Download - Change Agent Competencies for Information Technology Project Managers

Change Agent Competencies for InformationTechnology Project Managers

Korin A. Kendra Lawrence Technological University

Laura J. Taplin The Hawthorne Group

In the past few years, the project management(PM) profession has grown exponentially. Yetrecent studies in the information technology (IT)sector have found that the use of PM methodol-ogies alone does not guarantee project success.In fact, IT project success is seen to rely on theability of project managers to be agents ofchange (i.e., individuals who lead organiza-tional change efforts), a traditional role of prac-titioners of organization development andchange. This article identifies the knowledge,skills, and competencies that are common toorganization development (OD) practitionersand project managers, as represented by 6 prin-ciples or competencies that OD and PM changemethods share: communication, teamwork, pro-cess management, leadership, training, andcontinuous learning. The importance of these 6principles in developing professional projectmanagers as effective agents of change is ex-plored with the intent of finding means to im-prove upon current IT project success rates.

The cost of failed information technol-ogy (IT) projects for U.S. companies andgovernment agencies for the year 1997alone was estimated at $145 billion (Field,1997). The same study (Field, 1997) con-cluded that, to successfully meet the busi-ness requirements specified by a sponsor-ing organization, IT projects require (a) useof disciplined project management (PM)methods and (b) development of projectteams that work together effectively in de-fining and meeting a common set of projectobjectives. Failing this, Field (1997) pre-dicted that the cost of unsuccessful ITprojects would continue to escalate overtime.

A recent Standish Group (2000) studyseems to confirm Field’s dismal prediction.

It focused on application developmentprojects led by IT project managers andreported a declining number of successfulIT projects (i.e., delivered on time andwithin budget, and met the business re-quirements) from 37% in 1997 to just 28%in 2000. At the same time, professional

Korin A. Kendra has 16 years of experiencein project management and information technol-ogy in the automotive and telecommunicationindustries. She has a doctorate degree fromBenedictine University in Organization Devel-opment and a master’s degree from the Univer-sity of Michigan in industrial and systems engi-neering and is a certified Project ManagementProfessional. Kendra is currently a lead projectmanager in information technology for GeneralMotors. In addition, she is an adjunct professorin the Management Information Systems Mas-ter’s Program at Lawrence TechnologicalUniversity.

Laura J. Taplin is principal of The Haw-thorne Group, which provides consulting ser-vices in organizational- and individual-levelchange and development. Her client work fo-cuses on key leverage points in organizationalchange initiatives such as leadership and issuesof trust, respect, and control. She is a graduate ofthe Pepperdine University Master’s of SciencesOrganization Development program, holds aPhD in Management and Organization Devel-opment from Benedictine University, andearned designation as a certified managementconsultant. Her current research interests focuson issues of leadership, social control, and jus-tice within participative work contexts.

Correspondence concerning this articleshould be addressed to Korin A. Kendra, 815South Lafayette, Dearborn, MI 48124, or toLaura J. Taplin, P.O. Box 12, Caledon Village,Ontario L0N 1C0, Canada. E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

Copyright 2004 by the Educational Publishing Foundation and the Society of Consulting Psychology, 1061-4087/04/$12.00DOI: 10.1037/1061-4087.56.1.20

Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, Vol. 56, No. 1, 20–34

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membership in the Project Management In-stitute (PMI) grew 89%, from 37,000 reg-istered members in 1998 (Wilder, Cald-well, & Garvey, 1998) to approxi-mately 70,000 (PMI, 2000b) in 2000.Notwithstanding this rapid growth in thePM profession, project success rates con-tinue to fall and failed project costs con-tinue to rise. As a consequence, organiza-tions have begun to search for new changemanagement methods that offer improvedodds of IT project success. These new ap-proaches borrow from the best practicesand processes of OD and integrate theminto PM (Hill & Collins, 1999; Kerzner,1998; King, 1996; Nader & Merten, 1998;Shani & Mitki, 1996).

Interestingly, the Standish Group (2000)study results revealed that of the 28% ofprojects that were successful, 97% werefound to have had a project manager as-signed, whereas 58% had a defined mea-surement system, and 46% used a PMmethodology. The Standish Group (2000)study concluded that the primary reason forthe declining project success rate between1997 and 2000 was a lack of collaborativeworking relationships (i.e., where trust ex-ists among team members who share re-sponsibility for project success; Herzog,2001).

