April
2019

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

Chapter President Titu Hariharan, PMP, CSM

 This month our Newsletter is focusing on Talent as we move closer to our Annual Conference. Talent can have multiple meanings, and as I reflect on it, I'm reminded of all the talent that we have here in the PMI Portland Chapter - our members and volunteers, and the collective knowledge and skills among them. 

We often think of talent as naturally-occurring. But talent must be discovered and nurtured to reach its full potential and become an asset.

I like to think of project management as bringing together project and people skills to create a world where we achieve our goals. While this requires a strong foundation of project knowledge, effective communication is the cornerstone of working with both projects and people successfully. We’ve all heard the old adage that 90% of project management is communication. This leads us to one of the most critical skills as project managers, the need to develop ourselves and coach our project teams to communicate clearly and effectively. Developing this skill set can be done through practice, informal training and/or formal training, such as the PMP, ACP and workshops.

From our communication toolkit we can use different approaches to uncover talent in our project teams. Techniques like soliciting one-on-one feedback rather than in a team meeting can unearth a wealth of ideas and information; active listening and encouragement; providing praises and accepting responsibility can create a team atmosphere that empowers project team members to be the best versions of themselves.

Just as project managers cultivate an atmosphere of trust and respect in their project teams, the PMI Portland Chapter wants to ensure you, our members, have an open channel to provide feedback and ideas. And of course, we’ll continue to share updates. Be sure to keep an eye out for our weekly e-blasts with important Annual Conference information to include in your own personal development plan.

“Talent is the multiplier. The more energy and attention you invest in it, the greater the yield. The time you spend with your best is, quite simply, your most productive time.” – Marcus Buckingham

Sincerely,

Titu Hariharan
President, PMI Portland Chapter

ARTICLES

Annual Conference Prep Launched

Career Development Beyond Project Management

By: Reni Towns, PMP

To be successful in the field of project management, you need to develop various skills. Project managers require strong leadership, communication, planning, and organization skills to name a few. Each project you manage offers an opportunity to hone and refine these skills, and after being in the project manager role for a few years, it may be time to think about what comes next.

Within the project management space, there are multiple opportunities for growth. Taking on a large and complex project can offer new and unique challenges, such as managing a large budget or leveraging team members across multiple departments in your organization. There could also be situations that require coordination with contacts outside of the company, such as clients, vendors or contractors.

There are also development opportunities within a Project Management Office. The PMO defines the project management standards within a team or company. This group creates documentation and establishes best practices to ensure projects are executed successfully and with consistency. As a member of a PMO, you can provide guidance and tools for other project managers to use.

A program manager role may also be a good next step for a project manager. Program management provides oversight to a group of related projects in a coordinated way and works to confirm that they support the company’s strategic goals. A program manager will often lead a group of project managers and keep them aligned to the big picture while serving as a liaison with senior leadership stakeholders. Project managers focus on details related to specific projects and program managers look at broad results tied to specific business goals. PMI offers a Program Management certification, the PgMP, which can help convey your advanced skills in the field.

Project managers may also find new and exciting challenges in a Chief of Staff role. While a Chief of Staff position may be most familiar in politics, it is becoming more common in a corporate environment and aligns with C-suite level leaders, most often the CEO. The CoS works on critical strategic initiatives, running meetings, coordinating with teams, and helping to streamline and provide visibility into decision points for the CEO. A good CoS will support a CEO to prioritize appropriately and stay accountable to commitments; the CoS will ensure that a CEO is successful.

While project manager roles are common, not all companies have a PMO or program manager or chief of staff roles. If these are roles you are interested in, you can work to create a business case to launch these within your organization. Try to find people who work in these roles at the next PMI event you attend to learn more and create your own career development plan to get you to the next level.

PMI Portland at the Interface+Cloud Portland 2019

On Tuesday, March 26, 2019, Penelope Luedtke, PMP and Vice President of Outreach for the PMI Portland Chapter proudly gave her time to promote project management and outreach to IT professionals and attendees at the Interface + Cloud Portland. The event was held at the Oregon Convention Center.

Although, the event has ended, you can find the information here. Perhaps members can join next year!

2018 PMI Global Conference

By: Sharon Watkins, MBA, PMP, CSM

The PMI Global Conference 2018 took place in Los Angeles, California, USA on October 6-8. This article highlights some takeaways from the keynote speeches, first from Cam Marston, “Five Generations in the Workplace.” In his keynote, Cam defines Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials, and challenges us to understand the core inter-generational differences and their impact on the workforce.

Cam encourages us to take a closer look at assumptions and value-based preferences. These concepts drive things like work ethic, independent versus collaborative work styles, clearly defined versus more flexible job roles and responsibilities, attitudes to hierarchy, management oversight, and control, and “pay your dues” preferences. He offers some tips that we, as project managers, can bring to our roles to help manage workplace relationships and work styles.

