Translating 12 years of Military Project Management to the Civilian World 

There comes the point in your military career, where at the very end, you sit and wonder, what now? Most of us fear this time in our military careers; the Military has become a lifestyle and a (very) lengthy career stretch, we tend to wonder if we are any good at anything else. 

Military professionals have difficulty translating skillsets in preparation for the civilian workforce, but honestly, it is not as hard as it seems! 

The Military and the civilian workforce share a lot of the same types of skillsets for jobs with minor differences, but these roles are identified differently.  

For example, a military program manager who oversees multiple projects may be identified in many forms, such as: 

• NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge) 
• Ops Superintendent (Operations Superintendent) or 
• First Sergeant 

These military team members may do various tasks within their units but closely mirror what a Project Manager in the civilian sector does.  

These individuals may have different titles than what you would find in the civilian labor force, but these individuals have project management skills. Servicemen and women acquire project team skills in the Military can translate over to a successful project manager or program manager. 

Transitioning military personal can have a profitable, long-term career. I did not know I was a good project manager or wanted to pursue Project Management until the last three years of my military career. Project management is not a known term within active-duty positions in the Military, 

Project management positions are disguised as Program Management. This discovery in career re-alignment was exciting, to say the least; I was already doing Project Management work in the Military and did not realize I was or knew it was even called project management.  

My Career Transition Story

During my service, there was a common saying that goes, “Do as you’re told, and do more with less,” and that is what you did. You figure it out and make it work!  

Most tasks given by command followed the common sayings, “Not enough time for completion, Figure it out.” “No staffing? Make it work.” “Under budget? Get it done.” 

And guess what – I did. I plundered through impossible tasks and timelines (sometimes blindly) and, surprisingly, “made it work” for the first ten years of my career.  

The year when I was closing another enlistment contract, I sat at my desk at Robins Air Force Base debating if I should re-enlist or separate from the Military. That is where it dawned on me; I had no idea what I was genuinely good at, professionally. 

I held many job titles in the Military (not by choice, as you are moved around based on mission needs), and the thought of seeking civilian employment scared the living hell out of me. I did not know where to start!  

I was unsure of my next move, so I extended my military contract. Defeated by my dilemma, I had lunch with a mentor who had recently retired from the Military. “You might like Project Management.” 

He explained how my work ethic and mindset matched the skillsets needed for successful project planning. I knew I was good at what I did and completed what was required and asked, learning on the fly and getting it done.  

That was all he had to say to get my brain gears moving. After some light reading, I realized I might have been dropped as a baby on my head not to see these skills before. How did I not know project management was a thing, let alone the name of the skillset I was performing my entire military career? I felt like an Idiot. 

Your Skills Are Valuable

In simpler terms (my military folks can attest to this), most military careers are not focused career paths. Military careers often change depending on the needs of the mission. This process is also called “Jack of ALL trades.” Resiliency at its best, huh? 

With such resiliency comes great responsibility to plan from all angles, no matter the obstacle or delay. My military career consisted of – planning, preparing, forecasting, analyzing, budgeting, risks – tracking what I am putting down here? Project Management.  

Now let us address the infamous difficulty with most military transitions, translating skillsets. The Military, like many organizations, is full of acronyms and vast terminology used to define a business process.  

Many will say, “a military project manager is different from a civilian project manager.”  

While this may be true, the foundation is quite similar. There is a learning curve to be had, which comes with starting a new position or with a new organization. The mindset and foundation of a project manager, wherever they may go, can always be adjusted to new business processes and environments.  

Remember that resiliency I mentioned earlier? This skill set is where military projects and program managers shine.  

Years of resiliency come in handy during any military transition, in this case, transitioning and translating military skillsets into “relatable” civilian skills. These job titles may not always mean the same thing, but the skill sets acquired are similar in many ways. 

