Pulse of The Profession® 2021

Pulse of the Profession® 2021
Beyond
Agility
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Flex to the Future
In unprecedented times, organizations are delivering remarkable change. Amid a
global pandemic and deep economic woes, they have found new ways of working
and have improved project performance. Although many planned projects were put
on hold, of those that did forge ahead, more met original goals and business intent,
and more were completed within budget and on time, compared to last year’s Pulse
of the Profession®.
But not all organizations were able to pivot and thrive—it took a special kind of
What we’re
organization to maintain its momentum or even overachieve. What we’re seeing is seeing is a
a fundamental shift in how leading organizations and their teams plan and execute
initiatives. We call them gymnastic enterprises: they are focused on outcomes rather
fundamental
than process, with a clear sense of how to balance structure and governance with the shift in how
need to flex and pivot on demand. leading
Gymnastic enterprises go beyond reacting or embracing change—they empower
their people to make change happen. They enable their employees to master different organizations
ways of working, to become well-rounded professionals, and to elevate their power and their
skills—from embracing collaborative leadership to forging an innovative mindset.
Gymnastic enterprises also recognize the importance of enabling all these project teams plan
skills through a values-based organizational culture that’s focused on customer value, and execute
digital solutions, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The result? Higher levels of organizational agility, more standardized risk manage-
initiatives.
ment practices, and less project scope creep, among other benefits, all contributing to
better project performance.
Resilient, flexible, and future-focused—these gymnastic enterprises are turning
strategy into reality and carving out a true competitive advantage in The Project
Economy.
PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 1

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CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION
3 The New Work Ecosystem
9
PART 1
New Ways of Working
PART 2
12 People Have the Power
14 PART 3
Breadth and Depth
16
PART 4
Connective Tissue
CONCLUSION
20 Adapt and Advance
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The New Work Ecosystem
The world has no doubt seen extraordinary change in the last few years. But it turns
out that was a mere ripple compared to the tsunami of disruption we saw in 2020. As
the pandemic upended the world, it accelerated new ways of working and delivering
value that had been gathering steam for some time (see Figure 1). It accelerated the
pace and scale of digitalization exponentially, with a big impact on talent and the need
to upskill and reskill. And it has forced organizations to rethink the future—fast.
FIGURE 1
Big Changes
Digital transformation 68%
Business strategy 64%
Organizational adaptability 61%
Innovation approach 57%
Operational efficiency 57%

Diversity, equity, &
inclusion initiatives
55%
Organizational culture 53%

Project management
maturity
49%
Talent management 42%
Q: How would you describe the change in your business over the past 12 months compared to the 12 months prior in
the following areas? (“Many/some significant changes” shown.)

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Room to Grow n Global n Government
n IT n Financial services
Not all sectors are the same when it comes to accelerating business change. Pulse
data reveals that government lags behind the norm, which may in part be due to 68% 72% 77%
61%
legal and regulatory restrictions, while IT and financial services are, unsurprisingly,
ahead of the game.
The UK government’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) is showing how

Digital transformation
inspirational leadership can help government agencies break with the past,
according to UK Civil Service COO Alex Chisholm.1 In addition to the gateway 69% 74%
64%
reviews and other checks and balances that IPA applies to ensure that projects
49%
meet necessary performance indicators and milestones, leaders are now collab-
orating with teams to keep initiatives on track.
“It’s not just enough to say that you’re currently rated as a red or amber,
but what would it take between us to be able to get you to green,” Chisholm Business strategy
says. “[I]t’s a very enlightened and good way of trying to get the overall project
portfolio delivering on time, which is the objective that we all share.” 61% 67% 68%
53%
Not all regions are the same when it comes to business change either. South
Asia exceeds the global average—likely due, in part, to its high percentage of
IT business. Sub-Saharan Africa was also significantly higher than the global
average in terms of changes to business strategy and organizational adaptability—
Organizational adaptability
perhaps due to a relatively higher proportion of financial services business—while
Europe was below average in those two areas. Q: How would you describe the
change in your business over the
past 12 months compared to the
12 months prior in the following
areas? (“Many” and “some”
changes shown.)
Project leaders rose to the challenge. Despite the pandemic, project outcomes
generally did not suffer—and indeed improved compared to previous years—al-
though this may have been due to many planned projects being put on hold2 (see
Figure 2). Likewise, wasted investment due to poor project performance—missed
deadlines, overshot budgets, and scope creep, for example—declined to 9.4 percent
from 11.4 percent in last year’s Pulse. And 61 percent of respondents reported that
their organization had seen productivity gains in the past 12 months compared to the
12 months prior.
FIGURE 2
Better Project Outcomes
73%
68% 69%
Met original goals/ 62%

business intent 59%
57%
55%
Completed within 53%
original budget
51%
Completed
on time
37% 37%
Failed project, 35%
budget lost 37%
35% 34%
Experienced
scope creep
Deemed failures 15%

13% 12%
Q: In your estimation,
what percentage of
the projects completed
within your organization
in the past 12 months…
(Mean percentages
shown.) 2019 2020 2021

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Regional and Industry Variances
Project Outcomes by Region South Asia’s

