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Be an Agent of Transformation

Change is a constant in today’s business world — and project managers have an essential role to play. Transformation is one of the biggest buzzwords in business these days: Digital transformation, agile transformation, cultural transformation, the list goes on. What exactly is transformation, and why is it important? Learn more about how you can be a changemaker!

Key Takeaways

• Transformation is a reimagining of how elements of work get done.
• It can happen at any scale and in any part of the business.
• Project managers don’t just manage transformations identified by others; they can be agents of transformation.

PMI Picks provides the following info and tips:

Put simply, transformation is a way to reimagine an organization, or part of an organization, to make it more successful. With technology driving change in many areas — shorter product cycles, faster delivery, more automation, etc. — organizations can’t just tweak how they work, they must fundamentally reimagine how things get done, and potentially even what it is that they do. That’s transformation.

Transformation is often discussed at the enterprise level, but it can occur at any scale, and in any area of the business. That’s why project managers need to understand the concept and help your organization to embrace it. But what does that mean in practical terms for your day-to-day work?

Think about most of the projects you have been involved with. Most of them have involved predictable evolutions of existing ways of working. That might have been new features on a product, improvements to an existing system, or replacing an old piece of software with a new application that is more effective and efficient at doing the same thing. On the other hand, transformation doesn’t assume that you must start from the current state, it questions whether there is a completely new approach. Instead of improving an existing process, it asks whether that process is even needed, or whether it can be eliminated or replaced. As a project manager you have an opportunity to question many aspects of your work:

• The solution you are being asked to develop and its functions and features
• The approach to developing that solution
• The way your team will work together
• The way the project will be managed
• Relationships with stakeholders 

The list goes on, but you get the idea. Questioning the assumptions around all of these will identify opportunities to transform, and that, in turn, will improve the business. Of course, if you suddenly decide to take a whole new approach to how you are managing the project, then the project management office (PMO) may have a few questions for you. But there’s nothing to stop you from taking your ideas to the PMO and explaining to them why you believe it is a better approach to project delivery.

Many transformation initiatives start with good ideas at the frontline of work delivery and are then supported by leadership as formal transformation initiatives.

And there are things that you can do independently. Project managers are increasingly empowered to adjust elements of their projects as they see fit to optimize performance. That means looking for innovative approaches, questioning accepted norms, and working with your teams to seek out novel solutions to problems.

The focus of transformation will always be on the massive, enterprise-wide initiatives, but transformation can, and should, be happening everywhere. Project managers are agents of change and should be at the heart of the drive to transform.