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The importance of capability not just experience.
The importance of experience is consistently touted through job interviews and tender invitations that require a minimum of ‘x’ years’ experience as a criterion for applying/taking part. However, is this easily quantifiable piece of information too basic as a gauge of ability in project management? If projects are unique, then aren’t we all starting from a similar position each time? And does the length of service as a PM genuinely indicate a capability to undertake the role?
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not suggesting that experience is necessarily detrimental or negatively correlated to capability. The point that I’m driving at is that there are without question, a lot of young (or even new to the discipline) project managers who would be able to deliver the goods across multiple sectors because of their proactive, soft skilled, adaptive approach. There also exists a group of PMs whose only credentials are based around longevity of service, who struggle to engage with teams and aren’t aware of the developing trends in their industry. I know who I’d rather have delivering my project. Or perhaps to phrase it clearer – I know what type of PM I’d like to have working on my project.
There are without question, a lot of young (or even new to the discipline) project managers who would be able to deliver the goods across multiple sectors because of their proactive, soft skilled, adaptive approach.
There are ways to establish which person is the right fit for a project – personality assessment, psychometric testing, simulations and more. These provide more of a rational guide to who is best suited to be a PM on a project than a measure that is only temporally based.
We can look at sport for examples here – the blooding of exciting young talents is a consistent theme in many of the most successful teams in the world, regardless of code. Wayne Rooney burst onto the soccer scene at 16 years old. Patrick Mahomes is the most recent Superbowl MVP at 24. Marnus Labuschagne made his debut in the test team at
23. Again, let’s acknowledge that you don’t rush an entire team of novices into a demanding league, you sprinkle the youngsters into a team that contains established players so that they get a chance to settle in and adjust to the rigours. The sporting analogy is slightly bias since elite physical prowess tends to fade far earlier than mental capacity.It remains a relevant model to follow however – back the ability which you have seen, and promote people based on their merits, not on their age.
Other factors come into play as well. Remember the era of the accidental project manager? That phenomenon is becoming less of a factor now with many Universities offering pre and post graduate courses on our discipline. What’s the value of a certified qualification in comparison with on the job experience? It’s difficult to tell, because it’s apples and oranges. Which is why the key aspect is the individual’s ability to interpret and utilise the information that they possess, rather than the association of competence through the passing of time.
So maybe it’s time to review how we judge the suitability of project managers for roles.
...back the ability which you have seen, and promote people based on their merits, not on their age.
Maybe more faith needs to be put into the people instead of the numbers. I was particularly disheartened when a panel discussion at last years National Conference concluded with the statement that people needed ‘battle scars’ before they could be considered a reliable, professional PM (or words to that effect). The crowd may have been a bit partisan in concurrence, as it primarily consisted of Generation X and older, which begged the question – where are the younger PMs? Have we so comprehensively marginalised them or have they received no financial backing from their companies to enable them to attend?
The industry needs new PMs to cope with the current and projected workload. The AIPM needs new PMs to sustain (and grow) its membership base. We should be doing everything in our power to actively encourage the participation of everyone possible in our discipline.
Let’s end by going back to sports, and one of the most famous examples of commentators curse ever. Alan Hansen, himself an excellent soccer player turned pundit, opined on national TV in England that ‘you can’t win anything with kids’, in reference to the Manchester United team of 1995. To say that he was proven wrong would be a slight understatement, as that team went on to win the league and cup double in that year as well as the next. Watch Alan’s mistake here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Es-RIBnba8
Poor Alan. At least he provided the inspiration for the headline of this article – yet in 25 years since this quote, the consistent reliance on experience as the fundamental indicator of competence has remained, and it is time this was challenged. Put the person first, not the number.
Maybe my opinion will change when I get another ten years under my belt, at which point it will probably be more to do with self-preservation than anything.
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