Despite this conclusion regarding theimportance of collaborative working rela-tionships, and the finding that 97% of suc-cessful projects had in common an assignedproject manager, the Standish Group(2000) report focused instead on the 46%of successful projects that used a PM meth-odology. It appears that the Standish Groupstudy missed a potentially richer opportu-nity to explore why IT projects led byproject managers had by far the highest rateof project success and how collaborativeworking relationships contributed to thatsuccess.

This article aims to extend the StandishGroup (2000) study by exploring the rolesthat OD practitioners play in leading orga-nizational change efforts and that projectmanagers play in leading organizationalchange efforts in the IT sector. This explor-atory research focuses on the OD practitio-ner’s and the project manager’s common

role as change agent (individuals who leadchange efforts) and the knowledge, skills,and competencies that they use during or-ganizational change efforts. We begin byreviewing the role of the change agent gen-erally, then briefly examine the nature ofthe OD practitioner role and that of theproject manager role, and compare eachdiscipline’s view of appropriate preparationfor the change agent role.

The findings of the current study iden-tify a common set of principles that isdrawn from a review of the existing litera-ture on the respective knowledge and skillsrequirements associated with the organiza-tional change methods used by the ODpractitioner and the project manager in therole of change agent. These change meth-ods include specific OD interventions andPM methodologies (Green, 1989; Jiang,Klein & Margulis, 1998; Melymuka, 2000;Varney et al., 1999; Verma, 1995) that areused by OD practitioners and project man-agers, respectively. The findings also drawon existing theoretical models of profes-sional development to formulate a practicalmodel of development for change agents.The suggested professional developmentmodel integrates best practices and pro-cesses from the two disciplines with theintent of finding a means to help reverse therecent decline in IT project success rates.

The Change Agent Role

A change agent may be defined as aperson who is responsible for initiating andmaintaining a change effort. Change agentsmay be part of the client organization butoften are not. Bennis (1969) has noted that“change agents are for the most part, butnot exclusively, external to the client sys-tem” (p. 12). The reasoning behind this liesin the external change agent’s ability toaffect the organization’s power structure inways that employees as change agents can-not and because they are less subject thanemployees to implicit and explicit organi-zational rewards and punishments (Roth-well, Sullivan, & McLean, 1995, p. 10).

21Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and ResearchWinter 2004

Quinn (1996) described a change agentas a person with “high cognitive complex-ity in thinking about change and high be-havioral complexity in the realm of makingchange. This person understands both theworld of business and the world of humanrelations” (p. 5). Quinn’s definition high-lights the need for change agents to developknowledge and skills from cross-disci-plines related to organizational changemethods, including an understanding of thechange process, of psychology, creativity,group development, decision support sys-tems, leadership, system dynamics, OD,transformation, and strategic change.

Bennis (1993) described the changeagent role as the integration of social andtechnical skills. He stated, “although theyare aware of these three nonpersonal fac-tors (technology, structure, and task) andoccasionally focus on them, their main pre-occupation is with people and the processesof human interaction” (p. 18). His view canbe seen to support the premise of this arti-cle: IT project managers need to developand apply cross-disciplinary competenciesfrom both PM and OD to achieve projectsuccess.

Bennis (1993) defined four competen-cies for change agents to be successful inhelping organizations to achieve effective-ness, improvement, development, and en-hancement. In his view, the four essentialcompetencies for success include the fol-lowing: (a) broad knowledge of the intelli-gence from the behavioral sciences and the-ories and methods of change; (b) opera-tional and relational skills, such as theability to listen, observe, identify, and re-port, and to form relationships based ontrust; (c) sensitivity and maturity, includingself-recognition of motivators and the per-ceptions that others have of these motiva-tors; and (d) authenticity in living and act-ing in accord with humanistic values.

In addition to the change agent compe-tencies described above, Bennis (1993) alsofound that change agents intervene at dif-ferent levels of an organization at differenttimes while working with people and build-ing relationships within the target organi-zation. To be effective at these differentlevels, a change agent must rely on skills

from both PM and OD—including plan-ning, managing tasks, leading projectteams, and interfacing with the users in theorganization—and on general knowledgeof IT, business, and human behavior(Bloom, 1989; Johnson & Fredian, 1986;Koehler, 1987).

