The Power of Certifications

I am a big believer in the power of certifications.  In this belief, I have pursued certification and drive to maintain my certifications.  Most certifications are for niche skills.  I have a PMP which I find is useful for project management.  The PMBOK is a good framework for planning, controlling, and closing projects. It has been very valuable for me as a program, project, and product manager.  I still use the tools that I developed from the preparation it took to achieve the certification.

I am also want to talk about the CM certification.  The CM or Certified Manager is a certification that I value.  It is not designate niche skills, it helps to identify me as skilled in general management.  One area that I think that IT, PMP, and other specialized certifications fall short is in the area of general management.  In order to be effective as a technical person, you have to know how your project or function affects the business of the organization.

I have used these skills more and more often as I moved up the later.  A project manager manages the project, but also the people doing the work and the people who can influence the project.  A project manager must be able to read financial statements.  A project manager has to recognize the business environment.  These are all skills that I demonstrated through earning the CM.

The CM is administered through the Institute of Certified Professional Managers or ICPM.  It is a business center of James Madison University.  I value this certification so much, I decided to become a member of the Board of Regents for ICPM.

Check them out.

Continuously Improve Yourself

Project managers need to have a plan to continuously improve themselves.  Technology is changing at a rapid pace.  This rapid pace means the projects we work on change, the means and tools which we use to get work done change, and the people and organizations we serve become more technologically advanced.  Project managers need to have the skills to keep up with this fast pace change.

We all know those people and organizations who have refused to change and update their technical skills and those people and organizations have found themselves left out of the new economy.  I have learned that learning new skills opens up many more opportunities for me as a project manager.  This is important if the project manager is contemplating a job change or industry change.

The good news about this is that many organizations require a certain number of PDUs (Professional Development Units) for a person to maintain their certifications.  I have several certifications (PMP, CM, and SMC) and I am continually on the look out for PDUs that I can use to not only continue my certification, but to upgrade my skills.  Even after multiple decades and hundreds of projects, my skills still need to be upgraded and refreshed.  Anyone who thinks they are done learning, I will tell them they are wrong.

Being a project manager means continually learning and continually upgrading the skills that a project manager needs to face the challenges of the future.