Pie in the Sky PMO

Last night’s PMOflashmob took place in the City of London, with a smaller group due to the holiday season we were able to get our heads together over beer and pies.

Discussions centred around things like the type of PMO people were working in; some of the pain points of working with PMs and senior management and the “chip on the shoulder” that some of PMO practitioners seem to carry.

What did we mean by this? Rather than PMOs getting ahead in businesses we always seem to be held back by people within the business ” not getting it”. We talked about the PMO and the practitioners within it needing a more business focus as well as project focus. The PMO is the bridge between the two, the part of the organisation that is there to help PMs deliver more successfully – not hinder them with policing tactics. With this business focus in mind, we probably all need to look inwards at ourselves and ask the question, “do we have the right kind of business skills to compliment our project management knowledge?”