From “The Agilista PM” blog by Donna Reed.
In a recently “very candid” conversation with several long time clients, I asked them what they really wanted and needed from their PMs and Team Leaders? Everything they said described….
Agile PMs are exactly what they needed.
This is what they shared they needed:
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“We don’t care how they do the project – we want them to do what is best for the Project”
I loved this answer actually, because it told me they were more interested in delivering value to their customers than following a bunch of processes just for the sake of following a process. Many of them know their PMO’s have put process in place to help, but many of the hiring managers are wondering if there are too many processes and starting to make projects less productive !
Process doesn’t make a project succeed – people do.
They believe the “right” people make a project succeed, especially the people leading the projects. So when I shared the traits of an Agile PM with them – they got very excited and asked how they can find and hire them. Agile PMs know when and where to use project methodologies, practices, and tools. It is not always a cookie cutter answer – especially in IT projects that tend to be more complex with changing team resources.
I recommended they put the skills they want in the job descriptions – and interview for them. Don’t just rely on someone having some certification. Certifications tell you they knows about and how a methodology works – but it doesn’t tell you they know where and when to use this knowledge for all the types of projects out there to manage.
