Safe in their hands

Programme manager profiling is still in its infancy. Our early studies carried out on 154 successful programme managers have been indicative, but one thing is clear the level of variation in the population of successful programme managers is much greater than in successful project managers.

Some things, however, we do know: there is no requisite for a programme manager to have a strong project management background; almost 52% of our sample had line management and operational backgrounds. And there are some indications that project managers with long track records of success often have characteristics that are contra-indicated for programme management – such as an intolerance of uncertainty.

We are in a position where we can definitely identify people who will NOT make good programme managers and can indicate candidates with a good probability of success. We can also identify where their KASEN (knowledge, skills, attitude, experience and network) needs bolstering or support, but until we have completed our researches the influence of environmental and organisational factors on the individual profiles chances of success can not be reliably modelled. Our approach is based on three distinct assessments.

The first is a profiling of the types of experience the individual has had. There are certain groups of experiences that are necessary. The second is to determine style and approach and is derived from their EI (emotional intelligence) quotient. (This is a modern equivalent of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment). The third is an assessment based on observation and evaluation of a characteristic programme management activity compared against that as carried out by experienced programme managers.

The synthesis of these three allow us to develop a profile that describes likely performance and shortfalls by comparing their measures against those required to fulfil the four programme roles of benefits management, delivery management, change management and design authority. What our research is focusing on is how these four roles vary according to programme type, organisational structures and stakeholder mix. Of all the appointments made by an organisation in their change management, choosing the right individual to lead the programme is the most crucial.

CITI, and others researches, continue to seek ways of making this choice less risky. We will report progress!