How can one progress from being a Project Manager to becoming an executive

Question

I thought becoming a PMO Director or Director of Project Management was the only way to enter the executive ranks, but I'm wondering if there might be another path forward. Any thoughts?

Answer 1

In the Public sector, the demonstration of project management skills/education/expertise is valuable and well taken into consideration in career advancement /progression. The structured recruitment process requires proven experience that is focused mainly on the strategic area rather than the operations; this comes along with management of budget and human resources that are usually done by project managers and are always in high demand.

 The mindset of project managers, especially from the agile space, and executives differs. In order to climb that ladder, you have to be savvy in politics, which many PMs do not like (though it would help them to influence stakeholders).

PMs that expanded their capabilities towards an executive mindset is indeed PMO Leaders, but also portfolio managers and program managers, all of which succeed in a more undefined environment.

Hope it helps!

Check out this PMP certification course to learn more about project management.