| Professional project managers seeking certifications | | | | greatly in this process of personal and professional |
| often discover that there remains so much more to | | | | continuous improvement. Firstly, this will help us |
| learn about the subject. Some managers bank on the | | | | recognize and deal with different types of issues. It |
| power of actual experience to strengthen their | | | | can heighten our awareness of what happens in |
| know-how; however there is something that the | | | | certain situations and how to cope. It can help us to |
| knowledge of structured approaches offers that mere | | | | become aware and to develop strength at exercising |
| hands-on experience can't. Given the many learning | | | | many nuances of soft skills in our day to day project |
| opportunities available, how can program and project | | | | management practice. |
| managers choose the right path that will further | | | | Getting beyond meetings, project managers may |
| improve their skills? | | | | identify any of the following areas and more for self |
| Improvement and Skill Building, One Step At A Time | | | | improvement in the journey to more advanced project |
| We, as individuals, need to employ the principle of | | | | management skills: |
| continuous improvement. We have a broad culture of | | | | 1. Improve understanding of project and organizational |
| self-help and personal improvement, but not everyone | | | | finance. |
| has adopted the approach, and almost everyone could | | | | 2. Learn more techniques for communicating with |
| do even better. Just as so many practice personal | | | | people from different cultures. |
| self-improvement with the assistance of | | | | 3. Develop a deeper understanding of the unique |
| self-improvement books, motivational materials, | | | | perspectives of the various workforce generations |
| attending motivational seminars, and more, it is virtually | | | | that might make up your team. |
| the same thing in the realm of project management | | | | 4. Identify opportunities for leveraging outsourcing on |
| skills. Advanced project management skills simply are | | | | projects, and also identify the risks and pitfalls of the |
| taking everything we know, and then some, to the | | | | outsourcing approach. |
| next level by becoming aware of new ideas and | | | | 5. Adopt a more thorough understanding of issues |
| incorporating them into our own best practices. | | | | surrounding telecommuting, and techniques and pitfalls |
| Continuous Improvement | | | | in this evolving environment. |
| Let's look at an example of how we can improve our | | | | 6. Build more advanced consultative skills for working |
| ability to run meetings. We all know that the best way | | | | as an external consultant, having worked within a single |
| to do this is to practice, but, then again, it must be good | | | | company for many years. |
| practice. It is true that practice makes perfect, but | | | | 7. Become more effective at managing technical |
| "perfect practice" is what brings home the bacon. If | | | | employees, a unique workplace challenge. |
| we find ourselves in meetings on a regular basis, the | | | | 8. Broaden your scope of understanding of project |
| best way to improve those skills and become a more | | | | management by expiring related methodologies, Bodies |
| "advanced project manager" is to try to raise our | | | | of Knowledge (BOKs), and frameworks, such as |
| awareness, apply, adopt, and internalize one or two | | | | PRINCE2 or Six Sigma. |
| new ideas for continuous improvement on a daily | | | | 9. Seek to better understand the evolving field of |
| basis. | | | | knowledge management in organizations. |
| For example, in meetings, setting a time limit for the | | | | 10. Develop a formal understanding of the strategic |
| meeting is a good technique. If you have not been | | | | planning process, which provides the input to portfolio |
| doing that, or if you are not satisfied with how | | | | management and guide project and program selection. |
| effectively you have been doing it, simply try to adopt | | | | This list of 10 possibilities for advancing one's project |
| this one single technique, master it, and integrate it into | | | | and program management skills is actually a short one. |
| your common best practices. You might then want to | | | | When it comes to advancing project management |
| tackle the idea of improving something like facilitation | | | | skills, the sky is the limit, and the opportunities are |
| skills to enable everyone to contribute in an optimal | | | | virtually endless. There are a nearly infinite number of |
| way in solving problems in meetings. The key is to | | | | different types of challenges that a project or program |
| mark an area for improvement, to seek information on | | | | manager faces, and whether by reading books, |
| it to acquire one or two practical objectives, and to | | | | listening to selected speakers, taking classroom or |
| begin to put into practice. | | | | online courses, and even hiring a coach, there is a lot |
| Advanced project management training can help | | | | of opportunity to improve, and many ways to do it. |