The OD Practitioner as Change Agent

The practice of OD has been defined as“a response to change, a complex educa-tional strategy intended to change the be-liefs, attitudes, values, and structures oforganizations so that they can better adaptto new technologies, markets, and chal-lenges, and the dizzying rate of changeitself” (Bennis, 1969, p. 2). Another viewof OD

Involves consultants who try to help clientsto improve their organizations by applyingknowledge from the behavioral sciences—psychology, sociology, cultural anthropol-ogy, and certain related disciplines. . . ODimplies change, and, if we accept that im-provement in organizational functioningmeans that change has occurred, thenbroadly defined, OD means organizationalchange. (Burke, 1987, p. 3)

The OD practitioner’s role has tradition-ally emphasized the importance of effectiveworking relationships in helping organiza-tions, teams, and individuals to optimizetheir business success. Burke (1997) hashighlighted the importance of the OD prac-titioner’s role as a change agent, referenc-ing the “ability to recognize and managethe effects of cultural differences. Cultureinfluences the negotiation process, manage-ment in general, performance monitoringand control, and work and information-sharing norms” (p. 16).

OD can be characterized along a numberof dimensions. First, its perspective is typ-ically longer term, focused on complexchange efforts as opposed to “quick fix”solutions to short-term problems. Its philos-ophy and practice is predicated on demo-cratic, egalitarian, and humanistic values.

22 Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and ResearchWinter 2004

Its primary vehicle for change is educationthat is designed to expand people’s ideas,beliefs, and behaviors, thereby enablingnew approaches to organizational chal-lenges. OD emphasizes employee involve-ment in diagnosing problems, consideringand selecting solutions, identifying changeobjectives, implementing planned changes,and evaluating results. OD practitionerswork to empower employees by givingthem a voice in decision-making; facilitat-ing employee ownership of change pro-cesses and outcomes; creating open com-munications; and promoting a culture ofcollaboration, inquiry, and continuouslearning (Rothwell et al., 1995, p. 8).

The OD practitioner normally adopts a“hands off” approach to change manage-ment to ensure that the sponsoring organi-zation (client) retains ownership for achiev-ing the business objective and to enableclient self-sufficiency in future throughtransfer of knowledge and skills from theOD practitioner to the client group itself.The change methods that the OD practitio-ner uses are referred to as interventions(Bell & French, 1999) that are designed toassist companies in aligning their humanresources to meet business objectives(Weisbord, 1987; Wyatt, 2000). OD inter-ventions may encompass design of meetingcontent and process to achieve the businessobjective. Content design may includetechnical and social learning that aids par-ticipants in achieving their business objec-tive or meeting purpose, whereas processdesign deals with elements such as partic-ipation, involvement, and commitmentbuilding, meeting location and set-up, andparticipant and facilitator roles andresponsibilities.

Given the values-based characteristicsdescribed above, the practice of OD can beseen to differ from other approaches tochange management where managers orconsultants are held responsible for the suc-cess or failure of a change effort.

OD Knowledge and Skills

A study presented at the 1999 Academyof Management Conference identified theentry-level (foundational) and the advanced

level (core) knowledge and skills of ODpractitioners (Varney et al., 1999). This setof skills and competencies, presented inTable 1, was identified through a series ofsurveys that were completed by practitio-ners and academics in the fields of OD andorganization behavior (OB), on the basis oftheir professional experience. Entry-levelknowledge and skills are defined as thebuilding blocks upon which OD practitio-ners gain competency; they are learned inthe first years of academic study and prac-tice and are strengthened over time throughthe work that practitioners perform in or-ganizations. These building blocks includestudy in management and organizationaltheory and development of the interper-sonal, communication, collaboration, prob-lem solving, and coaching skills that prac-titioners use when engaged with a client.

The advanced level of knowledge andskills are developed through further studyof organizational theories, concepts, andframeworks associated with the OD practi-tioner’s work. The set of entry-level andadvanced skills and competencies was de-veloped as a guideline for OD professionaldevelopment and represents a commonbody of knowledge for the OD profession(ODBOK).

