Developing the
Entrepreneurial Skills of
Project Managers
Please
PMO
EXECUTIVE
note that theCOUNCIL
CEB program
IT names referenced in this document
PRACTICE
have
changed since the time of publication.
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PMOEC0781011SYN-CEB
PMOEC0781011SYN
79
Making Your PMO Adaptive
Shift PM development
focus from process skills
to entrepreneurial skills.
THE COMMITMENT TO ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILL
DEVELOPMENT IS LOW
Percentage of Project Manager Population by Types of Development Received
82%
53%
34%
30%
24%
23%
20%
9%
Methodology
(Waterfall)
Technology
Agile/Iterative
Methods
Risk
Management
Process Skills
n = 492 PMs.
PMOs devote 70% of
development effort to
improve process skills.
PMO EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
Please
note that the
CEB program names referenced
IT this
PRACTICE
in
document have changed since the time of publication.
www.pmo.executiveboard.com
PMOEC0781011SYN-CEB
PMOEC0781011SYN
Source: 2011 Project Manager Effectiveness Diagnostic; PMOEC Analysis.
Leadership
Stakeholder
Management
Entrepreneurial Skills
Business
None
80
Focus your development
effort on average
performing PMs rather
than your worst and best.
FOCUS YOUR DEVELOPMENT EFFORT ON MID-LEVEL
PERFORMERS
Overall Effectiveness Impact of Moving from Bottom to Top of Each Decile
■
■
Moving one performance
decile—for instance,
improving from the seventh
to the sixth decile—has
a measurable impact on
overall effectiveness.
Most value comes from
training these PMs.
9.9%
The largest marginal impacts
are in the middle of the
performance distribution.
7.7%
6.1%
5.8%
5.9%
5.3%
4.4%
3.8%
3.1%
Bottom
Decile
3.1%
9th
8th
7th
6th
5th
4th
3rd
2nd
Top Decile
n = 492 PMs.
PMO EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
Please
note that the
CEB program names referenced
IT this
PRACTICE
in
document have changed since the time of publication.
www.pmo.executiveboard.com
Source: 2011 Project Manager Effectiveness Diagnostic; PMOEC Analysis.
PMOEC0781011SYN-CEB
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Developing the Entrepreneurial Skills of Project Managers
81
Making Your PMO Adaptive
Allocate development
effort based on the
distribution of PMs in
performance bands as
well as their tenure as
PMs.
DEVELOPMENT EFFORT ALLOCATION MODEL
Recommended
Allocation of
Development Resources
Total Relevant Project Management Tenure
> 10 Years
5–10 Years
< 5 Years
Low Priority
Medium Priority
Low Priority
High Priority
Medium Priority
Medium Priority
High Priority
Medium Priority
Bottom Quartile
Second and Third Quartiles
Top Quartile
Performance Band
PMO EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
Please
note that the
CEB program names referenced
IT this
PRACTICE
in
document have changed since the time of publication.
www.pmo.executiveboard.com
PMOEC0781011SYN-CEB
PMOEC0781011SYN
Low Priority
Source: 2011 Project Manager Effectiveness Diagnostic; PMOEC Analysis.
■
50% to High Priority
■
35% to Medium Priority
■
15% to Low Priority
82
Allocate 70% of PM
development effort to
experiential learning.
EXPERIENCE IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE TEACHER
The “70-20-10” Model of Employee Development
Allocation of Effort
Work Experience
On-the-job learning: All learning
that employees derive from the
tasks or activities they engage in
as part of their work within their
current roles; sources of on-thejob learning include:
70%
Work Experience
20%
10%
Relationships
■
Working with difficult
customers or clients,
■
Working with multiple people
who have competing views,
■
Temporarily filling in for
manager,
■
Working with recognized
expert,
■
Persuading senior managers
to take a difficult action, and
■
Shadowing a coworker
to observe performance.
Formal Training
PMO EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
Please
note that the
CEB program names referenced
IT this
PRACTICE
in
document have changed since the time of publication.
www.pmo.executiveboard.com
PMOEC0781011SYN-CEB
PMOEC0781011SYN
Source: CLC Learning and Development research; PMO Executive Council research.
Developing the Entrepreneurial Skills of Project Managers
83
Making Your PMO Adaptive
On-the-job learning
is three times more
effective in boosting
performance than formal
training programs.
A WORTHWHILE FOCUS
Comparison of On-the-Job Learning and Formal Training
Impact of Learning Methods on Employee Performance
(as Reported by the Manager, Indexed to 100 Points)
Employees with high
exposure to on-the-job
learning activities are more
likely to be highly engaged.
= 3x
Impact on
Employee Performance1
■
84
300
100
Formal Training
Programs
On-the-Job
Learning
Source: CLC Learning and Development research.
Additional Benefits of On-the-Job Learning
■ Reduced training expenses
■ Reduced time-to-productivity
■ Increased sharing of best practices
1
PMO EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
Please
note that the
CEB program names referenced
IT this
PRACTICE
in
document have changed since the time of publication.
www.pmo.executiveboard.com
PMOEC0781011SYN-CEB
PMOEC0781011SYN
Each bar represents a statistical estimate of the maximum total impact on employee performance each learning method will produce. The total impact
includes the method’s direct impact on performance as well as any indirect impact it may have through employee attitudes. The maximum total impact
is calculated by measuring the predicted difference in application between the lowest and highest value on each method. The impact of each method is
modeled separately.
Ensure PMs are exposed
to the right activities that
enable them to extract
and apply learning
to work.
THE PATH TO PERFORMANCE
Model for Unlocking the Value of On-the-Job Learning
Exposure
Challenge #1
Exposing PMs to on-thejob activities with relevant
learning.
