In our Latin America edition of Pulse of the Profession®, we surveyed 435 project professionals in October and November 2020 to assess the impact of the pandemic and how organizations were responding to it. Our global survey results revealed that project outcomes generally had not suffered, although this may have been due to many projects being put on hold.3 Latin America kept pace with the global average in many measures of project outcomes and stood out in terms of limiting scope creep, as well as budget losses from project failures (see Figure 1). Organizations in the region also stepped up to accelerate business change, particularly when it came to innovation approach and organizational culture (see Figure 2).
Many organizations rose to the challenges presented by the pandemic; many, however, did not. What separated them? Our global research reveals the emergence of what we call the gymnastic enterprise: an organization that combines structure, form, and governance with the ability to flex and pivot on demand.
Gymnastic enterprises focus more on outcomes than process: instead of favoring any one approach to project management, they select the very best ways of working depending on the situation. Instead of using people skills—what we call power skills— primarily to motivate and seek alignment, or to facilitate autonomous decision-making, gymnastic enterprises champion these skills both as a means to inspire and deliver, depending on the desired outcome. And instead of encouraging deeply specialized skills or more generalist approaches, gymnastic enterprises aim to build both breadth and depth in their people—what we call business acumen.
To identify these organizations, we looked at their ways of working (see Figure 3). Those that primarily utilized any and all possible methods to solve problems were classified as gymnastic enterprises. Those that primarily used tried-and-tested methods were classified as traditional enterprises.
Like their global counterparts, gymnastic enterprises in Latin America were more likely to demonstrate organizational agility than traditional enterprises (47 percent versus 25 percent). At the same time, they were also more likely to use standardized project management practices throughout the entire organization (26 percent versus 15 percent), including risk management practices (64 percent versus 46 percent)—a key driver of project success in the region.
Gymnastic enterprises in Latin America were also more likely to report productivity gains in 2020 compared to the year before (74 percent versus 52 percent). And they were more likely to accelerate business changes in the same time period. At the top of the list: digital transformation (79 percent versus 60 percent for traditional enterprises), organizational adaptability (77 percent versus 55 percent), and operational efficiencies (77 percent versus 49 percent). These were all factors that helped teams deliver remotely during the pandemic.
The payoff? Gymnastic enterprises in the region were more likely to achieve better project outcomes, including meeting original goals and business intent (76 percent versus 70 percent), completing projects within their initially scheduled times (58 percent versus 51 percent), and were less likely to experience scope creep (23 percent versus 32 percent).
So how, exactly, are gymnastic enterprises delivering better value? They’re creating changemakers—those who, regardless of their role, feel inspired and equipped to turn ideas into reality. And they’re doing this by enabling their people to work smarter through mastery of new skills.
Source: PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report