Concepts
As a Program Management Professional (PgMP), one of your principal tasks is to lead the human capital. You are not merely managing projects but also people and teams. One of the primary areas where a PgMP can make a significant impact is employee engagement and commitment towards an organization’s objectives. This article will focus on how a PgMP can lead human resource functions by training, coaching, mentoring, and recognizing the team to enhance team engagement and secure commitment to the program’s goals.
I. Training
Training is fundamental to program management, and it serves a two-fold purpose: enhancing skills and building an effective and committed team. As a PgMP, not only should you be facilitating support for training initiatives, but also identifying and creating institutionalized training programs that foster continued learning and skill development.
Example: IBM’s Technical Career Path program fosters an environment where employees can improve their skills. As a PgMP, you could identify the skills necessary for your program and work with HR to develop suitable training programs.
II. Coaching
Coaching differs from training– it involves a closer and more personal relationship between the coach and the coachee, and usually involves working on specific, individual objectives. While a training program might aim to improve a team’s overall ability to use a project management software, coaching might involve helping an individual team member improve their ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders.
Example: Google’s Googler-to-Googler coaching program, where employees coach each other on skills such as management and presenting.
III. Mentoring
Mentoring goes a step further than coaching. It involves nurturing the overall professional growth of the mentee, often by sharing experiences and offering guidance. As a PgMP, your years of experience and learned wisdom can be critical in guiding your teams towards the program’s goals.
Example: General Electric’s renowned mentorship program has produced numerous industry leaders.
IV. Recognition
Recognizing and rewarding team members adds a sense of value to their work, making them more likely to be engaged and committed to the program’s goals. Whether through formal award ceremonies or simple gestures of appreciation, recognition can work wonders in fostering team commitment.
Table 1: Comparison of Training, Coaching, Mentoring, and Recognition
| Training | Coaching | Mentoring | Recognition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Skill enhancement | Specific objectives | Professional growth | Motivation |
| Interaction | Group | One-on-one | One-on-One | One-on-Many |
| Duration | Fixed | Varies depending on objectives | Long term | Occasional |
| Feedback | Indirect (tests, assessments) | Direct and immediate | Direct, but not always immediate | One-off, usually positive |
As an adept PgMP, you would need to find the right blend of these four elements – training, coaching, mentoring, and recognition based on your team and project dynamics. A sound understanding and wise application of these strategies can significantly increase team engagement and commitment towards your program’s goals, leading to successful project outcomes.
Answer the Questions in Comment Section
True or False: As a Program Management Professional, you should always delegate the responsibility of team engagement and personalized recognition to your HR department.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: While HR departments can play a crucial role in managing and fostering team engagement, it’s essential for Program Managers to take a hands-on role in training, coaching, and recognizing the team to attain commitment to the program’s goals.
In the context of program management, which of these activities are vital in enhancing team engagement?
- a) Micromanaging each team member
- b) Regular training
- c) Individual recognition
- d) Personalized mentoring
Answer: b) Regular training, c) Individual recognition, and d) Personalized mentoring.
Explanation: Micromanagement often discourages team engagement rather than enhancing it. Regular training, individual recognition, and personalized mentoring are necessary for building commitment and engagement within the team.
True or False: Rewarding team members for their good work is an essential part of the human resource function in program management.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Recognizing and rewarding team members for their contributions and achievements is a key strategy in boosting engagement and motivation, thus, leading to higher performance.
Multiple select: Which of the following are essential human resource functions in program management?
- a) Firing underperforming staff
- b) Training staff regularly
- c) Mentoring and staff coaching
- d) Recognizing staff achievements
Answer: b) Training staff regularly, c) Mentoring and coaching staff, d) Recognizing staff achievements.
Explanation: While firing underperforming staff may sometimes be necessary, it is not considered a core human resource function in program management. Training, coaching, and recognizing achievements are more critical to team engagement and commitment.
True or False: A good program manager does not need to mentor or coach their team.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Mentoring and coaching are excellent ways for program managers to support their team’s growth, hence improving their commitment and engagement.
Single Select: What is the most important factor for achieving commitment to the program’s goals?
- a) Recognizing the team’s hard work
- b) Training and mentoring the team
- c) Assigning clear roles and responsibilities
- d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above.
Explanation: All the mentioned factors contribute towards achieving the team’s commitment to the program’s goals.
True or False: Program managers should only focus on the program’s goals and not worry about team engagement.
- True
- False
Answer: False.
Explanation: Program goals and team engagement are interrelated. A team that is engaged is more likely to be committed, which can help achieve the program’s goals more effectively.
Multiple select: Why is recognizing the team important in Program Management?
- a) To promote individualism
- b) To motivate and encourage the team
- c) To achieve program goals
- d) To discourage team dependencies
Answer: b) To motivate and encourage the team, c) To achieve program goals.
Explanation: Recognizing the team for its efforts boosts morale, builds commitment, and plays a key role in achieving program goals, but it doesn’t promote individualism or discourage team dependencies.
Single Select: As a program manager, when should you provide coaching and mentoring to your team?
- a) Only when the team isn’t performing well
- b) Only during the beginning of a new project
- c) Regularly as an ongoing process
- d) Only when a team member asks for it
Answer: c) Regularly as an ongoing process.
Explanation: Regular coaching and mentoring promote continuous learning, improvement, and engagement within the team, irrespective of the current project phase or performance levels.
True or False: Training in program management is primarily about improving individual skills.
- True
- False
Answer: False.
Explanation: While training does improve individual skills, it’s also about fostering team collaboration, understanding, and overall advancement towards the program goals.
Single Select: What primary purpose does coaching serve in program management?
- a) Micromanaging team members
- b) Solving personal issues within the team
- c) Promoting hierarchical relationships
- d) Fostering professional development and improving skills
Answer: d) Fostering professional development and improving skills.
Explanation: As a program manager, coaching is meant to enhance professional growth, improve skills, and ultimately drive better performance towards achieving program goals, not for micromanaging or solving personal issues.
True or False: Mentoring in program management is solely about advising team members on their career path.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: While career guidance is part of mentoring, it also involves imparting knowledge, sharing experiences, helping them understand the strategic viewpoint of the program, and aligning individual roles with the program’s objectives.
This is a great post on leading HR functions effectively. I especially appreciate the emphasis on coaching and mentoring.
I agree with User1. Training and recognizing team members can significantly boost engagement.
Thanks for the insights. Implementing these strategies has definitely helped my team.
How do you balance between coaching and mentoring in a program management context?
Appreciate the blog post, very helpful!
Does anyone have tips for recognizing remote team members effectively?
Thanks for sharing this. It’s very motivating.
In my experience, consistent and clear communication is key in coaching and mentoring.