Onboarding, the Power of Projects and the Exciting Future of Project Management and APM
Interview with Adam Boddison
Chief Executive Officer
Association for Project Management
Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Interviewed by Miles Shepherd
Executive Editorial Advisor and International Correspondent, PMWJ
Salisbury, England, UK
Introduction to the interviewee
Adam Boddison joined APM as chief executive officer (CEO) in September 2021. He has a non-executive director portfolio that includes being Chair of the Corporation at Coventry College and Trustee at two multi-academy trusts spanning 80 primary, secondary and specialist settings. These schools and colleges provide education for more than 45,000 children and young people. Adam is also a visiting professor at the University of Wolverhampton. Prior to joining APM, Adam held leadership roles in several membership organisations including as chief executive for nasen (National Association for Special Educational Needs), director for the LLSENDCiC (a higher education membership group), and as academic principal for IGGY (a global educational social network for gifted teenagers). Adam was also director of the Centre for Professional Education at the University of Warwick. He has published a range of books and articles and is a qualified clinical hypnotherapist. @adamboddison
Interview
Q1. What are some of the ways you are ‘getting up to speed’ with APM, learning history, understanding policies and plans, meeting people? There seems to be a lot to learn; how are you doing?
Adam Boddison (Boddison): Developing knowledge and insights into the history of APM is a project in its own right, and that is certainly the way in which I have been approaching it. Much of my first six months in the role has been spent meeting with key stakeholders and building good working relationships. I have spent time getting to know APM staff, board members and volunteers, but I have also been listening carefully to other important stakeholders, such as our corporate partners, accredited providers and political associates. This process has given incredible insights into the project profession and I am grateful to all those who have supported me this far. Now that the pandemic is settling down, I am hoping to get out and about to meet more people in person.
Q2. Over the last three years, there have been a number of significant programmes and projects launched in response to the pandemic. Yet in many cases, programme and project management has received little or no visibility. Do you see that as a natural situation, or can APM raise the visibility and/or importance of PM in the eye of the public?
Boddison: One of our commitments at APM is to strengthen the concept of project management as a profession, and to give it the visibility it deserves. For too long project managers have been the unsung heroes, and we want to change that.
During the pandemic project managers have really stepped up and adapted projects quickly in response to the challenges presented to them. The vaccine rollout is a great example of a project done right and demonstrates the positive public impact projects can have in society. We want to see more projects benefit from this level of recognition and respect.
Q3. At the same time, we’ve seen a large public emphasis on programmes related to health and education, for example, new vaccines, new treatments, virtual learning, now returning children to schools. These are fields where project management has traditionally rather underserved. How might APM increase awareness, knowledge and application of PM in those sectors?
Boddison: Increasingly we are seeing project management come to the fore in these sectors and we are delighted to include representation from these sectors as part of our membership. We are working closely with our corporate partners and affiliates in these sectors, both nationally and internationally, including Health Education England, General Medical Council, IQVIA, Guys and St Thomas’s hospital, AstraZeneca Operation, Department for Health and Social Care, Ministry of Education – Malaysia, Department of Education and training – Victoria, Australia, to promote project management and increase awareness, knowledge and application.
More…
To read entire interview, click here
How to cite this interview: Shepherd, M.M. (2022). Onboarding, the Power of Projects and the Exciting Future of Project Management and APM; Interview with Adam Boddison; PM World Journal, Vol. XI, Issue III, March. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pmwj115-Mar2022-Shepherd-Interview-with-Adam-Boddison-2.pdf
About the Interviewer
Miles Shepherd
Salisbury, UK
Miles Shepherd is an executive editorial advisor and international correspondent for PM World Journal in the United Kingdom. He is also managing director for MS Projects Ltd, a consulting company supporting various UK and overseas Government agencies, nuclear industry organisations and other businesses. Miles has over 30 years’ experience on a variety of projects in UK, Eastern Europe and Russia. His PM experience includes defence, major IT projects, decommissioning of nuclear reactors, nuclear security, rail and business projects for the UK Government and EU. Past Chair, Vice President and Honorary Fellow of the Association for Project Management (APM), Miles is also past president and chair and a Fellow of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). He was a Director for PMI’s Global Accreditation Centre and is immediate past Chair of the ISO committee developing new international standards for Project Management and for Program/Portfolio Management. Miles is immediate past Chair of the British Standards Institute’s Committee on Project, Programme and Portfolio Management and has been involved in the development of Uk’s BSI 6079 for more than 25 years. He was involved in setting up APM’s team developing guidelines for project management oversight and governance. Miles is based in Salisbury, England and can be contacted at miles.shepherd@msp-ltd.co.uk.
To view other works by Miles Shepherd, visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at http://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/miles-shepherd/
