April
29,
2025
Reflections On Earning My PMP.
I didn’t earn my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification because I aspired to be a project manager.
My background is in change management—the people side of transformation. I help individuals and organizations navigate uncertainty, build confidence in new ways of working, and ultimately adopt change that lasts.
But as I supported more large-scale initiatives, I noticed a pattern: the best change efforts had strong project management. I wanted to deepen that alignment—not just to speak the language of project managers, but to truly understand their priorities, tools, and pressure points. That’s what led me to pursue my PMP.
The project plan meets the people plan.
Studying for the PMP felt like stepping into a parallel universe—full of frameworks, formulas, and flowcharts.
But the more I learned, the more I saw connections. Work Breakdown Structures? They help change managers identify where resistance might emerge. The stakeholder register? A goldmine for mapping influence and engagement. Risk management plans? They’re just as valuable for adoption risk as they are for scope creep.
The structured approach of project management doesn’t replace the human-centered approach of change management—it enhances it.
Acronyms blur and dogs bring clarity.
There was a moment during my PMP prep where I hit a wall. The acronyms—WBS, RACI, EVM—were swirling, and I couldn’t see the forest for the formulas. That evening, I took my dog Stella for a walk and let my mind wander to a tech rollout I was helping lead. The project plan was solid—timelines were clear, deliverables scoped, dependencies mapped.
But adoption was stalling. Users were confused about what was changing, some hadn’t attended training, and support requests were already coming in. That’s what we mean when we talk about adoption: not just whether the tool is live, but whether people are actually using it as intended, with clarity and confidence.
That’s when it clicked. This PMP certification wasn’t just about passing a test—it was about bridging a gap. I saw how the tools in the PMP—like stakeholder analysis, communication planning, and risk response strategies—could help me be a stronger partner on the people side. I could spot where the rollout might cause disruption, ask better questions during planning (like “How will this impact workflows?” or “Who might resist this and why?”), and help teams proactively manage resistance instead of reacting to it.
That shift—from reacting to anticipating—is where real change starts to take root.
The heart of a PMP is still human.
Yes, the PMP is built around processes, deliverables, and control. But at its core, it’s about clarity, collaboration, and outcomes. These are also the foundations of great change management. Earning this certification didn’t change who I am—it expanded how I think.
Fellow change managers: this is your sign.
If you’ve ever wondered whether the PMP is worth your time as a change professional, I’ll say this: it won’t make you a different kind of practitioner, but it will make you a deeper one. It’s more than passing an exam. It’s about building bridges—between planning and adoption, strategy and empathy, people and process.
Because when those elements move together, that’s when change truly sticks.
