Personal Leadership for PMO Practitioners

Personal Leadership is all about leadership for yourself.

When we talk about leadership in project management – we’re nearly always talking about leading others – but we also have a responsibility to ourselves – both for our careers and in life.

So when we think about personal leadership in relation to our career in PMO – what are we really talking about?

Just like the PMO Learning training development with the four levels, we take a look at the corresponding levels of personal leadership and highlight areas to consider as you move through your career in PMO.

Level One

In the early stages of your PMO career it’s about understanding what your values and behaviours are and how these are used or observed in the workplace.

You’ll demonstrate and maintain high standards of honesty, confidentiality and ethical conduct in all your personal and business work.

You’ll also be actively questioning and sharing good practice – you’ll see activities as an opportunity to develop and learn.

And you’ll be open to feedback from others – to help you along the way. Perhaps seeking out a mentor to help accelerate development.

You’ll be able to articulate your career goals and pull together plans that help you achieve these goals.

And you’ll set other individual goals and want to exceed your own expectations and those of others around you.

At this level, courses such as P3O® Foundation and Essentials for PMO Administrators can help with building the best practice knowledge.

Level Two

Moving on further in your career, personal leadership will include more creativity.

You’ll independently introduce new ideas and solutions to problems – and take independent action to solve them.

By this stage you’ll be starting to leading other project support staff too – building skills on how to motivate and get the best out of people.

A big part of the role is the interaction with senior stakeholders; executives; departmental heads and other department staff. You’ll be developing and rolling out PMO services and that means beig able to engage, gain buy-in and support others through changes.

You’ll also be expected to perhaps represent your firm externally too – adapting behaviours with approaches that work with different clients and organisations.

You will also be building relationships outside the normal sphere of day-to-day work too – developing relationships with experts and peers – and taking part in professional meetings.

At this level – the P3O® Practitioner course that aligns well with this stage of your career.

Level Three

Level three is about setting direction and providing leadership – and you’ll be creating and developing teams too.

It’s also about having the ability to serve as a mentor or coach others – and to develop a learning culture around who and what you do.

At this level you’re managing PMOs and that means adopting a lot of different approaches to working with and leading others.

You’ll assume responsibility for getting things done, overcoming obstacles and meeting commitments – analysing situations and making decisions based on expertise and professional judgement.

You’ll be in control of your own destiny in work – making success happen for yourself rather than waiting to be recognised and rewarded.

You’ll project a positive, self-confident image at work – have gravitas – or make others feel comfortable or even better about themselves.

And you’ll be leading for results and success by conveying a sense of urgency. You’ll actively drive issues to closure, persist despite obstacles and opposition and set high standards of performance.

At this level, it’s the Essentials for PMO Analysts course which you should take a look at.

Level Four

With level four its all about using your seniority – that experience, knowledge, behaviours, styles and habits gained over the years to network with other senior executives – not just within your own domain or industry sector but in others too.

You’re using business experience and judgement when making decisions in increasingly risky or complex situations. Knowing when to cut your losses or take well conceived risks.

You’ll create an environment or culture where failure is not punished but viewed as a learning experience.

You’ll also have a well-developed network – both internally and externally to work – perhaps even playing a leadership role in a professional group.

You’re a role model when it comes to people seeking help and guidance – and you recognise and acknowledge the achievements of others.

These are just some of the areas to think about in terms of your own personal leadership development throughout your career, after all, if the role of the PMO includes leadership capabilities, it makes sense that you yourself are actively thinking about what leadership means to you personally.

Why not leave your comments about what personal leadership means to you – and what you’ve done which has helped your career so far?

The P3O® courses on this page are offered by PMO Learning. P3O® is a [registered] trade mark of AXELOS Limited. P3O® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. The Swirl logo™ is a trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.