Additionally, translating Military into civilian skillsets does not mean “dumb it down” so civilian counterparts can understand your resume. Eliminating the military jargon, and identifying your role and responsibilities, what was being done, and how you went about doing it will go a long way.  

After 12 years in the Military, I knew what I wanted to do in the civilian sector, and surprisingly, it is something I enjoyed. Fast forward to this year, and I landed my first Project Management role with Kolme Group.  

Let us take it back to that learning curve I mentioned. Talk about a huge transition and introduction to the civilian world. Unfamiliar terms, systems, and business processes – The list goes on.  

Do you know what remained constant? As a project manager, my mindset and foundation are to be resilient in any given environment.  

Whether you are transitioning from the Military or currently in your Skillbridge internship, I leave you with some tips that have helped during my (successful) military transition.  

• Ask yourself: What is my definition of a “happy/successful” move into the civilian sector? What are my skillsets? What profession/industry do I want to be in to highlight my skillsets? 
• Find mentors currently doing, or did, what you seek to do in the civilian sector. (LinkedIn is a great place to start!) Gather feedback and their success stories. 
• Research certifications/degrees you may want to pursue to strengthen your skillsets (Also a plus for seeking employment) 
• Prepare yourself. The civilian world is full of new shiny things! It may start rocky as with any new environment, the Military is known for building resilient individuals, and naturally, we adjust and grow.  

Lastly, own your transition and continue to learn about yourself as you start a new journey after the Military. Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn if you have any questions! Good luck with your next move. 

Effectively Managing Global Projects is hard work! A common theme in business today is the myopia regarding an international and multicultural environment. As humans we usually all operate in one social context belonging to the nation from which we hale (which for most of us is also the country in which we live). We generally do not give much thought to the fact that people elsewhere might behave or perceive behavior differently. That is the myopia, and it makes sense; the notion that something could be seen differently elsewhere is most of the time completely irrelevant. Global business, however, is the game changer, and overcoming this myopia is essential to survive in business. Luckily, it is not so difficult if you know how to perceive it.

The idea of a global economy is almost as old as humanity itself, and has gone through many different periods, evolutions, and struggles over the millennia. From the spice traders to the Vikings to the pirates, you could say that the pursuit of the global economy has given us some of the most interesting characters of human history. Recently, starting in the late 20^th century there was huge push for large corporations to harness globalization, generally for the purposes of increased profits through lower costs, or increased revenues through new perspectives driving innovation. Today, “Globalization” is no longer a business buzzword but a reality that is here to stay.

Every day most of us will work (sometimes very closely) with teams that have a rich diversity of cultural backgrounds. While it still happens that we might be collocated with our teams (whereby default in this situation some people represent the “home team” and some people represent the “visiting team”), more and more often this collaboration is virtual, where every person on a team – each with his and her own nuanced cultural understanding of human and business interaction – will still be geographically located in their own home context.

This can provide and interesting challenge for many of us since most people have never worked (or even traveled) internationally, and with little or no practice in the understanding of the global-cultural kaleidoscope we have all been very quickly placed in this relatively new multinational working environment. So how do we navigate it and understand it when we all have so much work we need to do at the same time? How do we embrace it so that we can all be successful in our teams and in our jobs?

It is almost impossible to look at the job description of a project management role and not see ‘Stakeholder Management’ listed as one of the essential duties. That is because it is such an important part of managing projects. In addition, it is not easy. Stakeholder management is a delicate balance of earning trust, leading by example, managing by influence as opposed to by force while still ensuring everyone is completing their work by the agreed upon deadlines.

There is a great deal of emotional intelligence and an elegant streak of personal finesse that makes a project manager great at their job. Already, virtual work has made this slightly more difficult to attain. Looking at each other through computer screens – sometimes with cameras off or mics muted – and communicating heavily through emails and chats, we lose the nuance of body language, smiles, laughs, and a lot of other interpersonal human touches that help us form bonds with others.

