Capable at the Wrong Things: How PMOs Lose Alignment as the Business Changes Around Them
John McIntyre
Time
10.00 - 10.30
Details
Most PMOs don't fail dramatically. They drift. They improve their processes, build their frameworks, embed their governance - and then keep running the same playbook while the business quietly moves in a different direction.
This session explores two patterns that show up repeatedly in PMOs of all shapes and sizes. The first is the maturity trap: investing effort in becoming more capable in areas the business doesn't particularly value right now. The second is harder to spot: the PMO whose processes were genuinely excellent when they were designed, but which haven't been revisited as the organisation's strategy, pressures, and ways of working have shifted.
Both patterns share the same root cause: the PMO is looking inward at its own capability rather than outward at what the business currently needs.
Key Features
The session is discussion-led and practical. John will open with a short provocation drawn from real client experience, then open the floor. You'll leave with a clearer sense of whether your PMO is pointed in the right direction - and a simple way to check.
About John
John McIntyre is founder of HotPMO, a PMO consultancy that helps organisations establish, mature, and run high-performing PMOs. He's spent the last decade working with PMOs across sectors including retail, rail, finance, and digital, and has seen both of these patterns more times than he'd like.