How project managers become COOs: The career guide

How far up the career ladder do you see yourself going? Is it high enough? Or is it time to revise your ambition level to reach for the executive suite?

Project management is a profession that provides an excellent grounding for life at the top of an organisation beyond a project role, whether it鈥檚 as a COO, global business development director or CEO.

Not only does it give you an invaluable bird鈥檚-eye view of an organisation, but it also teaches you the art of effective communication, stakeholder engagement, people management, delivering change and collaborative leadership in constantly changing times.

Let鈥檚 take collaborative leadership. Today, projects require leaders who can base this on 鈥渆motional intelligence, empathy and continuous learning and development鈥�, says Amy Morley ChPP, APM鈥檚 Chair and Programme Management Senior Director at AECOM.

鈥淐ollaborative leadership isn鈥檛 just about having a style; it is a genuine advantage in accelerating problem-solving and building the kind of culture that means that, where you鈥檙e facing complexity or challenges, you are more likely to get over those and succeed.鈥�

This mindset is what鈥檚 needed in every executive leader. Navigating through complexity and continuous change is another crossover between project delivery and executive-level leadership.

鈥淎 big part of the job now is to develop relationships and get ownership from everybody,鈥� says Gordon MacKay, former Project Management Capability Lead at Sellafield.

So, how do you prepare yourself to go for an executive position? Here鈥檚 some advice from those who have switched out of the lane of project management to become a senior leader across an organisation.

1. Capitalise on your project management skills

鈥淭he nice thing about projects is you see how different bits of the business work together, and because you鈥檙e working with different people in different areas, you understand how to manage those different stakeholders, who have different needs,鈥� says Josie Harries, who moved from programme management to become Global Business Development Director at Domino Printing Services. Her role involves shaping a commercial strategy and defining the organisation鈥檚 growth.

Another important experience that project management trains you in is bridging the silos that exist in any organisation and providing clear direction in building an environment where people feel confident as part of a supported team, argues Harries.

鈥淚 think that has really set me up for the leadership roles I鈥檝e moved around within the organisation. Learning how to lead disparate teams that don鈥檛 directly report to you so that they can pull together around a common goal is really key.鈥�

2. But fortify your skills by filling the gaps

If you鈥檙e serious about landing an executive role, don鈥檛 rest on your project management laurels. You need to boost your skill set and experience. Harries says she made a lot of effort to build her network within the organisation to get people to see the things she was good at doing. It鈥檚 about pushing your skill set forward.

3. Be brave and say yes

It鈥檚 also about saying yes to new opportunities. 鈥淚鈥檝e always taken the mantra of saying yes when an opportunity arises,鈥� says Harries. 鈥淓ven if it seems really daunting, just step into it and embrace it.鈥�

4. Marry your ability to handle change with the day-to-day

Heather Walker, Chief Operating Officer at London鈥檚 Royal Ballet & Opera, previously worked as Project Director of its Open Up project to transform the venue鈥檚 front-of-house experience. Prior to this, she was Deputy Chief Executive at the Royal Albert Hall and led other international cultural projects. Gaining operational experience and responsibilities beyond project leadership is critical to win an executive role, but goes hand-in-hand with the people management side of projects, which traverses both project and operational roles.

鈥淩unning the day-to-day and running projects have always gone together. I get a huge buzz out of that, because I like change,鈥� Walker says. 鈥淚 like being part of not just running an organisation day-to-day, but being able to look back over five years and say, 鈥業t鈥檚 running better because we鈥檝e done these [project] interventions.鈥� I see them as two sides of the same coin, rather than completely different skill sets.鈥�

The professionals interviewed for this feature were in conversation with the APM Podcast, which you can listen to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and more.