North Latin SS South Asia performance is likely
Global America America Europe MENA Africa China Asia Pacific due to the high % of
Met goals 73% 75% 71% 70% 72% 75% 69% 74% 72% respondents from
Within budget 62% 62% 63% 57% 61% 62% 66% 65% 63% the IT sector, which
On time 55% 56% 53% 50% 51% 52% 63% 60% 58% outperforms other
Failed project, sectors.
budget lost
35% 38% 32% 40% 28% 34% 33% 26% 32%
Scope creep 34% 39% 27% 32% 25% 29% 27% 28% 33%
Failures 12% 9% 15% 12% 13% 11% 20% 12% 14%
Project Outcomes by Industry

es
nt ervic turin
g e tion
al rnme cial S om gy ufac hcar truc
Glob Gove IT Finan Telec Ener Man Healt Cons
Met goals 73% 71% 75% 71% 74% 75% 70% 73% 74%
Within budget 62% 60% 64% 59% 65% 63% 60% 61% 60%
On time 55% 49% 59% 53% 57% 57% 53% 55% 57%
Failed project,
budget lost
35% 36% 33% 37% 33% 38% 37% 31% 34%
Scope creep 34% 36% 33% 39% 24% 31% 35% 39% 30%
Failures 12% 12% 11% 13% 11% 10% 13% 10% 12%
Q: In your estimation, what percentage of the projects completed within your organization in the past 12 months… (Mean percentages shown.)
Many organizations were ready to meet the moment; many, however, were not.
What separated them?
PMI’s 2021 Pulse of the Profession® survey reveals the emergence of what we call
the gymnastic enterprise. These organizations and their project teams combine struc-
ture, form, and governance with the ability to flex and pivot—wherever and whenever
needed. Gymnastic enterprises focus more on outcomes than process, selecting the
very best ways of working from a landscape of possibilities. And they aren’t just good
at reacting to change or even embracing it—they make change happen, starting with-
Gymnastic
in their own organizations. But most of all, gymnastic enterprises focus on their people, enterprises
knowing that organizational performance is a well-choreographed dance of individual
performances.
focus on
We asked respondents to characterize their organization’s approach to ways of their people,
working, and nearly a third said that any and all possible methods were primarily or
exclusively used to solve problems (see Figure 3). We classified these as gymnastic
knowing that
enterprises. Thirty percent, however, said that only methods that had proven effective organizational
in the past were considered most or all of the time. These were classified as traditional performance
enterprises.
The enduring problem that traditional enterprises face today is that their struc- is a well-
tures and ways of working remain very rigid in the midst of change. Not surprisingly, choreographed
they’re often predictive enterprises, which favor extensively planned and methodical
approaches. But they can also be agile enterprises that are strongly skewed toward dance of
iterative, adaptive approaches. Gymnastic enterprises, in contrast, can apply any of individual
these ways of working, depending on what’s appropriate for the situation.
That’s not the only difference. Traditional enterprises may use people skills—what
performances.
we call power skills—primarily to motivate and gain alignment or—at the other ex-
treme—to facilitate autonomous decision-making. But gymnastic enterprises champi-
on power skills both as a means to inspire and deliver, depending on the circumstances
and individuals.
And, while traditional enterprises may either encourage a craftsman-like focus
on specialized skills or a more generalist approach, gymnastic enterprises are more
aware of the need to build both breadth and depth.
Our research indicates that gymnastic enterprises achieve greater success by
developing a range of value delivery capabilities—and that unless traditional enterpris-
es can emulate this approach, they risk becoming obsolete in an increasingly digitalized
and unpredictable world.

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FIGURE 3
A Competitive Edge
The traditional enterprise The gymnastic enterprise

uses “old” ways of working embraces “new” ways
of working
We consider only We consider any

methods that have and all possible methods
proven effective for available to solve the
us in the past. problem at hand.
30% 32%
We are split evenly
between the two.
Exclusively Mostly describes us 38% Mostly describes us Exclusively

describes us describes us
27% 28%
3% 4%
Q: Please characterize your organization’s approach to ways of working to address problems and needs.
We found that gymnastic enterprises were more likely than traditional enterprises
to have high levels of organizational agility (48 percent versus 27 percent) and were
more likely to frequently use standardized risk management practices (68 percent
versus 64 percent). That combination is a winner: both traits were significant drivers of
project success across the entire respondent base, as evidenced by PMI’s key driver
analysis, which identifies the most influential factors for project success, using rigorous
statistical models.
Gymnastic enterprises were also more likely than traditional enterprises to have
undergone widespread business change during the pandemic (see Figure 4). And, they
were more successful across a range of project outcomes (see Figure 5). Of particular
note was avoiding project scope creep—a top-three driver of project success among
respondents in every industry and nearly every region we analyzed.
There’s more. Gymnastic enterprises were more likely than traditional enterpris-
es to have increased productivity (71 percent versus 53 percent) and high project
management maturity (52 percent versus 45 percent). They were also more likely to
have high benefits realization process maturity (39 percent versus 33 percent) and
“excellent” or “very good” departmental/regional/divisional project management office
(PMO) performance (49 percent versus 43 percent)—both of which are significant
drivers of project success globally.
As a result of better project performance, gymnastic enterprises only saw
9 percent investment waste compared to 10.5 percent for traditional enterprises.
Size doesn’t matter when it comes to gymnastic enterprises—they were more
likely to be among the largest in our survey (>US$10 billion in revenue) as well as the
smallest (<US$10 million). The proportion and characteristics of gymnastic versus
traditional enterprises were also broadly similar across regions and industries—
although there was a higher proportion of gymnastic enterprises in South Asia
(38 percent) and in the telecoms industry (39 percent).

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FIGURE 4
Gymnastic Enterprises Have Seen More Change
Recent Business Changes Gymnastic Traditional

Digital transformation 73% 62%
Business strategy 70% 57%
Organizational adaptability 70% 53%
Operational efficiency 65% 52%
Innovation approach 65% 46%
Diversity, equity, & inclusion initiatives 60% 51%
Organizational culture 60% 48%
Project management maturity 57% 41%
Talent management 48% 36%
Q: How would you describe the change in your business over the past 12 months compared to the 12 months
prior in the following areas? (“Many” and “some” changes shown.)
FIGURE 5
Delivering Better Value
n Gymnastic n Traditional
Project Outcomes
Met original goals/ 75%
business intent 72%
Completed within 64%

original budget 59%
Completed 58%
on time
52%
Experienced 33%
scope creep
37%
Failed project, 36%

budget lost
37% Gymnastic
Deemed 11% enterprises saw
9%
failures
13%
Q: In your estimation, what percentage of the projects completed within

your organization in the past 12 months… wasted investment
due to poor project
performance
compared to
10.5%
for traditional
enterprises.

