The ‘Aha’ Moment: PM Influencer Series

In our series, The Aha Moment, we chat with influencers in the PM & PPM space and get to know them better. We ask a bunch of questions, some biz related and some not so biz related, in order to understand what makes them tick and find their aha moment.

This month’s feature is Alberto Osman, an incredible Managing Director at P3GQA Project. So, keep reading to learn about his impressive journey and experience in the industry.

Q. What is your job title and in which industry are you working in?

A. Managing Director I P3GQA Project, Programme & Portfolio Governance Qualification Authority.

Q. What is something unique that most people do not know about you?

A. Most people don’t know that I speak 5 languages.

Professional Stuff….

Q. What led you to this career?

A. I started my career in the Learning & Development Industry and it ignited my passion for enabling professionals to excel in their careers through upskilling, education and learning in general. A well train and skilled professional, besides being successful in their role, benefits from this in all other areas in their personal life as well. I see my work as a tool to help people be more content with their life in general, which is why I enjoy it so much.

Q. What is your biggest challenge in your profession? How do you overcome it?

A. The biggest challenge in our profession is bridging the gap between different silos, especially in large organisations.

Q. In your experience, why do projects fail or fail to meet their deadlines?

A. There are many reasons why projects fail or underperform, but there is no black and white approach that can arrive to a meaningful conclusion that’s not distorted. Every organisation is different, every region functions differently and change management is still a slow and painful journey across the board. From my experience, and why we are dedicated to improve the understanding and operation of Project, Programme and Portfolio Governance frameworks in organisations, is that the challenge with governance is usually highlighted when it’s already too late. “Whenever there is a major project or programme failure, the subsequent review inevitably highlights failings in governance…” ~Harvard Business Review We aim to change this by the P3G Best Practice Guide and the P3GP Certification we offer through P3GQA.

Q. If you had a magic wand, what’s the one thing you would change about Gantt?

A. Perhaps a deeper insight into schedule dependencies.

Q. Why should every organization have a PMO?

A. Every organisation doesn’t need to have a PMO, but organisations that have large programmes and a portfolio of projects that’s a significant financial portion of their investment budgets, MUST have a PMO. The benefits are numerous, but mainly, enabling a more efficient decision making process on investments in change and enabling a better alignment between strategy and project execution. The PMO structure is perfectly places to support the organisation with many services which can be crucial for optimal project outcomes, providing business lines with consistent methodologies, tools, and best practices, training among others. I haven’t seen an organisation that has optimal resource allocation, without some sort of PMO structure in place. PMOs are indispensible in enabling long-term success in organisations.

Q. What’s the most annoying thing about project status meetings?

A. Oh, so many things, one of the most frustrating aspects is time spent reviewing updates that could have been done in another format. These meetings, when they lack structure, with off-topic discussions, can turn into problem-solving sessions instead of focusing on high-level progress and challenges. For project, programme, and portfolio governance, this can dilute the purpose of the meeting, obscuring key insights needed for strategic decision-making. An ideal status meeting would prioritize only the most critical updates, using data visualization tools for quick insights, and leave non-urgent issues for separate discussions, ensuring time is spent efficiently and meaningfully.

Q. What’s the most difficult thing about managing stakeholder expectations?

A. This isn’t difficult at all with the right approach. Different stakeholders have different levels of interest in a project or programme – from those with a minor interest to those for whom it will have a major impact. Those who are delivering initiatives need to understand and strive to meet (or modify, or align) the requirements of all stakeholders, otherwise they may begin to undermine support for the initiative. If the level of interest of the various stakeholders can be considered to form a spectrum, then clearly at one end of this spectrum is the project sponsor or SRO. At the opposite end will be a stakeholder that is only marginally impacted by the initiative. On a large, complex project or programme, there may be many stakeholders. The degree to which any stakeholder will need to be engaged with or involved in decision-making will depend on the extent to which the initiative impacts them, or that they can influence it. An assessment of influence and impact would normally form part of stakeholder analysis. In the P3G Guide, one of the principles ( Principle 5) is: Separate project and programme decision-making from stakeholder engagement! If too many people are involved in the decision-making process, it will become slow and inefficient and the quality of the decisions may be affected. When this happens, project or programme board meetings slowly transform from a decision-making function to one of stakeholder engagement, which is dangerous.

Q. What advice would you give to up-and-coming professionals like yourself?

A. Make sure that what you do adds value to people’s lives and that you are passionate about what you do. If you need to make a change, don’t conform and don’t be change-averse, it’s the only way to grow and reach a level of personal and professional satisfaction.

Q. Have you read any books, articles or other resources that changed your perspective on project management?

A. So many, the list is Endless, the last publication i really enjoyed reading is the PMO Competency Framework from the House of PMO.

Q. What is your biggest “grrrrrrr” in project management?

A. When organisations struggle with the most basic principle of P3 Governance, which is treating change differently to business as usual. The activities of most organizations can be split, in broad terms, into two categories: running the business and changing the business. Running the business is about the day-to-day activities and operations that an organization undertakes as part of its normal business. This is usually referred to as business as usual, or BaU. Change, on the other hand, relates to projects and programmes that are aimed at assisting an organization to achieve its strategic objectives.

Q. If there was one activity you could remove from your daily routine what would it be and why?

A. Reading emails in the morning, I am working on creating an AI Assistant to read them on my behalf with a voice-over / narration function while I have my morning coffee.

Fun Stuff

Q. If you were the host of a late night talk show, who would invite as your first guest?

A. This is interesting, I believe I would invite Jordan Peterson.

Q. If you had an unlimited supply of one thing what would it be?

A. Clean water and clean air.

Q. What three items would you choose if stranded on a desert island?

A. My turkish coffee set (simply can’t live without it) and maybe a protective weapon 🙂

Q. Spring, summer, fall or winter?

A. Spring and Summer, I am not a fan of cold weather 🙂

Q. What is your favorite breakfast food?

A. Eggs in any form and a cold-pressed juice.

If you want to connect with Alberto and gain key insights from his expert career content, look her up on Linkedin. Thank you Alberto for hanging out with us and answering our questions!