Alastair Majury came across this article written by Darren Jaundrill, which I thought I should share.
This week's challenge to the profession.....
Project management is a young profession and please note my definition of profession. I see it not as an occupation, a role or a job but a profession where the scale, scope and reputation can easily be quantified as equal to if not surpassing the traditional professions we accept such as doctors, accountants or lawyers.
It can therefore be seen as nothing less than bizarre in the way in which we develop our profession. A quick course here, a degree there and a spot of mentoring for the more forward thinking. We have a competence framework but how many of us truely embrace the spirit of the framework and build our practice around it rather than defining ourselves upon it. We have a body of knowledge but how many of take that body of knowledge as written without the scholarly discussion and challenge we would find in other professions.
"Knowledge without experience is merely information" says Einstein and I am sure we would all agree with it and yet when we examine our methods of development and recognition we seem to embrace the opposite. Within our organisations we need to shift the focus to the driver. Do we want all of our project professionals holding a degree or their APMP or their PRINCE2 or their MSP? Or would it not be beneficial to aspire for them to hold their RPP? To be recognised by their professional body as holding the competence within their professional community of practice? For that we have to examine capacity, capability and competence.
My view on this is that it is a journey starting with early engagement exposure and leading ultimately to fellowship with each level emparting, coaching and mentoring those before whilst challenging those beyond. For those familiar with me this will be no surprise as I have made it well known my passion iis pt develop the professional practice from apprenticeship to fellowship. But the central facet is that of professional recognition. It is our development through the professional body of which knowledge and experience feed.
Having recently launched a work based development programme combining all of the above, I hope to report success in around a year's time but my question is to all of you out there - how are you developing your practice both personally, professionally and organisationally?
Original article is available here
This week's challenge to the profession.....
Project management is a young profession and please note my definition of profession. I see it not as an occupation, a role or a job but a profession where the scale, scope and reputation can easily be quantified as equal to if not surpassing the traditional professions we accept such as doctors, accountants or lawyers.
It can therefore be seen as nothing less than bizarre in the way in which we develop our profession. A quick course here, a degree there and a spot of mentoring for the more forward thinking. We have a competence framework but how many of us truely embrace the spirit of the framework and build our practice around it rather than defining ourselves upon it. We have a body of knowledge but how many of take that body of knowledge as written without the scholarly discussion and challenge we would find in other professions.
"Knowledge without experience is merely information" says Einstein and I am sure we would all agree with it and yet when we examine our methods of development and recognition we seem to embrace the opposite. Within our organisations we need to shift the focus to the driver. Do we want all of our project professionals holding a degree or their APMP or their PRINCE2 or their MSP? Or would it not be beneficial to aspire for them to hold their RPP? To be recognised by their professional body as holding the competence within their professional community of practice? For that we have to examine capacity, capability and competence.
My view on this is that it is a journey starting with early engagement exposure and leading ultimately to fellowship with each level emparting, coaching and mentoring those before whilst challenging those beyond. For those familiar with me this will be no surprise as I have made it well known my passion iis pt develop the professional practice from apprenticeship to fellowship. But the central facet is that of professional recognition. It is our development through the professional body of which knowledge and experience feed.
Having recently launched a work based development programme combining all of the above, I hope to report success in around a year's time but my question is to all of you out there - how are you developing your practice both personally, professionally and organisationally?
Original article is available here
