Team Project Managers: Competency Development in Project Teams

PMBOK v8 Definition

The project management team plays a pivotal function in competency development by fostering a learning culture that blends various competencies across the team. This responsibility involves identifying individual learning needs and integrating competency development into the project’s workflow. Effective project management teams create opportunities for individuals to take on challenges that stretch their skills and provide them with constructive feedback, ensuring that lessons learned are captured and shared to enhance the team’s collective expertise.

Why It Matters for the Exam

This concept appears frequently in PMI exam questions about team development, resource management, and leadership. You will encounter it in situational questions where the project manager must decide how to address skill gaps, mentor junior team members, or foster continuous improvement. The exam tests your understanding that competency development is a shared responsibility—not solely the project manager’s duty.

Key Points to Remember (for the exam)

• Shared Responsibility: Competency development may be taken by functional managers, PMOs, line managers of team members, or by each individual team member themself—not only the project manager.
• Key Activities: Identifying individual learning needs, integrating competency development into the project’s workflow, and promoting a culture of continuous improvement and reflective practice.
• Mentoring Mechanism: Strategically mixing team members of different seniority levels and expertise facilitates knowledge exchange, mentorship, and coaching opportunities that nurture less-experienced team members.
• Growth Areas: Identifying where the project team is performing well and pointing out areas where the project team can improve helps everyone grow.
• Common Aspects of Team Development: Vision and objectives, roles and responsibilities, project team operations, guidance, and growth.
• Addressing Gaps: Gaps in knowledge and skills should be addressed through training, mentoring, or coaching, as referenced in the responsibility assignment matrix.
• Constructive Feedback: Effective teams provide constructive feedback and create challenges that stretch individual skills.

Typical PMI Exam Example

A project manager notices that junior team members lack negotiation skills, while senior members excel in this area. The project manager pairs junior and senior members on a high-stakes vendor negotiation task, providing coaching and feedback throughout. After the task, the team conducts a reflective session to capture lessons learned.

What competency development approach is the project manager using?

• Answer: Strategically mixing team members of different seniority levels to facilitate knowledge exchange and mentorship.

PMI Exam Traps

• Trap: Thinking competency development is only the project manager’s responsibility.

  • Reality: It may also be taken by functional managers, PMOs, line managers, or individual team members.

• Trap: Confusing “training” with the full scope of competency development.

  • Reality: Competency development includes training, mentoring, coaching, and creating stretch assignments with constructive feedback.

• Trap: Believing competency development is separate from project work.

  • Reality: It must be integrated into the project’s workflow, not treated as an add-on activity.

• Trap: Assuming only junior team members need development.

  • Reality: Competency development applies to all team members, including identifying areas where the team is performing well and areas for improvement.

Important PMI Connections

Quick Review Questions

1. Who can take responsibility for competency development in a project team?

2. What are the three methods mentioned in PMBOK v8 for addressing knowledge and skill gaps?

3. How does mixing team members of different seniority levels support competency development?

4. What are the five common aspects of project team development regardless of how management activities are structured?

5. What should effective project management teams create to help individuals stretch their skills?

PMBOK v8 Reference

Section 2.5.1.2 – Competency Development in Project Management Section 2.5.1 – Team Project Managers (as referenced in the provided context)