While I write about project management and have extensive experience in project management, I consider myself to be a person in the education/learning sector. This is where I am passionate – learning/education. I don’t see myself doing any other.
In preparation for this article, I began looking at quotes about learning and education. There are many inspiring words (try Google “education and learning quotations”) from some truly inspirational figures such as Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X, Benjamin Franklin, Aristotle and Aristotle. Excuse me? Who is Leo Buscaglia, you ask?
My research (i.e. Wikipedia Felice Leonardo “Leo” Buscaglia (31/03/1924 – 12/06/1998) was an American author and motivational speaker. She was a professor at the University of Southern California’s Department of Special Education.
He was also known by the name “Dr Love” (I believe this was after his 1972 book “Love”, and Love was a common theme in subsequent publications). I was looking for quotes about learning and education when I came across this quote from him: “Change is the end result all learning.”
It was kinda fun, you know! It got me thinking about project management and how it is actually two-fold.
How organisations learn project management knowledge and share it with others
Training/education in project management
Let me start with the first. I have seen that there is a real problem with project management practices being shared within departments, let alone across an enterprise.
Communities of practice can be a great way to build knowledge, share experiences, and learn from one another. However, after a flurry of activity when they are first set up, they often lose momentum, and end up ‘abandoned.
This is a shame, as they can be a great tool for learning and continuous improvement. They also help to bring about change in an organisation’s processes.
I have seen many great examples of communities that are active and self-sustaining. This is because the members initiate and keep the discussions going, rather than the facilitator. This is the key to community of practice.
Are you aware if your organization has a project management community? Are you a member of a project management community of practice? If not, why? Are you a member on other social media platforms such as LinkedIn? Are you an active member of other social media platforms like LinkedIn?
I have to admit that I don’t understand why someone contributes to LinkedIn project management discussion but not to their own organization’s community. However, posting interesting articles, tips and research publications on LinkedIn will almost certainly be helpful and interesting for your own community.
It is too late to learn and make a difference!
Let’s move on to the second point, which is about project management education/training. Why should we take project management training/education (or any other training/education). To learn. To improve ourselves. To make a difference in our organization and ourselves.
All learning leads to change. If learning is not about the end result, why bother?
Projects deliver change. You are looking to improve your ability to deliver change through project management education. You are still learning how to make change work better.
You are paradoxically learning how to manage projects better. This may require you to update your project management operating model. This will require you to create a project. You see the paradox?
This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to change. Which
