How Projects Will Counterbalance the Rising Forces of Disruption

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Dr. Srini Srinivasan, Managing Director, Project Management Institute (PMI) South Asia COVID upended almost every aspect of our lives last year— disrupting the very nature of how we live, work, and play. We now find ourselves at a unique moment in history. And as we look forward, we can see glimmers of how humanity is finding opportunities to not just recover, but transform. This is not to diminish the economic and social challenges ahead. They are profound. But as we've seen since the pandemic first began, there is a new ecosystem of change-makers who are turning bold new strategies into reality. This requires project leaders with a balance of technical know-how, business acumen and what we call power skills— like empathy, creativity, and inspirational leadership. Yet they must also have an understanding of the major trends reshaping the world and how those trends amplify and accelerate one another. Only then can they create a multiplier effect for powerful change. We live in a world of change and uncertainty—and COVID-19 has accelerated these trends with major shocks and disruptions to the world of business and society itself overnight.

The impact of COVID-19 revealed deep vulnerabilities in our technology preparedness capabilities and deep-seated inequities in our health, education, and economic systems.
The climate crisis is compelling leaders in every sector to collaborate and marshal resources on a global scale to alter the broad trajectory of climate change and mitigate its many near-term consequences.
The global wave of protests spanning the past decade has revealed that change is not a question of if, but rather when, and has sparked a growing corporate commitment to racial, gender, and ethnic diversity.
Emerging markets hold the promise of addressing long-festering challenges like global poverty, as well as the potential to reap the demographic dividend, but still require significant global investments in infrastructure and education.
The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has rewired the possibilities for technology and continued learning, but leaders must grapple with the ethical implications of AI on the complex issues of bias and inequality.

These complex challenges will continue to drive demand for versatile and bold project talent who can help make social impact projects a strategic priority, foster open and innovative partnership ecosystems, and rethink relationships with customers and wider stakeholders. Project-based skills are essential to helping enterprises turn ideas into a reality. The capabilities of project professionals and change-makers with a broad global perspective will only grow in the Project Economy, the emerging global landscape in which organizations will increasingly deliver financial and societal value through the successful completion of projects, delivery of products, and alignment to value streams.

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Tags : Interviews COVID-19 Dr. Srini Srinivasan Project Management Institute (PMI) South Asia Project-based skills