Abigail Posner’s closing keynote speech, “Cracking Creativity: Re-Engaging our Innate Creativity for Greater Productivity and Growth” addressed one of the questions of modern life that many of us harbor; what is the real value to us of the digital space and have our inventions caused more harm or benefit? So, what gives? Which way do we look at this? Posner answers this with an emphatically positive angle: the digital space is highly effective at serving our ‘most deep human needs’. It is on us to do the work to understand how to further humanize this space. This question and its answer drives the series she has created at Google, called ‘Humanizing Digital.’

The focus session: Agents of Change: Managing Collaborative Problem-Solving Style Among Project Teams was facilitated by Curtis Friedel, James C. Anderson II and Tinesha Woods-Wells. This session provided insights into organizational inefficiencies that can stem from divergent patterns of problem solving, thinking, and behavior by individuals, particularly in how they respond to change. These patterns have a huge effect on team dynamics and on the process and result of organizational decision-making. We need a mix of problem-solving styles in our teams, organizations, communities and social spheres to reach optimal outcomes in all contexts.

The “Fantastic Feedback-the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” by Kate Megaw guided the audience through a heavily interactive workshop-style session, looking at alternative concepts of ‘feedback’; its role and challenges, and some of the research into the efficacy of different types. Studies have shown, for example, that regular employee feedback reviews produce superior organizational outcomes to annual performance reviews alone. The objective is to consistently and effectively help us to reduce mistakes, enhance performance and increase efficiencies.

Lastly, I offer some broad comments on the links between Artificial Intelligence and Project Management from multiple areas of focus sessions, one of which was “Beyond Human Intelligence” by Marc Lahmann and Manuel Probts. Each of the speakers’ elaborate on how AI is likely to change the practice of project management in the years ahead, and how we as Project Managers, can stay relevant in a more automated and predictive world.

These speeches and focus sessions provided valuable insights to trending topics. The intent of summarizing them, is to give a flavor for some of the ideas presented, ending with some broad observations on trends in Artificial Intelligence and the impact these developments are likely to have on the Project Management field, culled from multiple focus sessions. Click here to read more.

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EVENTS

Chapter Meetings

“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” – Anthony J. D'Angelo

Join us for our monthly Chapter meetings, open to non-members and members alike. Enjoy an evening of learning with exciting topics, networking with others, and a keynote presentation with a wonderful dinner served at your table. And yes, dessert is included! Click on the dates below to find out more and register.

April 16, 2019

Workshops

Workshop – “Illuminating the Impact of Culture and Language on Project Teams To Enable You To Build Trust and Reach Your Goals." Presented by Shelly Ridder, Trainer and Coach.
Friday, April 19, 2019, from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm at the Portland World Trade Center located 25 SW Salmon, Portland, OR, 97204. Late Fee for registrations after 4/13/2019. Click here to find out more.

Workshop – “The Science of Persuasion, Influence and Negotiation for Project Managers: Improve your ability to communicate and obtain your needs in the world." Presented by Martin Medeiros.
Friday, June 21, 2019, from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm at the 2WTC Building, Portland World Trade Center located 25 SW Salmon, Portland, OR, 97204. Early Bird discount for registrations by 4/30/2019. Late Fee for registrations after 6/12/2019. Click here to find out more.

The PMI Portland Chapter offers certification prep courses for project leaders ready to become Project Management Professionals (PMP), individuals looking to establish credibility in the application of project management processes as a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), and Agile professionals looking for formal recognition with the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) credential.

PMP/CAPM 4-Day Exam Prep Bootcamp
Monday-Thursday, July 15-18, 2019, from 7:00 am - 5:30 pm. Prepare for PMP or CAPM certification through the Portland Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Click here to find out more.

Roundtables

PMI hosts various roundtables across the metro area. Roundtables are a great way to get connect, earn PDUs and guidance on project issues from fellow PMs. Click here  to learn more about roundtables and find the one closest you.

Chapter Event Calendar 

COMMUNITY

PMI Portland Chapter Scholarship

Deadline to apply for PMIEF's undergraduate scholarship is May 1, 2019.

The PMI Portland Chapter is sponsoring an annual academic scholarship valued up to USD $2,500 for undergraduate students. Applications must be received by May 1, 2019. To apply for this scholarship, complete the Academic Application for Undergraduates and Graduates located on the PMI Portland Chapter Sponsorship web page.

Applicants must be enrolled in or applying for an accredited two- or four-year degree program in project management or a related field of study benefiting from project management. Applicants will be reviewed in a priority based on the criteria listed on the web page.

For more information, please visit the PMI Portland Chapter Scholarship page. To review the guidelines for Academic Scholarships, please visit the Scholarship Guidelines site.

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