Career Development

How do I develop myself as an excellent, in-demand, superstar project manager? What training courses should I take? And how effective are training courses anyway? What is PMP certification and will it help me? What personal skills do I need? Which ones are most related to success as a PM? Should I find a mentor or a coach, and what should I expect from the relationship? How do I become a coach or mentor for other PMs? What are potential career paths in project management? What types of work will project managers typically do at different levels of experience? How can I facilitate the upward mobility of my career and not get blocked for advancement? I want to fast track my advancement or reach high levels of the organization. What sort of project work should I seek to accomplish this? We'll examine these questions and more in our learning groups, discussions, and research.

• TEMPLATE
  This one-page Project Manager Development Profile allows comprehensive assessment and development planning for individual project managers across categories such as management skills, career ambition, and short- and long-term growth potential. Appropriate as an individual coaching/assessment tool as well as a guideline for personnel growth and assignments.
• ARTICLE
  What skills are the executives really looking for? What moves a PM from "good" to truly outstanding? Executives share the qualities they describe as indispensible in Cinda Voegtli's article, "The Medal-Worthy PMs Executives Are Desperate To Hire." (Member login required.)
• TEMPLATE
  Priorities, Goals and Actions Alignment Worksheet to help you capture critical personal goals, prioritize them, and develop personal action plans aligned with those priorities.
• CHECKLIST
  Our PM Support Website Requirements Checklist prioritizes requirements for an internal site to supporting an organization's project managers and teams.
• BOOKS
  See our book list for books on career development.
• TEMPLATE
  Download our Project Manager Support Survey. It provides a short survey form for determining what training and support your Project Managers feel they, their team members, and related functional managers need to set their projects up for success. This same support will strengthen everyone's skills and enhance their career development.
• PRESENTATION
  Knowing how to successfully accomplish all the tasks, issues, and challenges a PM faces often requires more than formalized training. For most effective skill development, we need support mechanisms that help managers continually apply what they've learned in courses and expand their knowledge and capabilities as they encounter a wide variety of projects and situations. Our presentation "Paths to Practical Know-How: Crucial Learning Beyond Training" discusses how communities of practice and project support groups can promote ongoing knowledge and best practices exchange among their project managers, project facilitation and consulting help, and online how-to resources to ensure just-in-time learning throughout our projects.
• GUIDELINES
  The PMP Exam Study Group Guidelines provide guidelines for establishing and running a study group of project managers who are preparing to take the Project Management Institute (PMI®) certification exam to become a Project Management Professional (PMP). It defines who is involved in the study group, the level of commitment required from all members, study buddies, and a schedule for week-by-week studying of the PMBOK® (Project Management Body of Knowledge), on which the PMP exam is based. The PMP exam is very challenging and requires significant preparation - hours and hours of study - to pass the first time. This study group approach was created by members of a special interest group in PMI®, the Women in Project Management (WiPM) SIG. Their goal was to bring a structured schedule, peer group support, and wisdom and assistance from project managers who have already passed the exam, to the sometimes lonely and daunting task of exam preparation.