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Gymnastic enterprises are leading the way in The Project Economy—focused
squarely on delivering financial and societal value, no matter what it takes. But
how, exactly, are they doing this? By empowering all their people to become
changemakers—those who, regardless of their role, feel personally inspired and
equipped to drive change and turn ideas into reality.
This happens when people continuously get better at what they do, utilizing a vari-
ety of means to build a holistic portfolio of skills, from which they can pick and choose
the best ways to drive
results and value.
Gymnastic enterprises
are creating change-
makers by enabling their
people to work smarter in
three key ways:
n Mastering differ-
ent ways of work-
ing—whether that’s
agile, predictive, or
hybrid approaches, or
tech-enhanced tools like
complex problem-solv-
ing techniques or micro-
learning apps.
n Elevating power skills

to ensure effective
leadership and com-
munication—including
collaborative leadership,
empathy for customers
and colleagues, inno-
vative thinking, and the
ability to build trusting
relationships.
n Building business
acumen to create
well-rounded employ-
ees—those who not
only have expertise
in their specific roles
and projects, but also
understand how their efforts relate to the macro environment, strategic objectives,
and other parts of the business.
Gymnastic enterprises are leading

the way in The Project Economy—
focused squarely on delivering
financial and societal value, no
matter what it takes.

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New
Ways
of Working PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 9
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The pandemic was a gut punch to the world’s socioeconomic structure—and many
companies still haven’t gotten over the shock. Others seized any opportunity to create
positive change wherever they could. Case in point: after months of restrictions
on restaurant occupancy, New York City launched a program in June 2020 allow-
ing restaurants to serve customers at tables in adjacent streets and sidewalks. To
accelerate outdoor dining opportunities—and help struggling restaurants as quickly as
possible—the Department of Transportation, which oversaw the project, shifted from “We
its normal protocols, instead allowing restaurants to self-certify their permits. By fo- responded
cusing on outcomes rather than processes, the agency was able to deliver the change
for applications and inspections in just four weeks.
in a very
“We responded in a very gymnastic, agile way,” says Cordell Schachter, PMP, CTO gymnastic,
and CIO, New York City Department of Transportation. “It was a big change from how
we normally operate.”
agile way.
It was also a prime example in mastering new ways of working—applying the right It was a
technique in the right way at the right time to deliver the desired outcome. Pulse
found gymnastic enterprises are more likely than traditional enterprises to complete
big change
projects using agile (28 percent versus 22 percent) and hybrid (24 percent versus 16 from how
percent) approaches, and less likely to complete projects using waterfall (45 percent we normally
versus 59 percent). Yet this isn’t as simple as eschewing waterfall, but rather ensuring
that teams customize their approach for the project at hand. operate.”
“Organizations shouldn’t mandate any one framework or think that one size fits —Cordell Schachter,
all,” says Sahar Kanani, PMP, director of program management at health technology PMP, New York City
company MacroHealth, Vancouver, Canada. “As much as I’m an advocate for agile, I also Department of
believe you couldn’t land on the moon or even build a bridge without waterfall.” Transportation
Gymnastic enterprises also outpace traditional ones in the use of cloud solutions,
the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence (AI), and 5G mobile internet (see Figure 6).
And they’re more likely to use tech-enabled ways of working: complex problem-solving
techniques, AI-driven tools, microlearning apps, and career assessment tools (see
Figure 7).
FIGURE 6
The Technology Edge
66%
Cloud solutions
55%
37%
Internet of Things
29%
26%
Artificial intelligence
21%
24%
5G mobile internet
19%
Q: How often do project teams at your organization leverage each of the following in the management of projects?
(“Always” and “often” responses shown.)

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FIGURE 7
Embracing Tech-Enabled Ways of Working
Complex problem-solving 47%

tools and techniques
35%
39%
Artificial-intelligence-driven tools
30%
On-demand microlearning 39%

tools/apps
30%
Career assessment 37%

tools/apps
30%
Q: At your organization, how high a priority is enterprise-wide adoption of the following?

(“Somewhat high” and “very high” responses shown.)
For many companies, the overnight shift to remote working and customer inter-
actions as a result of COVID-19 was a key test of their ability to adopt new ways
of working. It’s one that gymnastic enterprises embraced, with 73 percent making
changes in digital transformation in the previous year (versus 62 percent for traditional
enterprises) and two-thirds prioritizing flexible work as part of their organizational
culture (versus 52 percent).
“What the pandemic has made us look at is, how can we tweak all these ways of “What the
working, given a dispersed team context?” says Venkatachaliah Kanamanapalli, PMP, pandemic has
associate vice president, Infosys, a global tech consulting firm in Bengaluru, India. “We
had a distributed model of delivery. Now that distributed model of delivery is further made us look
split into people working out of their individual locations. We are now seeing what the at is, how can
best practices are that we can embrace to be successful in the new context.”
For some organizations, the shift to virtual working was particularly challenging. we tweak all
Prior to the pandemic, banking and retail tech provider Diebold Nixdorf had a mini- these ways of
mal remote-work culture in Mexico, depending on roles, says Gustavo Pastrana, PMP,
senior manager, global software for pre-sales project, Diebold Nixdorf, Mexico City,
working, given
Mexico. “The thinking was that you had to be seen in the office—especially in Mexico, a dispersed
organizations didn’t trust you if they didn’t see you.”
The pivot to virtual became a paradigm shift for the organization: it now focuses
team context?”
less on how people work and more on what they achieve. Leaders still review and mon- —Venkatachaliah
itor performance, but “the organization trusts its employees to do their work based Kanamanapalli, PMP,
Infosys, Bengaluru,
on results, not on daily checks. It’s about outcome, not processes,” Pastrana says. And
India
along the way, it discovered another benefit: “Employees are now more engaged.”

