Think of your customers
A PMO has (often) many ‘customers’, and all of these need to be considered and serviced. Without executive sponsorship a PMO will undoubtably fail. So there is one key customer you will need to think about, very carefully. Keeping your sponsor happy is critical. Then you have the project managers in your care (and this doesn’t matter if they are directly or indirectly managed by the PMO). Their onboarding, career progression, in-flight project support are all a focus for PMO services. And you have the project delivery customers (internal or external to your organization) – they effectively ‘pay the bills and keep the PMO lights on’ and as a result, they must be happy with the engagements, services and experience of partnering with the PMO. And finally you have to consider the PMO team themselves. PMOs are, in my mind, successful because they have the ‘right’ people in them and these people must be cared for, encouraged, praised and rewarded.
How one PMO addressed this need
To address this complex ‘customer’ community my own PMO resolved the old issues of ‘what does PMO stand for by creating three teams:
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Projects Team focused on onboarding, education, certification, support, community, and the project manager career
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Methods team focused on the ‘how’, the framework for common project delivery whilst offering flexibility on approach depending on project scale, partnership, and service offering
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Outcomes team focused on being the direct project management and service management interaction and support. The bridge between the Projects and Methods team and the users of the output from those teams. A proactive two-way communications channels to share PMO strategy and to listen to, and react to, local tactical needs
And the three teams, under the banner of the ‘Global PMO’ working together to support the business at both a tactical level and at a strategic level (sometimes quite a challenging and conflicting position it has to be said). In all honesty this took a while to get up to running in a smooth and integrated way. Creating three teams naturally leads to three independent views of priority and I note in all fairness that we have been through a tough learning curve on this. Just consider the Tuckman model of team building – Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing and multiply that by three for the three teams and then again at a full Global PMO level (with all of those PMO customers). Tough challenge! A deeper look at this can be found in my book ‘Projects: Methods: Outcomes: The New PMO Model for True Project and Change Success’ (Routledge). What I would say here is that the teams and the team leaders have made this transition a success and, I am delighted to say, have identified and self-managed a number of these integration issues and the Global PMO is now a highly effective working unit.
Adopting artificial intelligence
To aid in this complicated model of need the PMO is currently investing in technology to improve communications, reduce time investment, minimize errors and misunderstandings (which can be very costly). Adapting messaging, services, and focus across the four communities I outlined is no simple task and, whilst much of the data is common, we all know that effective communication only happens when the ‘right information is provided in the right way to the right person at the right time’. It is my belief that AI can play major part in this flexible all-encompassing communications model.
Building a trust-based partnership
Let’s face it: building a successful PMO isn’t just about spreadsheets, Gantt charts, or even the latest AI-driven dashboards. Sure, those are helpful as I have already noted, but the real secret? It’s trust. Simple to state but hard to achieve (and keep). Trust is what takes your PMO from being ‘that weird team everyone has to deal with’ to a valued strategic partner that executives, customers, project managers, and teams actively want on their side. Trust is the enabler for everything that matters—collaboration, communication, and alignment. Without it, your PMO will be stuck in the operational weeds, fighting resistance and disengagement. And probably their existence in extreme situations. So, how do you build trust? By understanding the unique needs and priorities of each stakeholder—executives want strategic alignment, project managers need support, and teams crave simplicity. Speak their language, stay transparent, and deliver value they can count on. Trust comes from consistency, not heroics. And here’s the kicker: sustaining trust isn’t a one-and-done deal. You’ve got to stay aligned with all of your shifting customer expectations, keep the communication open and proactive, and regularly check the temperature of those relationships. Think of it like keeping your home clean – minimal effort when done often but a real chore if neglected for any period of time. Regular stakeholder management assessments are key here, just as regular cleaning is in your home. When your PMO becomes a trust-building machine, the rewards are worth it: better collaboration, happier customers, and, most importantly, projects that deliver real business impact. Strategic success will follow.
