8 PROJECT MANAGER TODAY AUGUST 2005

I have already looked in previous issues atways organisations can improve their projectmanagement capability, and what innovationand learning practices they can adopt. This month - appropriately for the Educationand Training Sourcebook - I will be looking athow to develop the project managementcompetence of the people working for theorganisation. Competent individuals are one necessaryelement of the competence and capability ofan enterprise (Figure 1) but you have tounderstand:● what we mean by the competence of

people● the two essential components of

competence, tacit and explicit knowledge● the different competence required at

different levels of managementand● how to develop someone’s competence

Defining the competence ofindividualsAcross the continents there are threetraditions of defining what we mean by thecompetence of individuals (Crawford, 2003.)They are:● the input approach popular in

North America● the process approach popular in Europe ● the output approach popular in Australia

The input approachThis approach focuses on the knowledge, skillsand behaviours an individual needs to becompetent. By this approach, competence isdefined as follows (Crawford, 2003):● competence is the knowledge, skills and

personal attributes (motives, traits, self-concept) required by an individual to achieve superior performance

It is this view of competence that lies behindthe body of knowledge developed by theProject Management Institute (PMI) in theirProject Management Body of Knowledge(PMBoK) and their project managementprofessional (PMP) certification programme.

The process approachThis approach focuses on what people need tobe able to do to deliver their objectives. For a

project manager, that means what functions orprocesses they need to be able to undertake tosuccessfully deliver their project. It is this view of competence that lies behindthe Baseline of Competence produced by theInternational Project ManagementAssociation’s (IPMA) ICB, and the NationalCompetency Baselines derived from it. PMI’s PMBoK does describe projectmanagement process, the eleven PMBoKfunctions, but the focus is more on theknowledge and skills required to implementthem, rather than on what the project managerneeds to be able to do. IPMA focuses more on what the projectmanager needs to be able to do, rather than theknowledge and skills required.

The output approachThis approach focuses on what people aremeant to be able to deliver. By this approach,competence is defined as follows (Crawford,2003):● competence is demonstrable performance

in accordance with occupational, professional, and organisational competency standards.

It is the view of competence that lies behindthe project management competencystandards developed by the Australian Instituteof Project Management (AIPM). However,occupational and professional competencystandards have also been produced in the UKfor project management, by, for instance, the

Engineering Construction Industry TrainingBoard (ECITB) under an initiative calledNational Vocational Qualification (NVQs). Closer to home, a job description is anorganisational competency standard thatdescribes what somebody has to be able todeliver in their job, and the standards to whichthey need to be able to do it.

An integrated viewThe input approach above talks about superiorperformance, whereas the output approachtalks about demonstrable performance inaccordance with standards. Crawford (2003)combined the two approaches into a singledefinition of competence:● Competence is

• knowledge• skills• personal characteristics (motives, traits,

self-concept)● required to achieve demonstrable

performance in accordance with occupational, professional, and organisational competency standards

I said in a previous article that an organisationshould maintain its project managementprocedures. Those will define what knowledgeand skills a project manager needs and whatthey need to be able to do. For a given role inthe enterprise - that is for a project manager ata given level - the relevant elements will beincorporated into the job description for thatrole. The job description should also describe

Building enterprise project management capability 5Developing the competence ofproject management personnelby Professor J. Rodney Turner

10 PROJECT MANAGER TODAY AUGUST 2005

the personal characteristics required by therole. I will come back to job descriptions later.

Implicit versus explicit knowledgeA concept I introduced in the last few monthswas the difference between implicit (or tacit)knowledge and explicit knowledge. As long ago as 300BC, the Greek philosopherPlato discussed the difference between thestructured knowledge someone has, whichthey get primarily from education and trainingcourses they attend, and inherent knowledgethey have, which they get from theirexperience. More recently the idea has beenrevisited by Polanyi (1967) and Nonaka andTakeuchi (1995), Table 1.

● Explicit Knowledge: This is structured,codified knowledge, as set out in systems andprocedures, that an individual learns primarilyfrom attending courses as part of an extendededucation or short-term training programme● Implicit or Tacit Knowledge: This ispersonal or inherent knowledge a person has,which they have built up primarily through on-the-job experience. They cannot define ordescribe it, but they have to be able to draw onit to be able to do their job.