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People
Have
the Power PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 12
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Real change doesn’t happen without people—and those people need power skills
like collaborative leadership, empathy, an innovative mindset, and the ability to build
trusting relationships, developed continuously through a variety of ways. For gymnastic
enterprises, power skills represent the new face of project talent. For example, 54 per-
cent saw collaborative leadership as a high priority for talent development, compared
to 42 percent of traditional enterprises (see Figure 8).
“We believe that those on the front line drive the change,” says Heba Al Shehhi, PMI-
“It’s about
ACP, PMP, head of the PMO, Dubai Municipality, Dubai, UAE. “The role of leadership and seeing your
managers has to be shifted to become supporters and catalysts of the change for all
the stakeholders in the organization.”
people first as
The advantage goes not to those with the greatest technology acumen but to human beings
those who can combine that know-how with uniquely human qualities to meet increas- and second
ingly complex and ambiguous challenges. This explains why gymnastic enterprises—and
traditional ones to a lesser extent—prioritize key power skills over data science and as parts of an
developer skills. The talent-plus-tech equation is the only way to move true change organization
forward—whether it’s new processes or new technology.
During the pandemic, for example, Indian infrastructure developer GMR Group driving
accelerated its digital transformation, adopting new technologies like 3D modeling and results.”
transitioning to a digital project management platform to monitor its projects around
—Gustavo Pastrana, PMP,
the world. The goal was to improve processes and slash waste, but it was a big change Diebold Nixdorf, Mexico
from the organization’s previous reliance on time-consuming spreadsheets. And it City, Mexico
would only be possible by building trust through clear communications around the shift.
“If we can’t explain the benefits to everyone who will be impacted, it will fail,” says
Nirbhik Sengupta, PMP, vice president, operations, GMR Group, Singapore.
Empathetic leadership makes a difference, too, particularly with soaring levels
of anxiety, depression, and burnout. For example, Pastrana says leaders at Diebold
Nixdorf now ask their team members about their personal and mental health and their
family lives. “It’s about seeing your people first as human beings and second as parts
of an organization driving results.”
It’s the kind of future-focused skill that gymnastic enterprises see value in, with
21 percent of respondents saying empathy is a high priority for talent development,
compared to 17 percent at traditional enterprises.
But empathy isn’t just about being a kinder, gentler leader. It’s about helping an
organization’s people be better at what they do. “The underlying message is that your
physical and mental well-being is vitally important to the company. It underpins every-
thing,” says Paul Jones, P&PM community lead—Europe, Fujitsu, Birmingham, UK.
FIGURE 8
Powering Up
Gymnastic Traditional
Collaborative leadership 54% 42%
Adaptability 50% 40%
Innovative mindset 46% 32%
Empathy 21% 17%
Q: Considering the skills below, which are the highest priorities for talent development at your organization?

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Breadth
and Depth PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 14
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Projects don’t happen in a bubble, and changemakers must be able to see the bigger
picture. This means not only having deep expertise in their own roles but also having
the range of knowledge required to understand macro business objectives and their
implications. It also means understanding how other roles relate to their own and how
they all ladder up to strategic goals. The importance of having both breadth and depth
has never been more apparent than during the pandemic, when employees at all levels
had to think and act like entrepreneurs.
By sharpening business acumen through multiple approaches to learning, and being
open and clear about the organization’s strategic objectives, organizations
37%
build project teams that are better positioned to sense shocks earlier—and
to even get ahead of them. Here, too, gymnastic enterprises have the edge,
with 37 percent saying a top talent-development priority is promoting the
understanding of how different parts of the business work together, com-
pared to 32 percent of traditional enterprises. of gymnastic
By building that knowledge base, companies can ensure project teams enterprises say a top
are in sync with organizational strategy—and that they’re delivering value. talent-development
“Organizations should prioritize transparency about the problems they priority is promoting
want to solve,” says MacroHealth’s Sahar Kanani. “When they do that, they
the understanding of
get a higher level of support from their people, especially in difficult times
how different parts
of change.”
On a product her team was developing in 2020, for example, the engi-
of the business work
neers on the team proposed a solution that made the most technical sense together, compared
from their work perspective. But after iterating with the broader business to 32% of traditional
team, they suggested an alternative that would get the product to market enterprises.
faster and hit the revenue targets more quickly—and they took the time
to walk through the rationale. “Once we explained the impact in terms of
revenue and goals, the team understood the thought behind the decision we made
and was quite supportive,” she says.
In other areas of business acumen that we asked about, however, gymnastic enter-
prises did not have the edge over traditional enterprises—but they’ve been working
hard. Forty percent (versus 29 percent) made very good or excellent progress over
the previous three years in helping their people develop awareness of the business
environment. And 32 percent (versus 24 percent) did the same in developing skills and
competencies among youth and young adults.
“Organizations should prioritize

transparency about the problems they
want to solve. When they do that, they get
a higher level of support from their people,
especially in difficult times of change.”
—Sahar Kanani, PMP, MacroHealth, Vancouver, Canada

