مسیرهای توسعه مدیران پروژه: چطور و چگونه مدیران پروژه از تجربیاتشان یاد می گیرند؟  Development paths of project managers: What and how do project managers learn from their experiences?

1. Introduction Much professional learning occurs on the job (Day et al., 2014; Eraut, 2004). This informal learning on the job is of major importance in the development of professionals in complex jobs who have to deal with new and unexpected challenges in the environment (Day et al., 2014). For several reasons, this might especially be true for project managers, who mostly seem to ‘learn by doing’ from their experiences, rather than learn by studying. Firstly, many project managers fulfill their project responsibilities alongside another job; a more permanent position for which they have been educated. Secondly, even if being a project manager is their primary job, most project managers did not set out to work towards this role when they first entered the job market, but ‘rolled into it’ at a later stage in their career. This is in line with Palm and Lindahl (2015) in their findings among project managers in technical environments. They show that technical experts were often promoted to the project manager position, despite lacking formal management training, so they had to learn ‘on the job’. According to Palm and Lindahl (2015), project managers perceive a lack of formal structures for training, guidance and support. The consequence is that their formal education in project management is often limited. Thirdly, the application of the recognized bodies of knowledge (e.g., the PMBOK by PMI, 2013) is not standardized, as principals of project managers generally use their own personal norms and standards about what constitutes good practice in project management. This means that project managers frequently have to adapt their way of working according to the expectations of a new principal in a particular project, learning as they go along. In summary, informal learning through experiences seems to pave the development paths of project managers, i.e., the path through which a project manager develops as a professional over time. Yet, knowledge of project managers’ developmental paths’ in practice is still limited, leaving many questions largely unanswered concerning what and how they learn. Increased insights into project managers’ development paths might not only spearhead their own motivation and career progression, but also the success of their projects and organizations. Although it is known that in practice, both formal and informal learning are inextricably intertwined (Marsick, 2009), most literature on the development of project managers mainly focuses on formal programs (Berggren & Söderlund, 2008; Crawford et al., 2006; Ojiako et al., 2011; Pant & Baroudi, 2008; Thomas & Mengel, 2008). Therefore, research that takes into account development through both formal programs and ongoing practice is called for (Cheetham & Chivers, 2001; Day et al., 2014). In addition, the extensive body of knowledge on the competences of effective project managers (see, e.g., Müller & Turner, 2007) gives little insight into the development paths through which they become such effective project managers. This raises the question of how the development of project managers progresses. The first aim of this paper is to build a picture of the development paths of project managers, focusing on both their formal and informal learning experiences and to investigate the questions ‘what do project managers learn from their experiences and how do they learn it?’