Diversity of Thought: The Future of Project Management

DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT: THE FUTURE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

With global markets expanding, workplace Marcus Parker, Sr., PMP intellectual diversity has Adjunct Professor become a business Morgan State University necessity requiring project managers to embrace differences and change. Project management students and practitioners alike are seeing benefits from embracing diversity in order to achieve business results. As international business borders overlap, there is a growing need for both project management education and real-world project management application to reflect a greater diversity of thought.

WHAT IS DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT?

The idea that our thinking is shaped by our culture, background, experiences, and personalities is core to the concept of diverse thought (Tulshyan, 2019). There are over 30 types of diversities that project managers should consider when managing project teams to achieve organizational goals to deliver projects that meet the customer’s expectations (Reiners, 2019). This article explores the diversity of thought that was acquired through a variety of modalities, such as traditional classroom environments, professional non-profit dinner meetings, and guest lectures from industry thought-leaders. Students had the opportunity to learn about the application of diversity of thought by attending a Project Management Institute (PMI), Silver Spring, MD Chapter dinner meeting. Additionally, students attended a series of guest lectures from industry thought- leaders, followed by in-class discussions on key takeaways designed to help each student develop their unique leadership style. EDUCATION AND GEOGRAPHICAL DIVERSITY The Spring 2020 Project Management (PROJ600) class at Morgan State University (MSU) serves as a great representation of the changing face of education, as it specifically relates to discipline of project management. The class consists of 16 students representing five countries: Nigeria, Saudi-Arabia, Cameroon, Liberia, and the United States of America. This cultural diversity is representative of the growing need for formal project management skills that can be applied globally. With trillions of dollars of capital projects being managed globally, there is a high demand for project managers that are educated in the language of project management and have the ability to apply the tools and techniques within the profession.

“The idea that our thinking is shaped by our culture, background, experiences, and personalities is core to the concept of diverse thought.”

EXPERIENTIAL, TECHNOLOGICAL AND ORGANIZATION CULTURAL DIVERSITY

The students attended a guest lecture from Mr. Chris Gonzalez, on the topic of proven techniques in a changing world. Mr. Gonzalez provided a masterful presentation with best practices for different organizational environments, such as organic, multi-divisional, matrix, and virtual. Mr. Gonzalez talked about the importance of effective communication and setting clear expectations for yourself and the team that you lead. He also expressed the importance of providing candid feedback to the team when they have achieved desired results, and especially when there are challenges. He also drove home important concepts of dedication to service and urging project managers “to implement a service-oriented mindset to drive results” (Gonzalez, 2020).

“As international business borders overlap, there is a growing need for both project management education and real-world project management application to reflect

a greater diversity of thought.”

Building on concepts introduced by Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Adam Nelson provided a guest lecture on the topic of effective communication to executives in global corporations, such as NTT Data, Inc. He shared that when developing the communications plan, project managers should have the “Headlines” of their project status prepared when reporting to executives, and that it is only necessary to dive deep in the project triple constraints (cost, schedule quality, resources, and risk) if requested by the executive project sponsor. He also expressed that “project managers should set up an early warning system (as part of the communication and risk management plans) that notifies them if the customer is not happy with the project’s current performance” (Nelson, 2020). The implementation of an early warning system is most beneficial to the process of risk mitigation. “Early mitigation action is often more effective than trying to repair the damage after the threat has occurred” (PMI, 2017, p. 443). Ms. Stephanie Groot provided valuable insight into the world of agile project management with her presentation on project success metrics, such as net present value and return on investment. She also discussed how teams using Agile methodologies can measure success through softer skill outcomes like “value delivered to the customers, commitments met, collaboration, and transparency” (Groot, 2020). Her presentation provided in-depth techniques for presenting success metrics that bridge the measurement gap between traditional project management metrics regarding budget and actual cost.

GENERATIONAL DIVERSITY

Project managers are faced with the ever-increasing challenges of leading and managing projects comprised of individuals that represent different cross-sections of generational talent. This is shown by the diverse students in the PROJ 600 class. With 5 generations (e.g. Traditionalists, Baby boomers, Generations X, Y, and Z) in the workforce, each generation has a unique set of skills and there is no one size fits all approach that can be taken to motivate and inspire the various generations of team members.

With the need for project managers on the rise across industries and technologies, it is only right that the education of project managers transcends the traditional classroom environment. It is imperative that we strike a balance with experiential, in-class, and virtual discussions surrounding the standards and best practices within the field project management such as, communicating effectively, clarifying project roles and responsibilities,

References: Gonzalez, Christopher. (2020). Topics in a Changing World, Project Management 600 Guest Lecture Series, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD.

Groot, Stephanie. (2020). Agile Success Metrics and How to Get Executive Buy-in. Project Management Institute (PMI) February Dinner Meeting, Silver Spring, MD.

Nelson, Adam. (2020). The Power of Communication, Project Management 600 Guest Lecture Series, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD.

Project Management Institute (PMI). (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). 6th ed. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc.

Reiners, Bailey. (October 2019). Type of Diversity in the Workplace You Need to Know: A Guide to 34 Unique Diversity Characteristics. Retrieved from https://builtin.com/diversity-inclusion/types-of-diversity-in-the-workplace

Tulshyan, Ruchika. (December 2019). Diversity of Thought, What Is It, and Why Is It Gaining So Much Traction? Retrieved from https://www.diversitywoman.com/diversity-of-thought/

Special thanks to the members of the PROJ 600 class: Faris Alnahaas, Ashley Bell, Tamara Combs, Diana Gbalah, Joan Gbalah, Princewill George, Alaa Hijazi, Oreva Iliromah, Babajide Kuforiji-Kehinde, Orlyse Mballa, Maria Martin, Olubukola Osituwo, Pennie Parker, Gloria Smalls, Nikita Sutton, and Amir Whitaker for providing their insights on diversity of thought through written assignments.

and developing technical and leadership competencies.