角色呢?專案的推動者似乎並沒有出於戰略上的考慮去作出安排,這很有代表性.他們的理解是,只有在提出專案要求時或者一項業務剛剛獲得批准時,才用得上專案經理.

在專案的立項階段讓專案經理有機會參與一些決策非常重要.在專案的起初階段,他們可能是資訊的接受者而不是發出者.對於專案的推動者來說,這種安排是有益的.

另外,對專案經理來說,參與專案立項的討論並不會佔用他們多長時間. 除此之外,他們便天天同他的專案團隊在一起.如果有了上面的安排,他們將很清楚他們需要完成什麼樣的工作,還會歸避某個專案關係人影響到他們將來的工作.所有這些都是實實在在的好處,不管專案經理人期望與否.

結論
沒有什麼銀彈用來識別出完美的領導者並給他們指出正確的路線升任為高層管理者,領導者也不應該僅僅被當做組織不可動搖的一部分.成功的組織應該去發掘有潛質的人才,無論是從那裡用何種方式去發現他們.

專案經理們具備一些很好的管理經驗,我們也能從業務管理者們的身上發現到這些經驗.即使如此,組織還需要得到些幫助,以將這些管理經驗在不同的專案中和企業的董事會上得以分享.

如果你已是個專案經理並希望走得更遠一些,你最好多考慮考慮你有哪方面的經驗,考慮這些經驗如何能被其他職業經理人所借用,還有哪些方面需要進一步發展等問題.如果你是個業務領導,你最好多審視一下你周圍的專案經理們,沒準你會有驚喜的發現.

原文：
　　　　Project Management as a Career Step

Andy Jordan December 7, 2005

The project management profession is not new. It has been a mainstream profession across virtually all industries for decades now, and yet project managers continue to be created part way through their careers. When functional managers have career discussions with business analysts, testers, developers, etc., they will often hear that the staff member wants to get into project management, but rarely do you find an undergraduate who wants to be a PM when he or she enters the workforce.

This is logical: Successful project managers have an understanding of their environment that you can’t get except through experience. Anyone can be taught the basic skills that a PM needs, but project management is more than a collection of tools and techniques. It is an art, not a science, and in order to put their own style into their management a PM needs a certain degree of organizational and emotional maturity as well as superior soft skills.

This is recognized throughout the world, across multiple industries--people need to evolve into project management. Why then is it that so many organizations think that the evolution stops with project managers, that the career stops there? While it is good for the ego to think of the PM as the top of the food chain, it is clearly not the case. So why do organizations not continue down the path that they have started?

From project management to?
First off, let me say that there are plenty of opportunities for project managers to have successful careers within project management, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. There will always be multi-year, huge dollar initiatives that can give the PM the kind of challenge that few will ever experience, but these are the exceptions.

What happens to the 99 percent of PMs who will never have those opportunities? Some will move into PMO leadership and related disciplines--project control, audit, etc. Others will contribute to project management methodology and process. However, many will either resign themselves to remain as project managers long after the thrill has passed (often on a contract basis) or will drift away from the profession entirely.

A project is a wonderful thing--it is a business in microcosm. Today, organizations are proudly claiming to be project based businesses, effectively saying that they are a collection of projects that together form the collective company. By extension, therefore, the project manager can be compared with a business unit head. And when you start to delve more deeply into that comparison, it makes a lot of sense.

Consider the challenges that a project manager faces on a day to day basis:
· Management of the project team--ensuring that the right people are doing the right things at the right time
· Management of the project budget--hard dollars, soft dollars, resources, etc.
· Issue resolution--the PM is the first person that the team will turn to when problems occur
· Communication--the cornerstone of any project manager. If a PM cannot communicate effectively with different audiences and different media, using different styles to suit the situation, then he or she will be destined to fail.
·
I could go on, but I think the point is made. The challenges of a project manager are no different from the challenges of a functional manager, business unit head or CEO. Sure the numbers are generally bigger for the CEO than for the PM, and the specifics of the tasks/roles being managed are different, but the discipline is the same.

To me the career path is obvious. If an individual is being groomed for top management, then at some point in their careers they need to be project managers. To be more PM-centric about it, if a successful PM has the inclination to move into functional management (and particularly if they wish to move into executive management), then they will probably be very successful.

Recognizing the talent and making it happen
I am not suggesting that every PM will make a great CEO, and many will have no interest in taking that path. What I am saying is that a project manager will provide very good insight into the way that they would run a business unit by the way they manage projects.

It is for each individual company to decide what personal attributes they value in their executives; it will be impacted by the style of the company, the values that they embrace, the industry that they are in, etc. However there are certain traits that PMs will demonstrate that will help indicate their suitability and readiness for the next level.

The future executive will probably be a practical PM, using their process and methodology skills as a support, but recognizing the need to apply them to individual scenarios. They will be proactive, seeking out problems long before they become major issues and trying to head them off. This type of PM will be a comfortable communicator at all levels of the organization, will understand the perspectives of each of the people in their project and will seek to motivate them based on their own individual needs.

This all sounds remarkably obvious--I’m describing an ideal real world project manager in many people’s eyes. But if it is so obvious, why is it not happening other than as the exception? Part of the answer is that there are wonderful future executives in all disciplines--project management doesn’t have the monopoly, but it’s more than that. The connection is not being made that projects are so similar to the business that the skills are easily transferable (or at least can easily be evolved).

So how do you groom a PM to take on a leadership role? The piece that is most typically missing in the PM’s experience is the strategic elements around project drivers. The perception in many organizations is still that a project starts the day that the requirements are delivered, or at best when the business case is approved.

It is important to ensure that PMs have an opportunity to become part of the decision-making process that leads to the approval of a project. Initially they may be consumers of the information rather than contributors to the process, but this insight into the true business drivers behind the project is invaluable; it will guide a project manager when making decisions far downstream in the project.

Additionally, it won’t take long for the PM to start contributing to the discussion. After all, they are the people who work with the project teams day in and day out, they have an understanding of what can be accomplished and generally don’t have a politically motivated agenda to influence them. This is true whether the PM has aspirations to progress or not.

Conclusion
There is no silver bullet that will identify the perfect leader and point them the right way to get them to the top, nor should leaders be considered from just one part of an organization. The successful organizations will look for top talent wherever it can be found and look for ways to leverage that talent.

All I am suggesting is that PMs have many of the skills that are sought out in the business leaders of today (and tomorrow), but sometimes organizations need some help in realizing that the skills are transferable beyond projects and (ultimately) into the boardroom.

If you are a PM with aspirations to go further, think about the skills that you have, think about how they can be adapted to other roles and think about where you need to develop further skills. If you are a business leader, take a good look at your project managers--you may be pleasantly surprised.

Andy Jordan has 16 years of experience covering practical project management, project methodology development and delivery, and PMO leadership in both Europe and North America. He is currently a Senior Consultant with R3D Information and Technology Consultants in Toronto. Andy welcomes comment and debate on his articles and can be reached at andy.jordan@r3d.com.

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