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Connective
Tissue
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Building an environment where changemakers thrive doesn’t just magically happen. The
role of organizational culture cannot be overstated. Nor can the role of executive lead-
ership in intentionally identifying the culture and capabilities they want to have—and
the role of talent management in promoting and reinforcing the right behaviors.
“If you don’t have a very strong culture, your strategy is not going to work; your
projects are going to be impacted,” says Marcelo Tocci, PMP, PMO and deputy pro-
gram director at aerospace giant Embraer, São Paulo, Brazil. “There’s a
It’s no surprise that gymnastic enterprises placed far higher priority on all aspects stronger drive
of organizational culture that we asked about, compared to traditional enterprises
(see Figure 9). Top of the list was a culture centered on delivering customer value (80
now to drive
percent versus 65 percent)—which was a top-three driver of project success among every dollar of
global respondents and a key driver in most regions. A focus on customer value helps
to explain why gymnastic enterprises carried out more R&D (78 percent versus 73 per-
revenue from
cent), service development (85 percent versus 81 percent), and IT product development the business,
(79 percent versus 75 percent) projects than traditional enterprises.
Gymnastic enterprises also put a greater focus on building a digital culture (67
that business is
percent versus 52 percent)—another significant driver of project success generally not just going
(see Figure 9). This helps to explain why gymnastic enterprises were more likely to use to fall in your
different types of technology and tech-enabled ways of working, and more likely to
embrace digital transformation and flexible work. lap. You have to
At Telstra, on-demand learning has helped teams dive deeper into delivery ap- go chase it and
proaches and new tech tools—all part of the organization’s mission to develop more
action-oriented leaders who are focused on customers and outcomes, says Peter win it.”
Moutsatsos, PMP, chief project officer, Telstra, Melbourne, Australia. —Peter Moutsatsos, PMP,
“We’ve gone from being very controlling to be more competing,” Moutsatsos says. Telstra, Melbourne,
“There’s a stronger drive now to drive every dollar of revenue from the business, that Australia
business is not just going to fall in your lap. You have to go chase it and win it.”
Crucially, gymnastic enterprises also recognize that values create value: 71 percent
prioritized a culture that’s aligned with organizational values, compared to 60 percent
for traditional enterprises. And 92 percent had senior leadership who were guided by
those same values, compared to 85 percent of traditional enterprises.
FIGURE 9
Changing Priorities
Organizational culture
Is centered on delivering 80%

customer value 65%
Is aligned with 71%

organizational values 60%
Embraces digital solutions

67%
52%
Supports flexible 66%

work options 52%
Fosters diversity, equity, 63%

and inclusion 51%
Is receptive 62%
to change
40%
Fosters 62%
innovation
41%
Values project management

52%
42%
Values 52%
upskilling
38%
Is attractive to next-gen 45%

project leaders
34%
Q: How high a priority is each of the following aspects of organizational culture? (“Very high” and “somewhat high” shown.)

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Senior leadership at gymnastic enterprises also go the extra mile when it comes
to building project capabilities. They’re creating changemakers by placing a high
priority on enterprise-wide project management skills (43 percent versus 35 percent).
Gymnastic enterprises are also more likely to have projects with active sponsors (69
percent versus 64 percent). The importance of active project sponsorship is hard to
overstate; it was the number-one driver of project success globally. Highly engaged
executive sponsors play a critical role in closing the gap between strategy and execu-
tion by facilitating communication and collaboration, boosting project success rates.
Additionally, gymnastic enterprises focus on building culture and capabilities from
the bottom up, outdoing traditional enterprises in every aspect of talent management
we asked about, including performance management (58 percent versus 44 percent)
and learning and development (56 percent versus 44 percent). They also placed higher
priority on workforce planning (52 percent versus 41 percent)—which was a significant
driver of project success for respondents globally (see Figure 10).
FIGURE 10
Prioritizing Talent Management
Performance management
58%
44%
56%
Learning and development
44%
52%
Workforce planning
41%
50%
Talent acquisition
36%
47%
Talent retention
34%
45%
Investing in youth
32%
44%
Fair compensation
33%
Succession planning 38%

for key employees 31%
40%
Mentoring
29%
Q: How high of a priority is each of the following for your organization? (“Very/somewhat high” responses shown.)

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Where gymnastic enterprises barely do better than their traditional counterparts,
however, is increasing diversity at the top, with only 44 percent having at least one
female C-suite leader, compared to 42 percent for traditional enterprises. Yet both
believe that having diversity and inclusiveness increases project value (96 percent at
gymnastic enterprises; 94 percent at traditional). However, gymnastic enterprises are
working to make progress, at all levels: 63 percent placed a high priority on fostering a
culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion, versus 51 percent of traditional enterprises,
and 45 percent are focusing on youth by prioritizing a culture that’s attractive to the
next generation of project leaders, versus 34 percent.
When clinical laboratory network Labcorp installed Adam Schechter as its new
CEO in November 2019, he initiated a flurry of changes to establish a culture that
promoted a better work-life balance and cultivated more female leaders, says
Lauren Kapler, PMP, acquisition integration program director at Labcorp, Burlington,
Embedding
North Carolina, US. For instance, the company introduced new leadership courses an innovative
for women, focused on erasing the barriers and obstacles they typically encounter
during career development.
mindset into
Kapler calls the new CEO an advocate for women in leadership and diversity, the company
focused on “putting the right person in the job who’s going to come with new ways of
thinking and approaches.” And that has had a ripple effect across the company: “The
culture
culture change has been extremely noticeable and extremely positive.” requires
Putting the focus on diversity and inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do; it can diversity
also fuel innovation and creativity. That’s a prime spot for improvement, across
all organizations, especially in these times. But it’s no coincidence that gymnastic of race,
enterprises are more likely to prioritize a culture that’s receptive to change and that gender, age,
fosters innovation (62 percent for both), compared to traditional enterprises (40
percent and 41 percent, respectively). experience,
Embedding an innovative mindset into the company culture requires diversity nationality,
of race, gender, age, experience, nationality, and thought. Getting all points of view
doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is right, “but it creates a sense of ownership so
and thought.
that they feel this business is also their business, its problems are also their problems,”
Kanani says.
Breaking down silos is helping forge a more collaborative mindset and engaging
culture at renewable energy solutions provider Goldwind Science and Technology.
“With the expansion of our company scale, the culture of departmentalism began
to prevail, which is a severe obstacle for the further development of our groups,” says
Jason Xiao, PMP, director of strategic and project management, Goldwind, Beijing, Chi-
na. “We are trying to destroy the walls between departments, trying to make people
have more cooperation and alignment. It really works. I think that’s the type of change
we want.”