Combining this disadvantage with the one that comes from cross-cultural communication (which can often come with a language barrier of varying degrees) can cause a lot of anxiety in the workplace, and it is important to be mindful of this. There is now a lot of ground to gain in the ‘earning trust’ department.

“Borders Frequented by Trade Seldom Need Soldiers.” -Dr. William Schurz

After millennia of practice the global economy of today is testament to that which we can achieve when we learn to think outside the box and operate outside our comfort zones. Now, working with multinational and multicultural teams is an unavoidable part of modern business; almost all of us – despite our background and level of global EQ – are participating in it daily. As a result, there are often some growing pains that come with operating in a realm with which we generally have very little experience.

That said, with just a little mindfulness overcoming many of these obstacles is quite easy. People have a natural tendency to distrust what they do not understand. While deep knowledge of other places and other cultures can be a big black box for most people, the key element of stakeholder management is still earning trust. Therefore, as we continue to globalize and interact with new people, let us remain conscious of the very basic tools we need to cultivate the healthy interpersonal relationships with our global teammates we need to achieve our common goals.

Also, let us not forget to seize these opportunities to learn more about others. There is often no more enriching an experience, nor a better education about one’s own culture than to learn and see it from the perspective of another.

¹The use of the word ‘football’ in this article refers to the sport recognized around the world as “football”. This is a disambiguation with American football, which is called “football” only in the United States

In what may be a nod to the reality that there may be no pure “waterfall” or “agile” in the world, PMI recently released a new “micro-credential” for Agile Hybrid Project Pro. It looked intriguing, so I dedicated an afternoon to going through the course and exam to see what it was about and if it is worth the investment.

PMI’s Changing Training Strategy

For those not familiar, PMI has totally changed up its certification game, doing away with its previous Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) program last year and replacing it with its Authorized Training Provider (A.T.P.) program. There are a number of differences, but the key one is that the new program pulls back ownership of PMP prep material to PMI, rather than leaving it to the providers to develop.

When I spoke with PMI about the program change, they shared that they received feedback from the community that some of the PMP prep content wasn’t doing a good job of preparing PMP applicants. I can see their point – I’ve reviewed content developed by multiple providers, and I’ve been through countless banks of test questions and totally agree that they are not consistent. So, PMI decided that all PMP prep courses should be delivered using content they (PMI) developed. This plan is good for consistency – and also good for PMI’s top-line revenue which makes for a healthy PMI. As a training provider, I have to say it is also nice to not have to try to build that training content myself and keep up with PMBOK updates, or buy it from a third party.

Micro-Credentials

In line with developing and marketing more of its own training content, PMI is launching a new line of micro-credentials with an aim to “certify achievements in specific skills, knowledge, and competencies by focusing on unique subjects and relatively new topics.” These credentials are not as monumental an undertaking as PMP or PMI-ACP, but still come with the legitimacy of a PMI provided credential. In addition to the Agile Hybrid Project Pro, it there is also an Organizational Transformation Foundation micro-credential and a Citizen Developer micro-credential. For at least the Org Transformation and Citizen Developer credentials, these are the first in a series on each topic. If these succeed as offerings, I suspect we can see many more coming. These are a great idea in the respect that they fit the more modern learner’s need for self-paced training for specific subject matter on demand. They are also a smart way to test the market for new training content, and find more creative ways to add content.

Pricing is interesting – the Agile Hybrid micro-credential goes for $175, the new Organizational Transformation Foundation micro-credential goes for $350 and the Citizen Developer course for $29 – so there is a wide spread in price. With these and more on the way, I could see PMI’s traction from micro credentials eventually rivaling what they take in from their marquee credentials.

Agile Hybrid Project Pro

Per PMI, this credential is “ideal for traditional project managers who are beginning to venture into the Agile or Hybrid space… [this credential] verifies your skillset and increases your value to employers.” So, of course I couldn’t resist.

And of course… 13 PDU’s!

