Proposals to Accelerate Advancement from Project Manager to Senior Executive

By Jean-Pierre Debourse, PhD, MSc
France
and
Russell D. Archibald, PhD (Hon), MScME, PMP
Mexico & USA

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This paper was originally presented and published at the 3rd International PMI Mexico PMTOUR 2011 Project Management Conference in June 2011.  It is republished here with permission of the authors. 

Abstract

This paper presents a brief summary of the results of a research project titled “Project Managers as Senior Executives” and more detailed conclusions and proposals that focus on the actual and potential progression of project managers to senior executive positions.

Sponsorship and Conduct of the Research Project on which this Paper is Based

This research project was co-sponsored by the Project Management Institute (PMI), the ESC-Lille (France) Graduate School of Management, Fonds Régional de Garantie Nord-Pas-de Calais, and CEL.LAB Université du Littoral. The full research results are based on analysis of the pertinent literature, extensive interviews with 25 senior executives and 20 project managers from 6 countries, and 557 responses from 20 countries to a questionnaire in English and French consisting of 77 questions. The full report was published in two volumes by PMI in May 2011 and is available for downloading by PMI members at no cost at http://www.pmi.org/Knowledge-Center/Research-Completed-Research.aspx . On-line access to the resulting data banks is available to authorized researchers through PMI.

Purpose of the Research

The purpose of this Research Project was to provide documented answers based on published and empirical evidence to these fundamental questions: Are project managers becoming and can project managers become senior executives? If not, what can be done to allow them to climb the ladder? What are the odds? How can a project manager better design her/his career development to take advantage of these opportunities?"

The issues that were studied include:

• The progression of project managers into upper management: reality or myth?
• Project manager evolution: tacticians versus strategists (technical, managerial, leadership).
  What project management competencies are essential for effective enterprise management in organizations?
• Define career paths in project management (project manager to program manager, vice-president/general manager, CEO, other senior executive.)
• What skills, competencies and experience should a project manager develop to be considered for these positions? Examples of areas to be considered are: tacticians versus strategists; business communication, MBA and other degrees.
• What, if any, are "best practices" in developing and promoting project managers to become corporate leaders?

The research intentions were to differentiate the data in meaningful ways, and to identify and make recommendations by major industries and types of organizations, such as project-driven versus project-dependent organizations.

More…

 

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About the Author Jean-Pierre Debourse, PhD Co-Author   Jean-Pierre Debourse, PhD, MSc, is Professor Emeritus and Director of Research at the University of Littoral (ULCO) in Dunkirk, France.  He is founder and Director of a research laboratory on Entrepreneurship and Project Management at ULCO, integrated in the LEM-National Scientific Research Center (CNRS) with team members from 7 universities; former Dean of the ESC Lille School of Management; and Professor Emeritus, the University of Lille.  With over 40 years of experience in project management and project management education, he was a founder of one of the first PM Masters Degrees in Europe in 1979, a founder of the Regional Development Agency of the North-Pas de Calais Region, and former CEO of Fonds Régional de Garantie.

About the Author Russell D. Archibald, PhD (Hon) Co-Author   Russell D. Archibald, PhD (Hon), MSc, PMI Fellow, PMP, is a globally recognized author, consultant and educator on project management.  His career spans more than 60 years with broad international experience in engineering, operations, program and project management, and executive management.  He has experienced three project management related careers: Management Consultant, Corporate Executive, and Military/Aerospace. In recent years Russ has consulted to a wide variety of large and small organizations in many sectors in 16 countries on 4 continents. He is a Fellow of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) (member No. 6, one of the five original trustees), an Honorary Fellow of the Association of Project Management (APM/IPMA) in the UK, and is listed in Who’s Who in the World.  Russ is the author of 3 editions of the best-selling book, Managing High-Technology Programs and Projects (1976, 1992, and 2003) also published in Italian, Russian and Chinese; and co-author of “Network-Based Management Information Systems (PERT/CPM)”, the first book on the subject in 1967.  Russ is now 87 years of age, semi-retired and living in Mexico.  More about Russ Archibald can be found at http://russarchibald.com/. Debourse and Archibald are lead authors of the two-volume research report published by the Project Management Institute in 2011 entitled “Project Managers as Senior Executives”.  Information about that report can be found at http://russarchibald.com/recent-papers-presentations/p-m-senior-executives/. Editor’s note: Second Editions are previously published papers that have renewed or continued relevance in today’s project management professional world, or which were originally published in conference proceedings or in a language other than English.  Original publication acknowledged; authors retain copyright.