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Adapt and Advance
It took resilience to initiate and sustain pandemic-driven changes. But the next normal
demands even more from organizations, project leaders, and their teams. Our 2021
Pulse of the Profession® shows gymnastic enterprises leading the way, by tailoring their
approaches to achieve desired outcomes.
Gymnastic enterprises empower their people to master new ways of working by
applying the right approach in the right way at the right time to deliver what’s needed. Gymnastic
Sometimes that’s agile; other times it’s hybrid or waterfall. And they help their people enterprises
work more effectively by using a variety of powerful tech-enhanced approaches like
complex problem-solving techniques and on-demand, microlearning apps. It’s all about also emphasize
figuring out what works for the project. the human
Gymnastic enterprises also emphasize the human element, enabling people to work
well together and understand how everyone contributes to the bigger picture. Every element,
organization has the potential to create its own squad of changemakers, but those enabling
people will need power skills like collaborative leadership, empathy for customers and
colleagues, an innovative mindset, and an ability to build trust. They’re also going to
people to
need business acumen, enabling them to understand how their roles and other people’s work well
roles come together to achieve wider business objectives. It’s that combination of
uniquely human qualities, together with new ways of working, that will enable organiza-
together and
tions to meet increasingly ambiguous challenges. understand
Last but not least, gymnastic enterprises understand the central role that orga-
nizational culture plays in enabling all of these capabilities, particularly in the areas of
how everyone
customer value, organizational values, and digital solutions. They’re also recognizing the contributes
crucial role that a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion plays in boosting project to the bigger
value and encouraging a mindset of collaboration and accountability. None of this can
happen without executive leaders who can spot and shape the culture and capabilities picture.
the organization seeks, and who take an active role in project sponsorship. Nor can it
happen without a strong talent management function that builds desired behaviors
from the bottom up.
By enabling their people to become changemakers, gymnastic enterprises are bet-
ter able to sense and respond to shocks, drive change, and face the future, knowing
that they have the mindset, skills, and tools that it takes to win.

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About This Report
Conducted since 2006, Pulse of the Profession® is the premier global survey of project
management professionals. Pulse tracks major trends in project management now and
in the future, featuring original market research that gathers insights from project,
program, and portfolio managers. The 2021 edition of Pulse comprised an online survey
of 3,950 project professionals conducted in October and November 2020. Respon-
dents represented a range of industries and regions, including North America, Europe,
Asia Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, South Asia, Middle East/North Africa,
and China. The survey was supplemented by in-depth interviews spanning a wide
range of industries and regions.
Sources
1. Government project management lessons learned from COVID-19, Major Projects Association, 2020.
2. PMI’s Make Reality Global Survey 2020 showed that 93 percent of business leaders said they had to put
a project on hold in 2020. Of those, only 39 percent said they had adjusted their plans to execute these
projects later in 2020. (This was an internal research study. Please contact PMI for further information.)

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Powering The Project Economy®
©2021 Project Management Institute. All rights reserved. “PMI,” the PMI logo and the slogan “Powering the Project Economy” are marks of
Project Management Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of PMI trademarks, contact the PMI Legal Department. All other trademarks,
service marks, trade names, trade dress, product names and logos appearing herein are the property of their respective owners. Any rights
not expressly granted herein are reserved. EXEC-014-2019 (10/19)
Project Management Institute | Global Headquarters | 14 Campus Blvd Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA | Tel: +1 610 356 4600 | PMI.org

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Appendix
PAGE
SECTION 1
24 PMO Trends
SECTION 2
25 Project Management Practices
SECTION 3
27 Maturity and Agility
SECTION 4
29 Talent Development and Culture
SECTION 5
32 Technology
SECTION 6
33 Project Scope and Success
SECTION 7
34 Organizational Profile
SECTION 8
38 Respondent Profile
Data in this appendix represent the global totals from

3,950 project professionals who responded to the
2021 Pulse of the Profession survey, conducted online in
October and November 2020.

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Section 1 PMO TRENDS
Q: Does your organization have a project management office (PMO)?
Yes 69%
No 31%
Q: What type(s) of PMO does your organization have?

(% selected among those with a PMO)
Department-specific, regional, or
divisional PMO(s)
64%
Enterprise PMO 49%
Q: How would you characterize the alignment of the PMO to the

strategy of your organization?
Alignment of the department-specific,

regional, or divisional PMO
42% 49% 9%
Alignment of enterprise PMO to strategy

of organization
54% 40% 6%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
High Medium Low
Q: In what ways, if any, do you see your [type] PMO changing

over the next five years? (% selected)
Increased use of other approaches such as agile 53%

51%
Closer alignment with org strategic initiatives 53%
52%
Enterprise PMO
Increased demand for innovation 47%
53% Department/Regional/
Division PMO
More involvement w/ stakeholders/sponsors/business owners 43%
42%
Increased demand of change management 40%
45%
Increased building of program/portfolio management capacity 40%
30%
Expanded definition/scope of project management 28%
28%
Reduced demand for traditional project management 18%
15%
Entity is likely to be dissolved 1%
2%
No significant changes expected 6%
5%

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Section 1 PMO TRENDS
Q: How would you rate the overall performance of your organization’s PMO?
9% 9%
Excellent
34% 37% Very good
Good
Fair
36% 38%
Poor
16% 14%
5% 4%
Enterprise PMOs Dept, reg, or div PMOs
Section 2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Q: To what extent does your organization use standardized
project management practices? (% selected)
Standardized practices are used

throughout the entire organization 24%
Standardized practices are used by most,

but not all, departments 39%
Standardized practices are used by some

departments 31%
Standardized practices are not used 6%
Q: How often does your organization use standardized project

management practices for each of the following? (% always/often)
Financial management 71%
Quality management 67%
Program management 66%
Risk management practices 65%
Change management practices 63%
Stakeholder engagement 63%
Project portfolio management 61%
Benefits realization management 47%