Figure 1 – PDU breakout for Hybrid Agile Project Pro

The credential is still in Beta. PMI says this means the certification is discounted from the $175 list price, and that they require you complete a couple surveys throughout the process so they can collect feedback. I completed the surveys, but didn’t seem to get the discount – perhaps I missed a step. Even at $175, I was happy to jump in.

The content outline is provided here. Like the PMI-ACP and the new PMP, reference material for the credential is not limited to PMI content, but extends to other content in the market. Even without reviewing all this content, if you have some hybrid delivery experience and go through the online course, you should fare well on the exam.

Signup

Perhaps because it’s still in beta, the signup process isn’t seamless at the moment, but it is pretty straightforward from the credential page. Once you sign up, you get an email that you have to hang on to, because it’s the one with the working links to the course. For me, I received another email after all the setup was complete for my e-learning page that didn’t show the course – but I could get there using the link in the initial email  I received. So, hang on to the email just in case.

Figure 2 – Don’t lose this email if you are taking this in BETA!

The Course

Having spent years delivering PMP prep training, this course was a refreshing change. The online self-paced course has 20 modules, each of which is presented through a relatable, real-world use case. These modules follow the same format as the content outline. Each lesson links back to Tools & Techniques from the PMBOK or PMI’s Agile Practice guide, and also provides links back to PMI’s extremely deep Resource library. I’ve never explored PMI’s Resource Library before, but was surprised at the depth and breadth of the content there. When I should have been focusing on my Hybrid Agile course, I found I kept following resource links and going down the rabbit hole in the library. My advice there is to save-off the interesting links for exploration after you finish the course, so you don’t get distracted like me 🙂

Each module has a short quiz to reinforce the topic. The quizzes worked well except there was a type of question – sort of a “category matcher” for some topics where you drag and drop statements (up to 9) to the correct category. You either get it all right or all wrong, and the hints at where you might have gotten them wrong were a bit cryptic, which was frustrating. There were a couple of these questions that I finally just gave up and moved on.

The Content

This being an Agile Hybrid course, I went in expecting there to be more content around the nuts and bolts of making hybrid projects work answering the questions:

• How do you manage dependencies when you have multiple Agile teams delivering various parts of a solution?
• How do you coordinate schedules across different Agile teams that may have different methodologies and different sprint cycles or durations?
• How does a PM work with a Product Owner to integrate project-specific deliverables into an overall product backlog?

But, the course did not go to that level of technical detail.

The course focuses more on the people side of working with Agile (managing conflict, leading a team, engaging virtual teams). The parts which did touch on technical processes (plan and manage schedule, plan and manage scope) were pretty high level – perhaps in an effort to keep the course methodology agnostic. But still quite useful for getting you aligned with agile ways of working.

Overall, I’d say this course would be most useful to an established PM who needs to adopt an “agile” mindset to help deliver hybrid projects and needs to understand how that world works.

The Exam

Once you complete the course, you take the exam through Pearson Vue. It’s a non-proctored, timed, remote exam with 60 multiple-choice questions. The exam felt a bit like a PMP, in that the multiple-choice questions were often situational, and you had to have a good feel for how PMI wanted you to think to pick the right answer. They were challenging enough that when taking the exam, I wasn’t sure if the course had prepared me to pass the exam. But,  I passed on the first go, so there you have it!

Was it worth it?

It’s the only “Hybrid Agile” credential that I’m aware of, right now. I think it’s cool and I look forward to putting the badge on my LinkedIn profile. The new micro-credential format may be a response to other training competitors like LinkedIn Learning and Google’s new certs. It’s great to see PMI jump in the fray and start putting out accessible content. And it’s high quality content as you might expect. Plus, it’s a PMI credential that an experienced PM can knock out in an afternoon, so it’s nowhere near the commitment of a PMI marquee credential.

I felt that the scenario-based lessons in the online course were the best part of the process – they made the content relatable and helped reinforce some agile principles and approaches for me. I hope this credential is an indicator of how the PMI will deliver training going forward.

