For BEYONG HORIZON Column

The Road to Organizational Excellence

Suhail Iqbal, PE, PgMP, PMP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMI-ACP, CAPM, PME, MCT, PRINCE2 Practitioner

Individual project managers need to follow some standards or guidelines for

consistent project management practice which can be apparently seen by their
being good at what they do or by acquisition of certifications like PMP, PRINCE2
Practitioner of IPMA-Level C etc. I am not considering here Associate Level PM
expertise which is covered by certifications like CAPM, PRINCE2 Foundation or IPMA
Level D. Once you are a certified project manager, an organization can expect from
you at least a consistent level of project management practice which is generally
considered good. Simply by acquisition of a certification, you do not become the
best. To achieve higher levels of expertise in project management, one has to
enhance and develop her project management competency which could be through
experience or acquisition of advanced certifications like PgMP, P3O or IPMA Level B
certifications. PMI PMCDF and several other competency models provide a welldefined approach to competency development.

Simply by having good or best project managers in an organization, there is no

guarantee that the organization will mature. There are many other factors and
combinations of factors which make up to enhance an organizations maturity. Many
competent individuals working in diverse directions may not result in desired level
of maturity where an average team working in tandem may give better results. So it
is not only the competence that is the single factor in organizational maturity.

Organizational Governance and its impact on Program and Project Governance is

pronounced and can be yet another factor in organizational maturity. As an
organization matures it goes through an Organizational Learning cycle which entails
enhancement of Organizational Intelligence through Organizational Creativity and
Technological Knowledgebase. Maturity Levels are simply steps or stages to reach to
a higher pedestal but is not an end in itself. The ultimate level of excellence an
organization can envision and achieve through these various levels of maturity,
would ultimately lead the organization to its Organizational Excellence, naturally
with contribution from yet other factors which may be strategic in nature.

The link between Organizational Governance and Organization Excellence

somewhere crosses over the role of PMO from basic level to enterprise/strategic
level. In all levels of maturity PMO has a role to play and is instrumental in
translation Organizational Governance into Program or Project Governance, thus

establishing best practices for developing respective program/project management

plans. The existence of PMOs at enterprise, strategic or portfolio level speak of
higher maturity levels as well as the reach of the organization to excellence.
These roles may become pronounced when we are dealing with Program
Management, where some roles will become more important while others would be
relegated to the project managers. Similarly, in Portfolio Management, the same
may happen at further abstraction level. It is time now for all project management
professionals to understand that they have to prepare for the future and prepare
expertise in all these emerging areas, especially planning and scheduling, which is
just around the corner. I strongly recommend all newly certified PMPs to opt for PMISP certification, if they can afford it. They just have to add a little more scheduling
related preparation to their already fresh knowledge of PMBOK. Similarly, I
recommend the natural next step to be PMI-RMP, which I intend discussing in detail
in one of my future articles.

Authors Profile

Suhail Iqbal, PE, PgMP, PMP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMI-ACP, CAPM, PME, MCT, PRINCE2 Practitioner
Project Management Trainer, Consultant and Researcher with an experience of over 30 years, last 10
years specifically dedicated to the discipline of project management. Had been involved in development
of OPM3 2nd Ed, PMBOK Guide 4th & 5th Ed, Program Management Standard 1st & 2nd Ed and Portfolio
Management Standard 1st & 2nd Ed. Served as PMI Islamabad Pakistan Chapter President, Component
Mentor Asia, PMI Member Leadership Institute Advisory Group, Chairman APFPM, and Vice President
Education Islamabad ToastMasters Club. Currently Regional Director PRMIA Pakistan Chapter, Vice
Chair Mensa Pakistan and Director-at-Large with PMI Pakistan Islamabad Chapter. Associated with PMI
EdSIG, Consulting SIG and many other Specific Interest Groups. Research Scholar at ISGI ESC Lille,
France with over 12 publications to his credit. Specialize in Organizational Maturity, OPM3 and
Creative Leadership.