The Project Manager’s Role as ChangeAgent

In the IT sector, the project manager’srole as change agent is, in many ways,similar to that of the OD practitioner, albeitmore “hands on” and more accountable forproject conduct and outcomes. The projectmanager can be seen to act as (a) a planningagent (Kerzner, 1998), (b) a human re-sources manager (Verma, 1995), and (c) afacilitator (Meredith & Mantel, 2000) forprojects that require changes to key busi-ness processes.

With respect to the planning function,the project manager may be viewed as theplanning agent and as the person responsi-ble for the assignment and scheduling ofresources (Kerzner, 1998). Kerzner (1998)


sees the project manager role as that of aproject administrator who establishes poli-cies, procedures, rules and guidelines andwho provides direction to the team regard-ing these aspects of the project. In contrast,the OD practitioner works with the projectteam to assist them in developing the pro-cesses and skills by which they agree towork and coaches the team to successfullyenact the desired skills and behaviors.

Verma’s (1995) view of the projectmanager role is similar to that of the humanresource manager role. He classifies thehuman resource manager role into threeaspects: interpersonal, informational, anddecisional:

The interpersonal role is as figurehead,leader, and liaison for the project team andsponsoring organization. The informationalrole is for assembling, selecting, monitoring,and communicating information and for act-ing as a project spokesperson. The decisionalrole focuses on allocating resources, explor-ing new opportunities, handling disturbancesand conflicts, negotiating, analyzing situa-tions, setting priorities, and making soundand timely decisions to encourage creativityand progress. (p. 24)

Verma (1995) also sees the project man-ager as playing a very important role inmotivating project team members and oth-ers who are involved in the project:

Project managers manage conflict—identify,analyze, and evaluate both positive and neg-atives values of conflict and their effects onperformance. They evaluate the situation anduse appropriate conflict management tech-niques. Project managers, as negotiators,deal with clients, contractors, vendors, tech-nical specialists, functional managers, andproject team members about budget, sched-ule, design constraints, priorities, resources,responsibilities, and performance require-ments. (p. 173)

The change methodology that the projectmanager relies on is a formalized PM meth-odology as opposed to an OD interventionor design. In any case, “the project managermust take on the role whereby attempts aremade to achieve goals through accommo-dation and the exercise of influence”(Meredith & Mantel, 2000, p. 127).

Inherent in the project manager role isthe ability to apply entry-level and ad-

Table 1Guidelines for the Organization Development Body of Knowledge

Entry-level (foundation) Advanced (core)

Knowledge Skills Knowledge Skills

Organization behavior Interpersonal, communication:listens, feedback, articulate

Organization design Managing the consultingprocess

Individual behavior(psychology)

Collaboration/workingtogether

Organization research Analysis/diagnosis

Group dynamics Problem solving System dynamics Designing and choosingappropriate/relevantinterventions

Management andorganization theory

Using new technology History of OD&C Facilitation and processconsultation

Comparative culturalperspectives

Project management Evaluating organizationchange

Research methodsand statistics

Conceptualizing Developing clientcapability

Functional knowledgeof business andmanagementprinciples andpractice

Present/educate/coach

Note. From “Guidelines for Entry Level Competencies to Organization Development and Change (OD&C),”by G. Varney, C. Worley, A. Darrow, M. Neubert, S. Cady, & O. Gurner, 1999, Paper presented at the meetingof ODC Division, Academy of Management—OD&C, Chicago. In the public domain.


vanced skills appropriately during the life-cycle of the project. Each skill set is calledupon to address specific issues and direc-tions. For instance, interpersonal, commu-nication, and collaboration skills are key tobuilding strong relationships within theproject team and across the business com-munity. These process-related skills, in-cluding facilitating and controlling theproject, become daily activities. As such,they are essential to maintaining compli-ance with project timelines, business re-quirements, and cost budgets.

In these various aspects of the projectmanager role, the individual can be seen torely on both technical and social skills as achange agent (Bennis, 1993), and these so-cial skills can be seen to be very similar tothose of the OD practitioner, as illustratedin Table 1.

PM Knowledge and Skills

The Project Management Institute(PMI) developed the PM Body of Knowl-edge (PMBOK Guide; PMI, 2000a) frame-work to help organizations successfullymanage one-time change efforts (projects).The PMBOK Guide encompasses both gen-eral management skills and knowledge ar-eas including project integration, scope,time, cost, quality, human resource, com-munication, risk and procurement as shownin Figure 1.

