5.3.1 What can a project manager learn from an actor? ‐ improving professional skills through analogical thinking

Abstract

A project manager with a holistic systems engineering perspective, encounters dilemmas and must make decisions on a daily basis. Traditional skills development programs are not well‐suited for these persons. Based on knowledge theory, a program has been developed that focuses on the practical knowledge that an experienced person has developed. The Dialog Seminar method has been used and tested on a group of project managers. At the final seminar of the program, the group met the well‐known Swedish actor Erland Josephson, and through analogical thinking, the project managers improved their understanding of their own professional roles through comparison with those of the actor and the director. The result is an awareness of the dilemmas, an ability to see them and meet them with improved security, and also insights on how they could improve their project management skills.