Becoming a PMP – The Five Letter Word that Starts and Ends with A “T”
Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT
Increasing others’ trust in their capabilities as a Project Manager increases PMP candidates’ drive to do what it takes to pass the PMP exam.
My PMP training team and I have been on an Accelerated PMP Exam Prep teaching bender the past several weeks, teaching the Virtual Program, then several back to back large classes in Atlanta, Washington DC and our next stop, Seattle.
One of our important tasks is to inspire and motivate PMP candidates so they keep the fire in their belly stoked to do the intense work required to become PMP certified. In the PMP Headstart class, all our students do before they attend class, we have them explore their “why”. We do this because when you have clarity and conviction for achieving a goal, you don’t need confidence. Sometimes we find people’s “why’s” are not inspired enough to keep them fired up. Especially when their “why” is to earn the PMP to satisfy someone else’s requirement.
Attaining the PMP credential is most certainly not for the faint of heart. It’s tremendously difficult and takes an intense level of dedication and commitment. Having an uninspiring “why” oftentimes won’t supply the fuel required to cross the finish line and pass the PMP exam.
So in class, we dive into the “why” of earning the PMP credential as a Project Manager. We kicked off today with a discussion of the five-letter word that starts and ends with a “T.” Clue – this is often extended more frequently to credentialed professionals in nearly every profession.
Can someone heal you who is not an MD? Most certainly, but would you trust that person to do surgery on you? No, the class agreed, you’d want a certified professional who had years of experience.
Likewise for both private and government projects. Who would you trust more: a project manager who had years of experience and was not a certified PMP or one who had years of experience as a certified PMP? You see, it isn’t just earning the professional credential that makes you stand out – it’s also doing the professional work to keep that credential.
So part of the “why” of earning the PMP credential is not just to get ahead in your career. That level of a “why” usually isn’t inspiring enough to give people the drive and oomph to do the work required to pass the PMP exam. But expanding others’ “trust” in your capabilities as a project manager can stoke the belly fire required to pass the PMP exam.
“The first thing my boss said when I told him I was interested in getting my PMP certification was that if I was going to do it, he’d heard Cheetah Learning was the best.”