The competencies of a project man-ager are defined by subject area, function,and leadership behavioral characteristics(Adams & Campbell, 1996; Bander,1986; Melymuka, 2000; Zimmerer & Ya-sin, 1998). Subject areas identified forproject managers include the following:planning; managing tasks; leading projectteams; interfacing with the user and theoverall organization; along with under-standing general technology (i.e., IThardware, software, and communicationnetworks), business, and human behav-ior. Adams and Campbell (1996) definethe project manager functions as “plan-ning and scheduling, performance analy-

sis, cost trends analysis, logistics man-agement, cost control, organization andmanpower planning, maintaining thetechnical/business interface, contract ad-ministration, controlling materials andmanpower, estimating, and procedurewriting and administration” (p. 77).

Previous studies on PM have identifiedproject manager skills and leadershipcharacteristics that contribute to success-ful projects (Jiang et al., 1998; Verma,1995). Perhaps the most comprehensivestudy of IT project manager skills (Jianget al., 1998) identifies 18 specific skillsthat are used by project managers. Thisset of skills was drawn from previousresearch that identified system analystskills used in developing information sys-tems (Green, 1989). However, this set ofskills can be seen to apply to PM irre-spective of industry context or sectoralfocus (Frame, 1994).

In a survey of IT project managers,Jiang et al. (1998) asked them to rankthe 18 system analyst skills in order ofimportance to project success. The resultsof that study are presented in Table 2 andshow the ranking of skills that was derivedfrom averaging project manager responses.The 18 skills, listed in the resulting rankorder from most to least important to over-all project success, include the following:interviewing, directing, managing, speak-ing, listening, writing, cooperation, pa-tience, leadership, sensitivity, diplomacy,training, empathy, organization communi-cations, politics, sales, assertiveness, andnonverbal skills. The study recommendeduse of the skills ranking as a guide to thedevelopment of PM training programs toenhance project manager performance andoverall project success. The behavioralskills identified in this study (Jiang et al.,1998) can be seen to equate to the keybuilding blocks for competency as an ODpractitioner (Varney et al., 1999) in helpingclients to achieve their business changeobjectives.

Comparison of Change Agent Methods

As alluded to earlier, some key differ-ences exist in the approaches that OD prac-


titioners and IT project managers adopt inorganizational change efforts and in howthey enact the role of change agent. Thesedifferences arise from distinct preferencesin management philosophy and valuesbases and can be seen to manifest inmatters of project ownership, methodol-

ogies, ways of working together (e.g.,process vs. expert consulting), employeeparticipation levels, and terminology,among others.

As referenced earlier, the project man-ager is held responsible and accountable forproject success (business performance) and

Figure 1. Overview of the nine management process areas as presented inthe Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Bodyof Knowledge (PMBOK� Guide)–2000 edition, Project Management Insti-tute, Inc., 2000. Copyright and all rights reserved. Material from this pub-lication has been reproduced with the permission of PMI�.


consequently takes a more “hands on” ap-proach to meeting the sponsoring organiza-tion’s business objectives than would anOD practitioner.

Both can be seen to play a role in plan-ning; however, the project manager takes alead role as the planning agent (Kerzner,1998) and as the person responsible for theassignment and scheduling of resources(Kerzner, 1998). The OD practitioner playsa supporting role to the client through jointplanning activities.

Both professions rely on change meth-odologies, but each uses differing changemethods to improve organizational perfor-mance. Project managers use a formal PMmethodology that encompasses key pro-cesses, management practices, and toolsthat are used to define, control, and imple-ment projects. Each PM activity representsa task (i.e., specific work to be completedby the project manager and/or project teammembers) to achieve improvements in or-ganization performance (e.g., implementa-tion of a new IT application). In compari-son, OD interventions typically entail cus-tomized design of meeting content andprocess to achieve the desired business ob-jectives. The OD consultation process may