Key Questions
■ What are the activities
that result in the highest
levels of application?
■
How do we ensure that
PMs get exposed to highvalue learning activities?
+
Extraction
Application
Performance
Challenge #2
Enabling PMs to effectively
capture learning and apply it.
Application
Key Questions
What are the behaviors
of the most effective
on-the-job learners?
■
■
How do we equip PMs
with the skills and tools to
extract and apply
learning on-the-job?
■
How do we activate
the support network
to create the conditions
for PMs to extract learning
from work and apply it to
their jobs?
The amount of what a PM learned
from an activity that he has been
able to use (i.e., put into action)
in his work
PMO EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
Please
note that the
CEB program names referenced
IT this
PRACTICE
in
document have changed since the time of publication.
www.pmo.executiveboard.com
PMOEC0781011SYN-CEB
PMOEC0781011SYN
Source: CLC Learning and Development research; PMO Executive Council research.
Developing the Entrepreneurial Skills of Project Managers
85
Making Your PMO Adaptive
Although there is a little
deviation in performance
among the types of
projects that a PM
manages, we cannot
statistically differentiate
between the usefulness
of exposure to any
specific project type.
86
EXPOSURE TO SPECIFIC PROJECT TYPES IS NOT
MEANINGFUL
Overall Effectiveness Score by Project Type
Meets or
Exceeds
Expectations
Experience with specific project
types does not meaningfully
impact performance.
92
90
91.6
91.2
91.1
91.1
90.9
90.9
90.7
90.5
90.4
Somewhat
Meets
Expectations
Fails
Expectations
Collaboration Facilities Audit/Legal
n = 308 PMs. n = 260 PMs. n = 272 PMs.
PMO EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
Please
note that the
CEB program names referenced
IT this
PRACTICE
in
document have changed since the time of publication.
www.pmo.executiveboard.com
Business
Marketing/ Procurement Research
Process
Projects
Intelligence
Sales
and
Automation with Non-IT
Development
Components
n = 296 PMs.
n = 354 PMs.
n = 261 PMs.
n = 291 PMs.
Note: Differences of more than two points are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.
PMOEC0781011SYN-CEB
PMOEC0781011SYN
Source: 2011 Project Manager Effectiveness Diagnostic; PMOEC Analysis.
n = 278 PMs.
n = 294 PMs.
PMs who have experience
managing 4–5 types
of projects are most
effective.
EXPOSURE TO PROJECT DIVERSITY HELPS
DEVELOPMENT
Average Effectiveness of Project Managers by Breadth of Experience Across Project Types
■
Anecdotally, PMs with less
than three project types in
their toolbelt do not benefit
from diversity, while project
managers who manage more
than five types of projects
suffer from too much
diversity.
PMs with experience in
managing 4–5 project
types are most effective.
90.8
85.9
92.1
92.5
Meets or
Exceeds
Expectations
91.1
90.7
86.2
Somewhat
Meets
Expectations
Fails
Expectation
1 Type
2 Types
3 Types
4 Types
5 Types
6 Types
> 6 Types
n = 408 PMs.
PMO EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
Please
note that the
CEB program names referenced
IT this
PRACTICE
in
document have changed since the time of publication.
www.pmo.executiveboard.com
Note: Limited to PMs with at least three years of tenure.
Source: 2011 Project Manager Effectiveness Diagnostic; PMOEC Analysis.
PMOEC0781011SYN-CEB
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Developing the Entrepreneurial Skills of Project Managers
87
Making Your PMO Adaptive
Business rotations, often
reserved for the most
talented PMs, actually
provide the least benefit
to Entrepreneurs; they
provide much more
benefit to Process-Crats
and Apprentices.
A BUSINESS ROTATION BENEFITS PROCESS
PEOPLE MOST
Average Effectiveness of Project Managers by Experience Outside of Project Management
PMs with No Experience
Outside of Project
Management
99
PMs with One Year of
Experience Outside of
Project Management
Meets or
Exceeds
Expectations
101
90
85
85
79
Somewhat
Meets
Expectations
Fails
Expectations
Entrepreneurs
Process-Crats
n = 492 PMs.
PMO EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
Please
note that the
CEB program names referenced
IT this
PRACTICE
in
document have changed since the time of publication.
www.pmo.executiveboard.com
PMOEC0781011SYN-CEB
PMOEC0781011SYN
88
Source: 2011 Project Manager Effectiveness Diagnostic; PMOEC Analysis.
Apprentices
Ensure PMs are exposed
to the right activities that
enable them to extract
and apply learning
to work.
THE PATH TO PERFORMANCE
Model for Unlocking the Value of On-the-Job Learning
Exposure
Challenge #1
Exposing PMs to on-thejob activities with relevant
learning.
Key Questions
■ What are the activities
that result in the highest
levels of application?
■
How do we ensure that
PMs get exposed to highvalue learning activities?
+
Extraction
Application
Challenge #2
Enabling PMs to effectively
capture learning and
apply it.
Key Questions
■ What are the behaviors
of the most effective
on-the-job learners?
■
How do we equip PMs
with the skills and tools
to extract and apply
learning on-the-job?
■
How do we activate
the support network
to create the conditions
for PMs to extract learning
from work and apply it to
their jobs?
Performance
Application
The amount of what a PM learned
from an activity that he has been
able to use (i.e., put into action)
in his work
PMO EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
Please
note that the
CEB program names referenced
IT this
PRACTICE
in
document have changed since the time of publication.
www.pmo.executiveboard.com
PMOEC0781011SYN-CEB
PMOEC0781011SYN
Source: CLC Learning and Development research; PMO Executive Council research.
Developing the Entrepreneurial Skills of Project Managers
89
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