Turning Ideas Into Reality
For Grace Najjar, Managing Director of PMI MENA, effective project management can make all the difference – just look at the Middle East.
The MENA region is increasingly regarded as a hub of innovation, with the Gulf countries in particular globally renowned for their pioneering approaches to business and community building. For organizations striving to distinguish themselves as leading models of transformation and forward-thinking strategy, there are lessons to be learned from the Middle East.
Today, countries such as the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are able to navigate the complexities of a rapidly evolving international business landscape and establish new ways of doing business. This innovation stems from ingenuity, talent, and leadership – but it is also thanks to robust investments in project management.
Project management is the use of specific knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to deliver better outcomes, greater value, and, ultimately, help improve business and society. The development of software for an improved business process, the construction of a building, the relief effort following a natural disaster – all are examples of projects in action.
At the Project Management Institute (PMI), we believe that effective project management drives change and spurs success. And as the world of work increasingly demands rapid responses to fast-moving change, the need to cultivate effective project management capabilities is greater than ever.
Simply put, project management is essential to realizing the potential of an idea and bringing it to fruition. This is reiterated by recent history.
Earlier this month, Expo 2020 Dubai finally opened its doors to the world and the site is an accomplishment in itself. Spanning 438 hectares, it is a feat of modern construction and engineering
— one that demanded the skills and insights of effective project managers and professionals, particularly in the wake of COVID-19.
Expo 2020 emphasizes just how crucial project management skills are to building success today and in the future.
The world’s leading professional association for millions of project professionals and changemakers worldwide, PMI is committed to empowering communities, businesses, and organizations to turn ideas into reality. Our recently launched virtual hub, Make Reality, celebrates the contributions of changemakers around the globe, including the MENA region’s highly skilled innovators. The hub tells the unique stories of the region’s most innovative thinkers, equipping changemakers with the resources to launch and see through the delivery of truly transformative projects.
In doing so, the hub spotlights what we identify as the “power skills” of project management: the people-centered competencies critical to affecting positive change and driving transformation.
We might have once called these “soft skills”, but that term doesn’t do them justice. As outlined in our Make Reality survey, business leaders pinpoint power skills such as teamwork/collaboration (49%), leadership (40%), and clear communication (32%) as vital to helping their companies successfully contend with and overcome the challenges of COVID-19.
Casting our eyes to the future, we believe that they, and project management in general, will contribute to efforts to build a better and more equitable world.