include planning intervention activities andoutcomes and providing feedback mecha-nisms through interview and/or surveydata. Content design for an interventionmay include technical and social learningthat aids participants in achieving the busi-ness objective or meeting purpose, whereasprocess design deals with elements such asparticipation, involvement, and commit-ment building, meeting location and set-up,and participant and facilitator roles and re-sponsibilities. The OD intervention is de-signed to encourage open communicationamong and active participation by themembers of the sponsoring organization(French, Bell, & Zawacki, 2000) in order toenable individual and collective commit-ment to and achievement of the desiredbusiness outcome. OD practitioners regu-larly use intervention designs (changemethods) that maximize employee involve-ment in order to generate commitment tothe change initiative throughout the spon-soring organization (Axelrod, 2000; Blake,Mouton, & McCanse, 1990; Bunker & Al-ban, 1997; Nadler, 1977; Owens, 1997;Schein, 1988; Weisbord, 1987). For projectmanagers, employee involvement and par-ticipation is more a matter of selecting only

Table 2Project Manager’s Behavioral Skills and Associated Actions Ranked From Highest to Lowest Based onLevel of Importance to Project Success

1. Interviewing—Asking the right questions2. Directing—Giving instructions and communicating requirements3. Managing—Planning, organizing and controlling projects4. Speaking—Presenting ideas5. Listening—Hearing and reflecting on what is said6. Writing—Preparing documents7. Cooperation—Working with others productively8. Patience—Continually refining requirements through feedback9. Leadership—Developing teams

10. Sensitivity—Being aware of implications to the community11. Diplomacy—Saying “no” and being tactful12. Training—Educating users13. Empathy—Understanding how others feel14. Organizational communications—View of company goals, senior management orientation15. Politics—Individual motivation, power and influence16. Sales—Promoting and persuading17. Assertiveness—Insisting on what needs to be done18. Nonverbal communications—Body language

Note. From “Important Behavioral Skills for IS Project Managers: The Judgments of Experienced IS Profes-sionals,” by J. Jiang, G. Klein, & S. Margulis, 1998, Project Management Journal, 29, 38. Project ManagementInstitute, Inc., Project Management Journal ™, Project Management Institute, Inc., 1998. Copyright and allrights reserved. Material from this publication has been reproduced with the permission of PMI�.


those resources with the expertise to per-form specific tasks or activities that need tobe accomplished in order to meet the busi-ness objective (Kerzner, 1998; Verma, 1995).

To help ensure that a project meets theplanned schedule, cost budget, and deliversan information system (software applica-tion) with zero defects, the project manageralso uses quality management tools andtechniques (M. Fleming, 1986). For exam-ple, the Earned Value Analysis method is aquality management technique developedby the Department of Defense (Abba, 1997;W. Fleming & Hoppelman, 1996) to mea-sure variances in project performance(PMI, 2000b). OD interventions typicallybuild in an evaluation component that both(a) assesses the effectiveness of the inter-vention in achieving desired business out-comes and (b) provides the client with theinformation it needs to adapt and improveits processes and outcomes.

Different terminology for shared con-cepts and differences in the conceptualmeanings of shared terminology that are

associated with each profession’s approachto change highlight the need for OD prac-titioners and project managers to buildknowledge across the two disciplines. Forinstance, both professions use the term“process management” but the conceptualmeaning of that term is very different foreach profession. For a project manager,“process management” relates to the nineknowledge areas of the PMBOK Guide(PMI, 2000a) and the activities that areperformed in each management area. TheOD practitioner process-management ac-tivities may involve problem-solving meth-ods, depending on the type of intervention,used in assisting organizations throughtheir change efforts.

Professional Development forChange Agents

The process by which change agents(i.e., project managers and OD practitio-ners) develop their skills can be illustrated

Figure 2. Steps towards the mastery of professional competencies in projectmanagement and organization development. From “The Development Plan: Partof the Performance Management System,” by J. Knutson, 1998, PM Net-work, 12, 17. Project Management Institute, PM Network�, Project ManagementInstitute, Inc., 1998. Copyright and all rights reserved. Material from thispublication has been reproduced with the permission of PMI�.


by the performance progression model(Knutson, 1998), shown in Figure 2. Themodel is a pyramid composing four pro-gressive levels of professional develop-ment. The first level, or foundation, is con-structed of the basic knowledge of the field.The second level represents skills that aredeveloped by a professional in his or herarea of practice. The third level, referred toas “competency,” is built from skills thathave been applied over time to eventuallybecome habit. The top level of the pyramidis the area of mastery and represents theprogression from knowledge, skill develop-ment, and competency, to inherent behav-ior. At the mastery level, learning continuesthrough feedback, observation, education,and recycling through the steps of thepyramid.