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Section 2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Q: How often does your organization use these approaches?
(% always/often)
Traditional 65%
Hybrid 45%
Agile 44%
Scrum 39%
Design thinking 37%
Extreme programming (XP) 14%
Q: How often are the following agile and/or hybrid approaches

used? (% always/often among agile/hybrid users)
Scrum of Scrums 27%
Disciplined Agile delivery 23%
Scaled Agile (SAFe®) 21%
FLEX 8%
Spotify model 8%
LeSS 6%
Q: In your estimation, what percentage of the projects completed within your

organization in the past 12 months used the following types of approaches?
Other
3%
Hybrid
21%
Traditional
52%
Agile
25%

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Section 3 MATURITY AND AGILITY
Q: How would you characterize the [project/program/portfolio]
management maturity of your organization? (% very/somewhat high)
Project management maturity 48%

Program management maturity 38%
Portfolio management maturity 34%
Q: How would you characterize the benefits realization process

management maturity of your organization? (% very/somewhat high)
Benefits realization process
management maturity
35%
Q: How would you characterize the agility of your organization?

(% very/somewhat high)
Organizational agility 35%
Q: In your estimation, how has the productivity of your organization

changed over the past 12 months compared to the 12 months prior?
14%
Increased significantly
Increased somewhat
47%
Stayed the same
Decreased somewhat
29% Decreased significantly
8%
2%

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Section 3 MATURITY AND AGILITY
Q: Please characterize your organization’s approach to ways of working
to address problems and needs.
We consider only We consider any and
methods that have all possible methods
proven effective for available to solve the
us in the past. problem at hand.
3% 27% 38% 28% 4%
This is us This is us We are even This is us This is us

exclusively. mostly. between mostly. exclusively.
the two.
Q: How would you describe the change in your business over the past
12 months compared to the 12 months prior in the following areas?
(% many/some significant changes)
Digital transformation 68%
Business strategy 64%
Organizational adaptability 61%
Approach to innovation 57%
Operational efficiencies 57%
Diversity, equity, & inclusion initiatives 55%
Organizational culture 53%

Project management maturity 49%
Talent management 42%

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Section 4 TALENT DEVELOPMENT AND CULTURE
Q: How high of a priority is each of the following for your organization?
Performance management 50%
Learning and development

48%
Workforce planning
45%
Talent acquisition
42%
Talent retention
39%
Investing in skills and competency development
among youth and young adults 39%
Fair compensation 37%
Succession planning for key employees 34%
Mentoring 33%
Q: In your organization, how high a priority is each of the following

aspects of talent development in support of successful projects?
Technical skills
64%
Leadership skills 56%
Business skills 50%
Digital skills 50%

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Q: Which are the highest priorities for talent development at your organization?
(% selected)
Q: How would you rate your organization’s progress in developing talent in these
skill areas over the past three years? (% excellent/very good)
Collaborative leadership 47% Talent development priority

33% Progress
Adaptability
45%
35%
Innovative mindset
39%
33%
Awareness of the business environment 36%

33%
Knowing how different parts of the 34%
business work together 27%
Data science skills (data management, 31%
analytics, big data) 28%
Development skills (web, mobile app, user interface)

30%
30%
Skills and competency development 22%
among youth and young adults 25%
Empathy 19%
25%
Translating macro business objectives to your role 14%

21%
Q: How high a priority is each of the following goals among senior

leaders at your organization?
Strategic implementation 64%
Active project sponsorship 47%

Development of project management skills
across the enterprise 38%

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Q: How high a priority is each of the following aspects of organizational culture?
Delivering customer value 71%
Aligned with organizational values 63%
Supports flexible work 59%
Embraces digital solutions 59%
Fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion 56%
Receptive to change 50%
Fosters innovation 50%
Values project management 46%
Values upskilling 44%
Attracting the next generation of project leaders 38%
Q: Do you agree or disagree that your senior leadership is guided by

organizational values?
3% 9% 48% 41%
Disagree Disagree Agree Agree

strongly somewhat somewhat strongly
Q: Do you agree or disagree that having diversity and inclusiveness in

project teams increases project value?
1% 4% 32% 63%
Disagree Disagree Agree Agree
strongly somewhat somewhat strongly

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Section 5 TECHNOLOGY
Q: How often do project teams at your organization leverage each of
the following in the management of projects? (% always/often)
Q: How has the use of each of the following at your organization
changed over the past 12 months relative to the 12 months prior?
(% increased significantly/somewhat)
Cloud solutions 60%

73%
Internet of things (IoT) 31%

47%
Artificial intelligence (AI) 23%

46%
5G mobile internet 21%

33%
Voice-driven software 17%

28%
Advanced robotics 15%

29%
Blockchain 14%
23%
Past year usage Usage increase (among users)
Q: How high a priority is enterprise-wide adoption of the following?

Complex problem-solving tools and techniques 39%
Computer-aided design/manufacturing 37%
Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools 33%
On-demand micro-learning tools/apps 33%
Career assessment tools/apps 32%
No/low-code development platforms 26%

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Section 6 PROJECT SCOPE AND SUCCESS
Q: What percentage of the projects completed within your organization
in the past 12 months…
73% 62% 55% 56% 66%
Met goals Within budget On time Positive Active project

social impact sponsorship
34% 12% 35%
Scope creep Deemed failures Failed project,

budget lost
Q: What are the primary causes of project failures? (% selected)
Change in organization’s priorities 41%

Poor requirements gathering 40%
Change in project objectives 38%
Poor upfront planning 33%
Inadequate vision/goal for project 28%
Inadequate/poor communication 28%
Ineffective risk management 27%
Inadequate sponsor support 25%
Poor change management 24%
Poorly managed dependencies
23%
Limited/taxed resources
20%
Inexperienced project manager
20%
Other mentions 6%
Q: What percentage of all the projects within your organization this year had each
of the following levels of complexity?
21% 36% 43%