Kolb’s Learning Cycle,(Figure 2), (Kolb, 1984;Turner, Keegan andCrawford, 2003), illustrateshow an individual buildsboth implicit and explicitknowledge by combiningformal education and on-the-job experience, andhow the two reinforceeach other. A person gathersexperience on-the-job,which enables them toobserve and reflect. Thatenables them to build upabstract generalizationsand concepts, which will be reinforced throughcourses. They can then test their experiences,to enhance them and gather more and betterexperiences. In a previous article I referred to Nonaka andTakeuchi’s learning cycle. I think that refersmore to the way organisations learn anddevelop enterprise wide capability, whereasKolb’s learning cycle refers more to the wayindividuals learn.

An illustrationTo illustrate the idea behindimplicit and explicitknowledge, and the differentkinds of competence Idescribed above, I use amodel shown to me manyyears ago (Figure 3). This saysthat competence has threecomponents illustrated by theverbs:● I know● I can do● I adapt and apply

At the core of their competence, people needexplicit knowledge, cognate rules they canapply to do their work. That gives them skills.They are able to apply that knowledge inroutine ways. But they don’t begin to becomecompetent until they can take that knowledge,and routine skills, and adapt it to be able toaddress the unique situations they face. Beingable to adapt and apply the knowledge comesfrom their experience of applying it in unique,unusual situations. It is like learning a foreignlanguage.

1. You need knowledge: consisting of vocabulary and grammar.

2. Once you have enough knowledge, enoughvocabulary and grammar you can composesimple routine sentences. You can do this drawing on explicit knowledge, translating the sentences word by word, and then applying your knowledge of grammar.

3. Once you can compose enough sentencesyou can hold conversations. You don’t beginto become truly competent until you

can hold conversations. To hold aconversation you rely almost entirely onimplicit or tacit knowledge. You cannot thinkof what to say in your own language andthen translate it; you need to be able tospeak spontaneously.

4. My French teacher at school told us that hethought he was really competent at Frenchwhen he began to dream in French.

In project management terms this means:● Knowledge: you need to know the

mathematics of critical path analysis and earned value analysis

● Skills: you need to be able to apply that knowledge to work out solutions to standard problems in skill tests such as thePMP test

● Competence and performance: but you don’t have true competence and you don’t begin to perform until you can apply those concepts in unfamiliar situations to manage cost and time on your current project (process competence) and so manage the performance of the project to deliver it within time and budget (output competence)

Explicit knowledge as an entry ticket tocompetenceI have identified above several components ofcompetence● explicit and implicit knowledge, skills and

personal characteristics● the ability to be able to put those together

to undertake functions and processes in unfamiliar situations

● the ability to be able to undertake those functions and processes to deliver successful results

There is growing evidence that explicitknowledge is only an entry ticket competenceto be able to perform in a given role. By that Imean you need to have a basic level of explicitknowledge to be able to fulfil the role at all. Butonce you have that basic explicit knowledge,more explicit knowledge does not make tomore competent. It is more of all the otherthings that makes you more competent, andyou only get that through experience.

Table 1: Implicit versus explicit knowledgeImplicit knowledge Explicit knowledge

Plato (300BC) called it Right opinion PhilosophyPolanyi (1967) called it Tacit knowledge Explicit knowledgeNonaka and Takeuchi (1995) called it Implicit knowledge Explicit knowledgeNature Cognate CodifiedPrimary source Experience Education

12 PROJECT MANAGER TODAY AUGUST 2005

The PMP exam tests the basic level of explicitknowledge, so it tests that you have the entryticket knowledge required. If you can’t pass thePMP exam, you can’t be competent as a projectmanager. But it doesn’t test the other dimensionsthat you need to be fully competent. The IPMAcertification process tries to test some of theother dimensions, particularly at the higherlevels, but personally I am not sure how well itdoes that (but at least it tries).

