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WHEN:  May 10, 2016  6:00-8:00 PM
LOCATION:Hollins University
TOPIC:  You Know You Are A Project Manager When...
SPEAKER: Michael O’Brochta PMI-ACP, PMP

AGENDA:

6:00-6:45 Dinner (Moody Hall)
6:45-7:00 Chapter Business (Wetherill Visual Arts Center)
7:00-8:00 Speaker / Presentation

Presentation Overview:

You Know You Are A Project Manager When...

When are you a project manager? Simple question. It is a question being asked and answered by an increasingly large number of people. Indeed, project management was ranked in 2009 by U.S. News and World Report as the third-most valued skill by employers, behind only leadership/negotiation skills and business analysis. More than 700,000 people from 184 countries are members and/or credential holders in the world’s largest project management professional association, the Project Management Institute. It is a question being asked increasingly by individuals striving to adopt the practices in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), the International Project Management Association (IPMA) certification, and by U.S. government civilian employees as they endeavor to align their skills with the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM). So, how do you know when you are a project manager?

This presentation will offer some insights into important aspects of being a project manager. It will explore project managers’ view of work, the attitudes of project managers when confronted with barriers and obstacles, and the relationship of project managers with their customers and stakeholders. A comparison will be made between accidental or interim project managers and career project managers. Project manager behavior toward relationships, toward decision-making, toward power, and toward their project, will be reviewed. A simplified checklist will be included that can be used as an aid in determining if you are a project manager.

This presentation is intended to provoke critical thinking about what it means to be a project manager and perhaps to provoke some introspection about being a project manager.

Speaker Bio:

Michael O’Brochta PMI-ACP, PMP

Mr. O'Brochta, who has managed hundreds of projects during the past forty years, is an experienced line manager, author, lecturer, trainer and consultant. He holds a master's degree in project management, a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, and is certified as an ACP and a PMP.

As Zozer Inc. President, he is helping organizations raise their level of project management performance. As senior project manager at the Central Intelligence Agency, he led the project management and systems engineering training and certification program to mature practices agency-wide. Mr. O'Brochta's other recent work includes leading the development of standards and courses for the new U.S. Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers. He is currently supporting FAC-P/PM programs by providing subject matter expertise for instructional design and delivery to the Federal Acquisition Institute and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

He serves at the PMI corporate level as Chair the Ethics Member Advisory Group where he led the development of the ethical decision-making framework and the new PMI ethics website, and at the chapter level where he built and led the international PMIWDC Chapter-to-Chapter program; he is a graduate of the Leadership Institute Mater Class.

Mr. O’Brochta has written and presented papers at every PMI North American Global Congress during the past decade-and-a-half as well as at many international, and regional conferences. Topics that he is currently passionate about include how to get executives to act for project success and great project managers. Since his recent climb of another of the world’s seven summits, he has been exploring the relationship between project management and mountain climbing

Directions to Hollins University

Hollins is located on U.S. Route 11 (7916 Williamson Road), just off Interstate 81 at Exit 146.

Coming from the north on I-81, take Exit 146, turn left onto Plantation Road, go approximately one mile and turn left onto Williamson Road (Route 11 north), go approximately 1/2 mile, turn left into the campus entrance.

Coming from the south on I-81, take Exit 146, turn right onto Plantation Road, go approximately one mile and turn left onto Williamson Road (Route 11 north), go approximately 1/2 mile, turn left into the campus entrance.

From Lynchburg, VA, (Route 460 west), turn right onto Alternate 220 and travel approximately 5 miles to the intersection of Alternate 220 and Route 11, turn left at the stoplight and travel south on Route 11 for 3.5 miles, turn right into the campus entrance.

Direction to Meeting Location and Parking Information

The meetings will be held in the Moody Center.

Upon entering the university, take a left; you will follow this around to the 3rd available parking entrance. A picture diagram is available online: http://www.hollins.edu/about/map.shtml. Parking is allowed in the spots reserved for Faculty and Staff. Signs will be located at the entrance of Moody directing you to the meeting room.

 

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