New research released in February has identified the top global project management trends for 2011; the key themes for this year include building the project manager’s influence, and accelerating new leadership and communication skills.

The survey of a global panel of consultants and senior executives, run by ESI International, showed that: “Leadership skills will be the project manager’s critical success factor.”

The study suggests that leadership skills, such as critical thinking, crucial communication and organisational change management, will be strategically imperative project management competencies to master for the contemporary business environment.

The survey reveals a second major trend for this year: There is a war on for project management talent, and visionary retention strategies and skills development will play a greater role in curbing poaching.

“Despite local businesses feeling positive about this year, as the recession is largely considered to be over, things have changed, and the challenges above exist and need to be addressed,” says Dennis Comninos, who directs the Strategic Project Management short course at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB).
The course develops high-level project management skills in South Africa.

“One thing is clear: We’re all in a new phase of doing things in 2011, and this will require business and government to step up their game to deliver results,” he adds.

Businesses in South Africa might have struggled in 2010, but they have an opportunity in 2011 to take a more strategic approach to their projects.

Selecting the right projects will be vital if companies want to achieve post-recession growth, points out Comninos, who is an international author and lecturer in project management.

“South Africa has a shortage of skilled strategic project managers – these are project managers who are critical and creative strategic thinkers, and they focus on business and strategy, and not only on methodologies and standards.”

And it is not only business that can improve on projects. Ill-chosen projects, poorly selected investments and a lack of strategic project management skills are what stand in the way of the government meeting its mandate to the people.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, quoted in a recent Financial Times article, said that “with clear timelines and goals, South Africa does have the capacity to deliver,” but he explained that “provincial, municipal and national departments have been unable to translate aspirations into concrete programmes.”

The UCT GSB course, run by the school’s Executive Education Unit, is a unique programme that aims to alleviate the shortages of high-level project management skills in South Africa. It is designed to equip experienced project managers with the concepts and skills to enable them to drive value from the execution of strategy through strategic projects and programmes.

“This course is by no means an introduction to project management. It is much more senior-level than that. Though one will get the traditional knowledge through the course, the approach in this course shifts focus and tries to stimulate critical thinking as well as encourage delegates to ask truly probing questions about leadership, governance, management, decision-making, ethics and trends,” says Comninos.

Co-presenting the course with Comninos is Chris van der Hoven, lecturer in Innovation at the Cranfield School of Management, and together they bring many years of experience and acute insight in project management, particularly in the form it should take in today’s business world.

The Strategic Project Management course will run from 28 March to 1 April. Applications close on 16 March. For more information, contact Mario Pearce on 021 406 1268.

www.rothko.co.za