How to Strengthen Your Talent Triangle
In today’s context, it is becoming more difficult to continually innovate and make decisions. You are expected to take broader and challenging roles. PMI’s global survey, Pulse of the Profession 2017, says that there is a lack of talented project managers who can manage a project.
Organizations who have figured out how to align talent management and strategy, come out with better results and have a competitive edge. The demand for project managers is set to grow by 33% in India by 2027 along with 10 other countries.
These companies find success year-on-year with successfully implemented projects with project management practitioners who can demonstrate the combination of technical knowledge, leadership skills and strategic and management expertise, otherwise known as the Talent Triangle.
Transitioning from a Technical Guru to a Leader
Let’s assume that great project managers were technically brilliant once upon a time. It is the technical gurus with a unique skill set who get things done. It is because of them that we can continue to enjoy some of the best things the world has to offer.
If you have a technical guru in your company, then you are blessed. But at some point in their career, they will think about managing their own team or they may be told to manage one. Their transition usually goes smoothly, right?
Actually no. Most organizations have said that leadership skills is more important than technical skills to succeed. At this day, when we have teams spanning many countries, we need exceptional project managers.
If you code all day, you may not have the time to manage a team. This is where the leadership component comes into play. Project managers must learn to delegate tasks instead of coding.
They must have the ‘soft skills’ or the ‘people skills’ to manage a team. Talent Triangle is required for a project manager to demonstrate management, leadership, handling issues and communication.
We think that combining strong technical skills with leadership qualities, technical gurus can be best equipped with their future role as project manager.
Strategic and Business Management Units
In addition to technical acumen and leadership abilities, successful project managers understand business dialect and communicate effectively with stakeholders. The discussions when starting a new project like ROI, opportunities, etc., all fall under “Strategic and Business Management”.
Let’s get a better understanding of some of the units. We have divided them according to which units can be used inside and outside an organization.
Inside Your Organization
Business models and structures: Learn the trade by assessing, selecting, prioritizing, and tracking projects in your industry or inside your company.
Strategic planning, analysis, alignment: Learn the processes and tools in your company or your industry.
Business acumen: You can learn this by listening to other business leaders, listening to podcasts, reading books, and discussions.
Customer relationship and satisfaction: Learn how to send and track customer surveys, satisfaction scores, kano analysis, and feedback reviews.
Benefits management and realization: Teach yourself to measure project benefits which could include financial benefits, regulatory compliance needs, market share growth, and industry reputation.
Outside Your Organization
Industry knowledge and standards: Attending industry conferences, going to site visits, and field visits will improve your industry knowledge and exposure to standards.
Competitive analysis: Learn about feature comparisons, products, services, pricing structures, market shares, sales volumes, profit ratio, and growth rates.
Market awareness and conditions: Keep track of trends, new markets, technologies through publications or by discussing it with others in the industry.
We at SABCONS have recognized the fact that project managers can be transformed from good to great. Know more about Talent Triangle training and certification programs.