Competence at different stages orlevels of project managementFigure 3 also shows that at higher levels ofmanagement you need more knowledge. Indeed,it may not be so much as more knowledge asnew and different knowledge. So at a given levelof management, and in a given role, there is anentry ticket level of knowledge to fulfil that role,and more does not make you more competent inthat role. However, you do need more, new anddifferent knowledge to become competent athigher levels of management and in other roles.Thus a person’s development needs to continue.This is the thinking behind IPMA’s four levelcertification process.There is a changing nature of the type ofcompetence you need as you rise through thelevels of management, Figure 4:

1. At lower levels, technical competence isvery important. You need to be able tomanage scope, time, cost, quality, etc. Somesocial competence is required; you need tobe able to work with other people.

2. At middle levels social competencebecomes more important. You need to beable to work with and manage people, andwork with people from a broader range ofbackgrounds. You also begin to need somestrategic competence.

3. At higher levels of management, social and strategic competence become increasingly important and technical competence less so.

Career pathsFigure 4 shows several levels of management,

Table 2, with increasing ranges of contact andincreasing responsibilities:● a team leader manages a team consisting

of a group of people of one function fulfilling a role on a project

● the junior project manager is responsible for a project consisting of several teams of different functions, but wholly within one company

● the project manager also has to manage relations with external suppliers and customers

● the senior project manager manages a large complex project involving people from a range of different types of industries

● the project director fulfils and executive role in the organisation, being responsible for several large projects and programmes.

I have shown the levels of PMI and IPMAcertification, though the exact comparison ofPMP with IPMA Levels of D and C is contentiousand I don’t really want to enter into that debate.

Within a given organisation, they will need todefine several parallel career paths, Figure 5.There will be paths for:● project managers● engineering managers● client managers● line managers

I was at a seminar at BeijingUniversity in September 2004where a manager fromMicrosoft presented theircareer paths. I have shownthe career paths as ladders(see figure 5); the managerfrom Microsoft called themswim-lanes and showedthem running horizontallyacross the page – ametaphor I quite like. Heshowed career paths for:● project management● programme and portfolio management● consultants● line managers● technical development

People usually spend most of their career in onepath or swim lane. However, enlightenedorganisations do let people change, evenencourage them to change up to about level three.

I have also shown career paths for managers tothe right and support or technician grades to theleft. I firmly believe that most projectmanagement roles are to the right, and that iswhat I have shown in Table 2, but listening tosome people talk, you might be forgiven forthinking that project management grades aresupport or technician grades to the left.

Job descriptionsI mentioned above the need for job descriptionsto define organisational competence standards.An organisation will need to write jobdescriptions for each of the levels ofmanagement as suggested in Figure 5, and foreach of the career tracks it maintains. Jobdescriptions will define the knowledge, skills,personality traits, experience and performancestandards required of each level, differentiatingthe different tracks. At each level there will be arange of desired competencies, as illustrated byFigure 4. The level of competence required atthat management level is usually defined at anumber of levels of performance, typicallyexcellent, very good, good, fair, poor.

Developing individualsThe job descriptions then form the basis fordeveloping people along each track, to ensure

that the organisation has a pool of competentpeople to fulfil the roles required.

Gap analysisWhen somebody is first promoted to amanagement level, their profile against thevarious competencies for that level will probablybe mainly fair to good. There may be one or twoat poor, one or two at very good to excellent.When they are about to be promoted to the nextgrade we expect them now mainly score very

Table 2: Levels of managementLevel 1 2 3 4 5 6

Role Team Team Junior pm Project Senior pm Projectmember leader manager director

Range of Single Single Several Several Portfolioscontact function company companies industries of projects

PMI PMP

IPMA Level D Level C Level B Level A

Figure 5

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good to excellent. When someone is looking toimprove their performance at their currentmanagement level, or to be promoted to the next,they will perform a gap analysis identifying thedifference between their current performance,and where they would like to get to. They will usethe job descriptions to assess the difference (orgap) between their current level of performanceand their desired level of performance. They maydo this on their own, or in conjunction with theirline manager or mentor, particularly at the timeof their annual appraisal. The identified gap willindicate what development the individualrequires. The individual can then plan how theyare going to close that gap:● If they need to improve their knowledge,

perhaps obtaining new knowledge for a newrole they have just been promoted into, theycan identify relevant courses, trainingprogrammes or education programmes