Low complexity Medium complexity High complexity

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Section 7 ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE
Regions represented
North America 44%

Europe 18%
Asia Pacific 11%
Latin America & Caribbean 8%
South Asia 6%
Middle East/North Africa 6%
China 4%
Sub-Saharan Africa 3%
Industries represented
Information technology 15%

Financial services 10%
Government 9%
Construction 8%
Consulting 7%
Manufacturing 7%
Energy 7%
Healthcare 6%
Telecom 5%
Training/education 3%
Aerospace 3%
Automotive 3%
Pharmaceutical 2%
Transportation/logistics/distribution 2%
Food and beverage 2%
Retail 1%
Mining 1%
Legal <1%
Other 9%
Revenue, project investment, and project budget
edian annual revenue

M
(in millions, USD)
$488
edian annual project
M
investment (in millions, USD)
$46
of project under
%
US$1 million budget
41%

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Q: For which of the following purposes does your organization currently
have projects in progress? (% selected)
84%
Service development 47%
31%
38%
84%
IT infrastructure 33%
59%
33%
78%
Regulatory/compliance 46%
26%
31%
78%
IT product development 42%
30%
38%
78%
Physical infrastructure 26%
54%
21%
75%
R&D 39%
26%
35%
70% Any Purpose (NET)
Non-IT product development 35%
20% usiness
B
33% implementation
I nfrastructure
69% improvement
Supply chain (including procurement) 33%
26% usiness
B
32% transformation
Q: Please indicate the level of the highest-ranking female at your organization.
CEO 14%
C-suite (other than CEO) 31%
Vice president (all levels) 23%
Director (all levels) 22%
Other 10%

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Q: Which of these roles are staffed on a typical project team at your organization?
(% selected)
Project management (NET) 86%

Project manager I 51%
Project manager II 39%
Project manager III 44%
Associate project manager 18%
Project management specialist 17%
Project management consultant 14%
Agile roles (NET) 83%

Team leader 50%
Business analyst 44%
Product manager 30%
Development manager 29%
Product owner 28%
Scrum master 23%
Change manager 19%
Agile coach 12%
Functional manager (e.g., IT, HR, marketing) 47%
Other 7%

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Q: Which of the following project management certifying bodies have you ever
heard of?
Q: For your current position, which certifications are required by your organization?
Q: For which certifications does your organization reimburse the certification
exam fee?
97%
Any (NET) 62%
66%
93%
PMI 57%
61%
47%
Scrum Alliance 12%
16%
40%
IASSC 6%
9%
38%
Scrum.org 9%
11%
33%
Scaled Agile 8%
11%
32%
Lean IT Association 4%
7%
29% Awareness
AXELOS 8%
9% Required
27% Exam fee reimbursed
DevOps Institute 5%
7%
21%
CompTIA 3%
5%
15%
AAPM 2%
2%
14%
IPMA 2%
2%
LeSS 8%
1%
Q: Among all certified project managers at your organization, what

percent have the PMP®?
Average: 39%
Over 35%
45%
11%-35%
0%-10%
16%
39%

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Section 8 RESPONDENT PROFILE
Respondent Profile
Average age 46
Female 27%
Average number of years in project management 14
PMP® certification holder 75%
Academic degree in project management 34%
PMO director 8%
Title is project manager (I, II, III) 32%
Agile role 14%
How project management relates to career
– It is my profession 54%
– It is a skill I need to fulfill my role 44%
– It is my current role, but not my long-term profession 1%
Q: Which of these online social networking and collaboration tools, if any, do you
use in the management of your projects? (% selected)
Any (NET) 98%

Microsoft tools 83%
Zoom 44%
Webex 34%
LinkedIn 33%
Google products 32%
Microsoft Project Server 24%
Instant messaging 21%
GoToMeeting 17%
Slack 13%
Yammer 12%
Trello 11%
Facebook 11%
Twitter 5%
Asana 3%
Basecamp 3%
Monday 2%
Workplace by Facebook 2%
Airtable 1%
Wrike 1%

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Pulse of the Profession® 2021

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 1

Digital transformation 68%

Business strategy 64%

Organizational adaptability 61%

Innovation approach 57%

Operational efficiency 57%

Organizational culture 53%

Talent management 42%

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 3

The UK government’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) is showing how

Met original goals/ 62%

Deemed failures 15%

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 4

Project Outcomes by Region South Asia’s

Project Outcomes by Industry

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 5

The traditional enterprise The gymnastic enterprise

We consider only We consider any

Exclusively Mostly describes us 38% Mostly describes us Exclusively

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 6

Recent Business Changes Gymnastic Traditional

Completed within 64%

Failed project, 36%

Q: In your estimation, what percentage of the projects completed within

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 7

n Elevating power skills

Gymnastic enterprises are leading

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 8

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 10

Complex problem-solving 47%

On-demand microlearning 39%

Career assessment 37%

Q: At your organization, how high a priority is enterprise-wide adoption of the following?

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 11

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 13

“Organizations should prioritize

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 15

Is centered on delivering 80%

Is aligned with 71%

Embraces digital solutions

Supports flexible 66%

Fosters diversity, equity, 63%

Values project management

Is attractive to next-gen 45%

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 17

Succession planning 38%

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 18

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 19

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 20

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 21

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 22

Data in this appendix represent the global totals from

PMI 2021 Pulse of the Profession® Report 23

Q: What type(s) of PMO does your organization have?

Enterprise PMO 49%

Q: How would you characterize the alignment of the PMO to the

Alignment of the department-specific,

Alignment of enterprise PMO to strategy

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

High Medium Low

Q: In what ways, if any, do you see your [type] PMO changing

Increased use of other approaches such as agile 53%