1. LEADERSHIP UPDATE for EPMC Dr. Owen C. Gadeken
Professor of Engineering Management
Defense Acquisition University (DAU)
Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060

2. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CAREER
Balance of Expertise
Leadership
Managerial
Technical
Time

3. CAREER DEVELOPMENT Most Learning Takes Place On the Job
Challenging Assignments (48%)
Start-up
Fix it
Project/Task Force
Line to Staff
Significant Others (18%)
Mentors/Role Models
Values Playing Out
Hardships (17%)
Business Failures/Mistakes
Missed Job Opportunities
Subordinate Performance Problems
Career Change
Other Events (17%)
Training
Early Work Experience
Purely Personal
Center for Creative Leadership Study of 191 Executives (616 Events and 1547 Lessons)

4. LEARNING THROUGH STORIES
Much of program management is based on tacit (not easily expressed or codified) knowledge
Stories are a powerful way of capturing and sharing tacit knowledge
Stories stimulate curiosity
Stories are memorable
Stories reinforce our corporate culture
Collecting success stories from the best program managers gives us role models to emulate

5. “PAIR & SHARE” EXERCISE
Recall some significant events or situations from your program management experience
Pick one of these situations and make a few notes about it (see next chart)
Conduct a brief “pair & share” exercise where student pairs share their “stories”
Convene the class and ask for volunteers to share a few of their stories
Discuss the lessons learn from this exercise

6. A GOOD STORY Starts with a problem, conflict or challenge
Describes a unique experience
Describes concrete actions by people
Shares their emotional reactions as well
Is as short and simple as possible
Makes a point! It arrives at some basic truth
Challenges or reinforces our mental models (of how things work)

7. Research Approach: Study Top Performing Program Managers
Interviews (80 to date)
3 hours focused on 3-5 critical incidents chosen by PM
In-depth reconstruction of actual event
Systematic coding of all transcripts for key behaviors
Surveys (350 to date)
Behaviors grouped into competency themes
Larger group of PMs asked to rank order competencies
Extra “dummy” competencies added as distractors

8. PM Development Personal Key Characteristics Behaviors Skills Knowledge
Top
PMs
Program
Managers
Program
Management
Professionals

9. Keys to Program Leadership
Choose your Role
Own your program
Set clear & compelling Goals and act on them
Think Ahead & Reflect Back on your program
Develop and Empower your staff
Thrive on Relationships and Influence
Be Open and Honest with others

10. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CAREER
Balance of Expertise
Leadership
Managerial
Technical
Time

11. PM Thinking Skills
“Figuring out what is going on in a complex world is the heart of leadership. Otherwise leaders are defeated by events they do not understand.”
ADM Carlisle Trost
Former CNO
“We were heading to a point where, although it was years away from happening, things would start to diverge. But action needed to be taken right then and there so that...we would have enough canisters to go around and support the missile base. That was the driving factor in what I was doing.”
Navy Program Manager

12. Assessing and Developing Program Manager Competencies
1. Personal Reflection (On-The-Job Feedback)
- Personal reflection on what worked and what didn’t
- Correlated with candid feedback from others involved
Degree Feedback Instruments
- Composite of self, supervisor, peer, and subordinate ratings
- Norm data provided for benchmark
3. Training and Development - Experiential Exercises
- Case studies
- Computer simulations
- Behavioral (role-playing) simulations
- Experiential (outdoor) exercises

13. Managers versus Leaders
Establish
Think
Build
Provide
Work
Clear Objectives
Critically &
Systematically
Internal Teams
(IPTs/PMO)
Decisions &
Implementation
Within the System
to Get Results
Compelling Vision
Creatively &
Unconventionally
External Teams
(Stakeholders)
Coaching &
Empowerment
On the System
to Improve It
Successful PMs must be both Managers and Leaders!