A project is a movie, with the project manager as the director

Project work is an integral part of modern business life. The demand for strong project consultants is also on the rise at USG. Competent project managers are therefore crucial for realizing a company's vision. What does project management entail in 2023, and what skills are expected of a project leader? We discuss this with Chris Kindermans. After a career as an international project manager, he is now a senior volunteer at the Project Management Institute (PMI) and a director at the Educational Foundation.

PMI trains and certifies project managers, with the most important certificate being that of Project Management Professional. What is a PMP?

That is someone who knows the PMBoK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) very well and has successfully passed an exam about it. It's a knowledge certificate, but only with sufficient demonstrated experience can you also be admitted to the exam.

A PMP is expected to have professional ethics and achieve results. The credo is: “Whatever happens, I will deliver within time and budget what we agreed upon, in the agreed-upon quality.” So, a certified project manager is someone who delivers a project within the agreed time and budget, according to the agreed quality. This includes two elements: a technical side, where you outline the process and necessary resources chronologically from 0 to the end result, and the actual management of that timeline and resources.

Is this function understood in the same way everywhere? There seems to be a lot of difference in interpretation?

PM is not a function but a role. You're the director of a production, just like a movie or play, and bring together the necessary people and resources to guide them in such a way that the desired result is achieved within the agreed budget and timing. Your project plan is the script. It's not improvisational theater. (laughs) A project manager is ultimately responsible for the result and therefore has the authority to make the necessary decisions. Is a team member sick and no one can cover? Then maybe you have to outsource. Does a team member want leave? The PM decides because it must fit within the project plan.

This authority is difficult for many companies because they like to stick to the conventional hierarchy. But if you don't give that authority, then it's just a 'project coordinator', and they're always the one in trouble. They have to be accountable for the result but have no say. So you get stuck due to absences in the team, waiting for authorization, etc. To achieve results, you need to empower project leaders.

PMI provides guidelines for standardizing projects worldwide - the so-called PM Body of Knowledge. How would you describe that book?

The PMBoK is a current, international reference work of best practices and an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard. Project management can be approached in the same way all over the world. This reference work is compiled by PMI members from various countries, who are currently working on the 8th edition. Project management is an art, not a science. We don't describe models specific to project management. There are fixed focus areas such as communication, cost estimation, or risk analysis, but you manage those within a project using common models.

What qualities does a project manager need today?

In this regard, we talk about the 'Talent Triangle'. There are important technical skills such as the ability to apply various techniques and methodologies in each project phase.

In addition, there are important leadership skills, which we call 'Power skills'. These used to be called 'soft skills', but we don't use that term anymore. Because these skills are really crucial for influencing stakeholders and effecting change: empathy, collaboration, innovative thinking, goal orientation, clear communication... Power skills are about maturity in approach, the ability to take the lead, and promote positive teamwork.

Finally, there are also strategic and business skills that are related to experience: the necessary insight to make good decisions, seeing the bigger picture, understanding how the project fits into the business strategy and global trends.

What place does the project manager occupy within the broader management team?

The client is the project sponsor, often the CEO or a board member, who determines the scope he wants, what he wants to achieve. Often, projects are grouped into a number of programs that pursue the same value creation.

The program manager oversees the programs in which the company invests to create the necessary value. So, reducing a company's energy consumption by 20% is a program for which we can initiate a portfolio of projects.

A portfolio manager oversees the overview of the various projects of a company. Are all projects on track? Where does correction need to be made? How will we achieve the desired business objectives with the results of the projects?

And each PM oversees a project: budget, timing, and quality. He or she will always provide feedback on changes that affect these. The coherence between these links is crucial: what strategy are we contributing to and how? Are we investing in the right things? You don't want to start projects you'll regret.

Certain skills are gaining importance; we've already talked about 'power skills'. What other focal points do you see in the future?

Data literacy is becoming more important because big data play a bigger role in projects. Just like AI, which is also becoming a crucial investment. PM is also increasingly going hand in hand with an ESG policy. As a project manager, you need to have the right mindset about environment, social justice, and responsible leadership. And finally, Western countries are also socially and culturally progressive. Culturally responsible leadership is a must-have, with diversity, inclusion, and justice as keywords. PMs must be able to collaborate, recruit, and train.