Applying the performance progressionmodel enables a better understanding of theprofessional development process for ODpractitioners and project managers aschange agents and serves to strengthen theproposition that capabilities grow throughcontinuous learning, knowledge of crossdisciplines, and practice.

Continuous learning for the professionalchange agent involves gaining new knowl-edge through formal education and refiningskills through informal workshops (Adams,Bilbro, & Stockert, 1997) and throughpractical application of knowledge andskills with clients. Adams et al. (1997)identified formal educational requirementsfor the project manager to encompass theareas of “psychology, information technol-ogy, statistics, technical writing, labor rela-tions, law, economics, personnel, account-ing, merchandising, contracting and pro-curement, and organization theory” (p. 81).They stated that, “informal skills develop-ment requirements include the areas ofcommunications, negotiation, conflict man-agement, personnel management, organiza-tion relationships, working well with oth-ers, group dynamics, and leadership tech-niques” (p. 81).

The Adams et al. (1997) view of theprofessional development process for aproject manager is a linear progression

such that, over time, the project managergains additional knowledge and skillsthrough both formal education and infor-mal training activities. Similarly, Knut-son’s (1998) model views a project manag-er’s professional development as a linearprogression with a feedback mechanism.Knutson’s model proceeds vertically fromone level of professional development tothe next in a sequence of steps (i.e., fromthe bottom of the pyramid to the top),whereas the Adams et al. model progresseshorizontally from left to right over time(i.e., years of PM experience).

Toward a New Model of ProfessionalDevelopment for Change Agents

Commonalties that exist between ODand PM change methods are seen in a set ofcommon principles that are shared by bothdisciplines. This set of common principlesaligns with the OD practitioner and theproject manager knowledge, skills, andcompetencies (Adams et al., 1997). The sixcommon principles (competencies) includecommunication, teamwork, process man-agement, leadership, training, and continu-ous learning, as shown in Table 3.

The first principle, communication, ap-plies to project manager skills for inter-viewing, directing, speaking, listening,writing, nonverbal communication, and or-ganizational communications that map di-rectly to the interpersonal communicationskill set of the OD practitioner. The secondprinciple, teamwork, applies to the projectmanager skill of cooperation and the ODpractitioner skill at collaboration. The thirdprinciple, process management, applies tothe project manager’s ability to manageproject activities and the OD practitioner’sPM skills. The fourth principle, leadership,applies to the project manager’s skills indirecting, in demonstrating patience, lead-ership, sensitivity, diplomacy, empathy,politics (political savvy), sales, and asser-tiveness. These leadership skills align withthe OD practitioner’s leadership skills infacilitation and process consultation. Thefifth principle, training, is associated withthe training and education that both the


project manager and OD practitioner pro-vide to the organization. The sixth princi-ple, continuous learning, involves the ac-quisition of new knowledge through formaleducation, knowledge and skill develop-ment activities, and through accumulatedwork experience. Over time, the projectmanager and the OD practitioner develop alevel of competency in these six principle-based skill sets. Their level of competencyis demonstrated through the ability to suc-cessfully implement change efforts and theassociated contributions to achievement ofbusiness objectives. Figure 3 presents aprofessional development model that en-compasses these six competencies in athree-dimensional model. The three-dimen-sion model depicts the development ofchange agent competencies as a function oftime and symbolizes the depth of knowl-edge, skills, and experience required formastery as a change agent.

Aligning the knowledge and skills re-quirements for change agents to six com-mon change method principles reveals thechange agent competencies that are neededto support successful organizational changeefforts. Each of the change agent compe-tencies are depicted in Figure 3 within a

three dimensional model with the threeaxes representing the knowledge (x-axis)and skills (y-axis) from cross disciplines,and the years of professional experience(z-axis) working as a change agent. Asshown in Figure 3, competencies are afunction of time (years of experience). Asthe change agent gains more knowledge(horizontal progression on the x-axis) andapplies his or her skills repeatedly (verticalprogression on the y-axis), his or her indi-vidual competencies are developed (pro-gression on the z-axis). Change agents usetheir knowledge, skills, and competenciesthroughout a change effort and additionalknowledge and skills are accumulatedthrough professional experience in OD andPM (Adams et al., 1997; Knutson, 1998).This third model of professional develop-ment advances the linear models of profes-sional development by portraying differentlevels of individual competencies. For ex-ample, a change agent’s leadership compe-tency may become more developed than hisor her process-management competencybecause of greater leadership experiencethan process-management experience. Thesix common principles (competencies) ofcommunication, teamwork, process man-

