The PM Oath:
This oath was crafted by Dhananjay Gokhale in the year 2007-2008. Ever since then, many project managers have got tremendous benefit by adhering to this oath. This is the world’s first oath for the project manager!
We are the project managers: We are proud of it!
Many times people don’t appreciate and acknowledge that they are project managers. Anyone who is managing any project is a project manager. And one must be proud of it!
While one moves to this and starts appreciating himself as a project manager, at times emotional attachment of the project manager strikes in. This is dangerous. And hence, …
We shall never get attached to a project!
Neither one should be indifferent to the project. The high stress levels are seen amongst project managers because of the two main reasons. Either they are very much emotionally attached to the project. Or secondly, because they do not have the temperament to sustain and tolerate ambiguity. Hence the third sentence in the oath reminds us, …
We shall never hate ambiguity & chaos
On a lighter note, if ambiguity and chaos is absent then, the project manager’s job is at stake. The project managers have to navigate the project through ambiguity, chaos, assumptions, and constraints. Should the project manager be happy with it? “Not hating” is not the synonym for happy. To be happy one must understand the value of the role.
Many times, project managers identify themselves as coordinators, communicators, etc. It is unfortunate that they do not understand the real value of project management. The real value is ….
We shall bring in visibility & predictability
Project is an endeavour that is done by, for, and of the stakeholders. There are human beings around. And a foundational instinct of a human being is “curiosity”. Unmanaged curiosity leads to hostility, while well-managed curiosity leads to collaboration. The most tangible way to manage curiosity is to bring in quantitative and reliable visibility & predictability in the ever-changing environment.
Although many projects are essentially done for specific customers, the most common trigger is to make life simpler. And hence a project manager does all the tasks for this basic purpose and hence the oath says…
We shall make life more simple, more beautiful, more meaningful
The PM Oath guides the project manager throughout the career. It guides on four aspects.
- First, it sets the tone of appreciating the role of PM and being proud of it.
- Second, it guides on what should NOT be done
- Third, it guides on what is to be done
- and Fourth, it constantly reminds the much higher cause or noble cause that is served by project management.