● If they need to improve their skills, they canidentify what particular experiences theyneed to give them those new skills. This doesraise a dilemma for organisations. Perhaps intheir annual review a person identifies thatthey need to work on a particularly type ofproject to get the development they need,and then shortly afterwards a project comeslong that would give them that opportunity.Does the organisation insist that they stay ontheir current project until it is finished, bywhich time the new opportunity will havepassed? Or do you move them to the newproject? Enlightened organisations will movepeople to the new project, unless the existingproject is just starting or about to finish.Organisations need to develop people todevelop enterprise project managementcapability, so it is in the organisation’s bestinterest to give the person the opportunity.Further it shows the organisation iscommitted to their development, and they aremore likely to stay with the company, rather

than looking elsewhere for the developmentthey need. And the existing project may offera development opportunity to someone else.

● Changing personality traits can be moredifficult, but organisations can help people toidentify their strengths and weaknesses, andto reinforce their strengths and nullify theirweaknesses.

Providing supportThere are many things organisations can do tohelp people develop their competence,(Crawford, 2003; Turner, Keegan and Crawford,2003). I am going to mention just a few.Assessment centres: These are structuredworkshops that typically last between one day toa week. They help people conduct their personalgap analysis and identify their training needs.They consist of individual and group experientialexercises, including simulations, problemsolving, interviews and presentations. Career committees: Many organisations willmaintain a committee of senior managers whoserole it is to watch over the development ofpeople. They will predict the future resourcingneeds of projects, looking many years into thefuture. They will keep track of the developmentof existing project managers, and try ensure thatfuture needs will be met. They will also work withindividuals and their managers to help themconduct their gap analysis and identifyappropriate development opportunities,including courses and project experiences. Onething they can help overcome is stopping selfish

managers holding onto their best people.Managers will want to retain their best people,but that can sometimes be bad for theindividual’s development (and we have alreadyseen that may cause them to leave thecompany). It can also be bad for the organisationwhich will want to develop people in the waythat is best for the organisation, not individualmanagers. The career committee can stop thathappening by taking an organisation wide view. Mentoring: Coupled with career committees ismentoring. This is the approach whereby eachjunior project manager is coupled with a moresenior manager who is perhaps one or twomanagement levels above. The mentor will notbe the individual’s line manager. The mentor willhelp the individual solve any problems they mightencounter and help them in their developmentplanning.Project management community: This can alltake place within the project managementcommunity which I have discussed in my lastthree articles.

ReferencesCrawford, L., (2003), ‘ Assessing and developing the projectmanagement competence of individuals’ , in J.R. Turner(editor), People in Project Management, Gower.Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H., 1995, The knowledge-creatingcompany, Oxford University Press.Polanyi, M., 1967, The Tacit Dimension, Doubleday Anchor.Turner, J.R., Keegan, A.E., and Crawford, L., (2003),’Delivering improved project management maturity throughexperiential learning’ , in J.R. Turner (editor), People inProject Management, Gower.

Rodney Turner is Professor of Project Management at the Lille Graduate School ofManagement, and chief executive of EuroProjex: the European Centre for ProjectExcellence, a network of trainers and consultants in project management. He is theauthor or editor of nine books. Past chairman of the APM, he has also helped toestablish the Benelux Region of the European Construction Institute as foundationOperations Director. Rodney received PMI’s 2004 Research Achievement Award atthe Global Congress in Prague in April 2004.E-mail: rodneyturner@europrojex.co.ukThis article was first published in Chinese, in Project Management Technology, published by ChinaMachine Press, Beijing.

task

milestone

budget

risk register

time/cost/quality triangle

PERT chart

resource

barchart

project initiation document

Baffled by Sudoku? Then meet the challenge of Projoku!

This puzzle from Geoff Reiss contains all youneed to run a project.You should complete thegrid so that every row, column and 3by3 cellcontains the nine items that every projectmanager needs.And there's a copy of Reiss andLeigh's 'One project too many' for the firstcorrect answer drawn at random from entriesreceived by 1 September. If you can scan yourentry as a jpeg, email your answer with yourphone number and address, or photocopyand fax it on 0118 932 6663.The answer will be in the September issue.