Table 3Six Principles, Knowledge, and Skills That Relate to a Project Manager and Organization Development(OD) Practitioner Role

Principles Project manager OD practitioner

Communication Interviewing, directing, speaking,listening, writing, nonverbalcommunication, organizationalcommunications

Interpersonal, communication andconceptualizing

Teamwork Cooperation Collaboration/working togetherProcess Management Managing Project management, designing,

choosing new technology,evaluating, problem solving,organization change

Leadership Directing, patience, leadershipsensitivity, diplomacy,empathy, politics, sales,assertiveness

Facilitation and process consultation

Training Training Present/educate/train, developingclient capability

Continuous Learning PMBOK guide, formal education,professional seminars andworkshops, and certification

Entry-level, advanced knowledge,formal education, professionalseminars and workshops, andcertifications

Note. PMBOK � Project Management Body of Knowledge.


agement, leadership, training, and continu-ous learning for change agents can begrouped into a unified model based on thecommonalties of OD and PM change agentrequirements (and change methods). Theunified model has six sides (one for eachcompetency) as shown in Figure 4.

Each side of the cube represents thespecific knowledge and skills that composea particular competency. For instance, theleadership competency illustrated in Figure5 is made up of both the project managerskills of directing, demonstrating patience,leadership, sensitivity, diplomacy, empa-thy, politics (political savvy), sales, andassertiveness and the OD practitioner’sleadership skills in facilitation and processconsultation. Figure 6, which portrays thetop view of the cube, depicts the commu-nication competency that is composed ofboth the PM skills of interviewing, direct-ing, speaking, listening, writing, nonverbalcommunication, and organizational com-munications and the OD skills of interper-sonal communication and conceptualizing.

Conclusion

Today’s more complex, faster-pacedbusiness environments require both project

managers and OD practitioners to help or-ganizations to implement change success-fully. In supporting organizational changeefforts, both OD practitioners and projectmanagers (Frame, 1994; French et al.,2000; Kerzner, 1998) can be seen to play

Figure 3. Change agent competency levels as a function of time: knowl-edge (x-axis), skills (y-axis), and years of professional experience (z-axis).

Figure 4. A unified (six-sided) change agentcompetency model developed from organizationdevelopment and project management organiza-tion change methods.


the role of change agent. The underlyingphilosophies, approaches, and changemethods associated with each disciplinemay differ, but the knowledge, skills, andcompetencies needed to be effectivechange agents are very similar (Bennis,1993; Burke, 1997; Green, 1989; Jiang etal., 1998; Melymuka, 2000; Varney, et al.1999; Verma, 1995).

The change methods that each disciplineuses can be seen to share a common set ofprinciples (competencies) that transcendsthe OD and PM disciplines and that guidetheir work in supporting successful changeefforts. The six common principles includecommunication, teamwork, process man-agement, leadership, training, and continu-ous learning. These are the professionalcompetencies that are developed and usedby the OD practitioner to assist the clientorganization and by the project manager tosuccessfully lead IT change efforts.

Existing professional development pro-gression models (Adams & Campbell,1996; Knutson, 1998) provide structuralguidelines for the development of the ODpractitioner and the project manager. Themodel of professional development derivedthrough this study builds on these structuralmodels by articulating the cross-disciplin-ary competencies required for change agenteffectiveness and ultimately, for project

success. The model is depicted as a six-sided cube composing the shared requisiteknowledge, skills, and professional experi-ence that transcend the fields of OD andPM.

In summary, to be effective as a leaderof change and to improve the odds of ITproject success, project managers must de-velop and master the change agent knowl-edge and skills associated with both thesocial science of OD and the managementscience of PM.

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Figure 5. Frontal view of competency modeldepicting the change agent leadershipcompetency.

Figure 6. Top view of competency model de-picting the change agent communicationcompetency.


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