Is this credential going to teach you how to execute Hybrid Agile projects? Not really. It’s a good start for getting in the right mindset, but don’t look for it to give you the technical ins and outs of how to get your projects done in a hybrid world. Is it worth $175? It may be, if you need to demonstrate that you understand Agile Hybrid on your LinkedIn profile. If you’re already there and have the ‘street-cred’ of having worked on Hybrid projects, it may not be super useful. That said, if you do work in a Hybrid world and need to take a course to keep up your PMP, it was a nice way to get 13 PDUs. And coming from a background as an ‘old school’ PM, coursework that helps me develop more of an Agile mindset is good medicine.

And, even if this credential isn’t for you, definitely keep an eye on PMI’s evolving micro-credential space. We might see some really interesting things coming from this space.

Check out our other insights and articles here.

“We need a tool!” 

“We need a system that will make sense of this for us” 

“We need help figuring this out” 

“How do we track this?” 

How many times have you said or thought the thoughts above? I’ve heard these comments countless times from many customers over the years but when asked what the expected outcome is from said tool or system, the response is usually unclear at best. 

The right PPM tool can help address all these statements and more but, the question then becomes, how do you go about setting it up correctly for your organization?  Well, read on for 5 excellent tips to help you achieve that!

Here’s a list of expert tips to consider while you prepare for your PPM implementation:  

Today, our focus is on the third and fourth ADKAR® milestone – Knowledge and Ability. They are related to each other, so I like to cover them together. In our last blog we covered the second element of Desire and mentioned that people need to have the desire to participate and support the change.

Here is a quick recap of what ADKAR stands for:

Knowledge

Knowledge is about each person understanding how to change. This would be the education and training on the new tool, their processes, and them understanding any new expectations – whether it be a new role or new responsibility. Depending on your change initiative this could be as simple as providing a new URL link or as complex as an entirely new office location, reporting structure, and office procedures. But, even with the range of complexity, this ADKAR milestone is where I think, as Project Managers, we are the most familiar and comfortable with as we typically cover aspects of this during our UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and Training sessions.

I have seen some really cool examples when it comes to how to deliver knowledge. Gamification techniques can be used to tap into the reward center of our brains and provide positive reinforcement as a fun and interactive way to help people gain the new knowledge.

I’ve written a blog about using game theory for time-tracking that goes into detail about each game mechanic if you want to learn more about gamification.

There are a lot of additional resources available to help deliver knowledge including creating interactive quizzes, live train-the-trainer sessions, on-demand training videos, and even using a pilot group to help create early adopters or help discover power-users and champions.

Keep in mind, we do not want to take any previous knowledge for granted or make assumptions on their current knowledge level. Sometimes offering a “foundation” class to make sure everyone is on the same baseline of understanding can help before delivering new information.

Ability

Ability is the fourth ADKAR milestone. This is the person’s skills as they relate to the future state. They may have the awareness, they are on board about the change, they have been trained – but do they have the ability? Meaning, do they have the intellectual capability, the physical ability, an SME (Subject Matter Experts) or mentor support, and the time to learn what is needed for the successful change?

One example that helps describe this ADKAR milestone is if there was a change for a company to shift from an hour lunch to a half hour lunch. This may seem like a simple change, but what if the person takes public transport or drops their kids off at school — getting off a half hour earlier or coming in a half hour later is not an option for them.

Also, sometimes it may take people different amounts of time to learn something new. We all know the type of person (I’m one of them) that needs a little bit of time to process and try it on their own to help settle their new understanding of the process. They have gone through training, so they have the knowledge of how to do it, but they may need a few weeks of using the new tool in order to develop their competency and ability to actually use it.

Projects that have a quick go-live and do not account for this may can put a person’s Ability milestone at risk so it’s something to keep an eye on while building out your project plans and working with managers.

Join me next time, in our last session Part 5 – Reinforcement.