In my previous blog I told you about the first dimension of the triple dialogue, and I teased you to join my lecture for the secret that I will reveal during the congress. You will learn about one fundamental value that you need as a foundation on which you can effectively build your professional development.

I still keep this a secret, but I will tell you how to determine if someone is not building on that foundation.

Do you know people that are not willing to accept feedback, people that always point towards their environment? Probably you do. These are project managers that have finalized their personal story. Senior ladies or gentlemen that act as if they are experienced, but are deaf to any feedback at all. That become agitated when you try to break their shells of ignorance. Do you know them, or do you recognize yourself in this description? Than you need to know about this fundamental value that is not present at all.

When I came in to contact with it, I was about 45 years of age, and it revolutionized my life. It slowly made me more open to feedback, it gave me more balance and above all it triggered a professional development I couldn’t imagine. Without this foundation, this personal dialogue I told you about wouldn’t be possible at all.

When you start this dialogue you will prepare the ground for an effective one in the second dimension, that of sharing experience with your colleagues. This is about giving but also accepting the lessons learned by others, something different that trying to have the loudest voice in order to become the top dog. This is about building a community of collaborative learning. But more about that in my next blog.

Hope to meet you on the web, or on the second day of the conference on 14:45hr, September 30^th in Diamond Room 2.  More info>>

During the IPMA World Congress I will lecture about developing the project management competence within people and organizations. As a teaser to visit me during the congress I will share some thoughts with you in this blog.

The role of the project manager was crucial and will become more crucial in achieving project success. The project manager needs to develop himself in order to cope with the inevitable changes caused by globalization. This requires a dialogue in three dimensions, this blog is about the first.

It is about a deep conversation with one’s inner motives, one of self-reflection based on what we know that good project management is. This is not a free ride, on the contrary, the dialogue is between competence and the many topics that are covered in the ICB, but also the new insights on project management. An honest self-reflection that results in a intrinsically motivated developmental plan of which certification could one of the milestones in this dialogue.

Most of us, we take the pragmatic route, we learn when we have to, but when our manager is giving us feedback during our year-end review we are more focused on our monthly raise than about the developmental needs that are communicated to us. It is easy to blame the environment and to play the role of a victim. But that’s not learning.

I think that to become the best project manager that you can become within your capabilities is a challenge that is worthwhile to engage in. It starts with an honest self-assessment and dialogue in this first dimension. But that is easier said than done, it requires one fundamental value on which you have to build as well your personal as professional life. What this is, and how to achieve it … that is something that I will reveal during my lecture on the second day of the conference on 14:45hr, September 30^th in Diamond Room 2. I hope to see you. More info>>