How important are Project Management Certifications?

Let me begin by saying that I’ve met a number of good project managers and SCRUM Masters that were not certified. There is nothing wrong with that as long as the results proof that their projects were successful.
Nevertheless in today’s market I consider it a necessity for a project manager (incl. SCRUM Master for the purpose of this blog post) to proof with a certification that he/she possesses all the necessary technical project management skills to be successful. The most common and widely recognized certification is the Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI.org)
Here are some reasons why I think the e.g. the PMP certification is important

• Requires a deeper and more conscious thinking about all aspects of Project Management
• Requires a certain time commitment to really study the topics that are going to be tested
• Provides technical tools that might not have been used before

There are obviously many more reasons why this certification helps but people who are not committed to Project Management and consider it only a transitional stage on their career path will struggle with this.

As with all certifications not everybody will use every topic every day and so some of the certification topics will be forgotten soon. Nevertheless you know where to find the necessary information quickly if needed. Besides every project sponsor wants to ensure that their project managers have the necessary skills to make their projects successful.

Now does the Professional Project Manager certification (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI) or another Project Management certification mean that this is all you need to be successful? No, but it is important foundational knowledge. In order to be really successful more (soft) skills are needed.

How important are additional certifications like the Green Belt or Black Belt? Should you have a SCRUM Master certification as well?

Generally speaking I consider all of these related certifications good and helpful for Project Managers! But there is more to a good project manager than a number of certifications. In order to make a real difference in your projects you should look how to improve your soft skills. Mostly importantly the 2 topics below

Communication

• What do you do to address the project communication challenges you encounter?
• What communication areas are you really strong at? Which ones need more work?
• How do you determine if you make progress in this area?

Leadership

• How do you energize and motivate the team?
• How do you create challenging gaps between the current state and the one that is envisioned?

I will provide some recommendations for books regarding Communication and Leadershipin one of the next posts