PMO Voices
Elizabeth Dewing
Rebuilding, Refocusing, and Rethinking PMO
On this PMO Voices dialog, Liz shares an insightful perspective on profession reinvention, portfolio management, and what makes a PMO efficient.
Elizabeth Dewing’s PMO profession spans continents. After relocating from South Africa to the UK throughout COVID, she made a deliberate option to rebuild — beginning with stability earlier than working again in the direction of the strategic portfolio management roles that play to her strengths. We spoke to her about what high-performing PMOs truly do, why governance with out change administration falls brief, and what it means to start out once more in a career that’s deeply relational.
THE CONVERSATION
Beginning Over — By Design, Not Default
When Liz arrived within the UK throughout COVID, she made a deliberate choice of stability first. Quite than stepping straight again right into a high-pressure management function she selected a challenge administration place at a Metropolis Council — one thing she may do extra confidently whereas navigating a serious life transition. Liz says: “I wanted margin. I wanted one thing I may do safely, with out the identical stage of stress, whereas I obtained my life arrange once more.”
Since then, Liz moved again towards extra strategic roles — finally touchdown in a portfolio-facing place that performs to her strengths: shaping initiatives, aligning work to outcomes, and sustaining a big-picture view.
What PMOs Should Attempt To not Do — And What the Finest Ones Do Properly
One in every of Liz’s views is that too many PMOs can simply drift into abstraction. They change into centered on templates, frameworks, and theoretical “finest apply” — reasonably than what the enterprise truly wants. Liz says: “You can’t be misplaced in a theoretical, educational universe of good challenge administration. You’re in service to the enterprise.”
For Liz, a high-performing PMO comes right down to a few elements and understanding enterprise drivers.
Excessive-performing PMOs DO:
- know what issues to the organisation
- perceive what leaders are attempting to realize
- focus effort the place it would have the largest impression
And DON’T:
- change into distracted and concentrate on course of completeness or over-engineer governance and lose sight of outcomes
“You’ll be able to’t be misplaced in a theoretical, educational universe of good challenge administration. You’re in service to the enterprise.”
— Elizabeth Dewing
Governance Is Not Sufficient
Liz described the PMO setting she works in as strategically mature — with sturdy governance, structured portfolios, and clear oversight.
However there’s a catch. “Initiatives might be ruled correctly, however nonetheless not stick. After which they arrive again once more six months later.” Having well-positioned sponsorship is useful, however you’ll be able to’t simply pull hierarchical levers. Elevated visibility brings readability, and in addition elevated accountability and that may be daunting. The enterprise areas you’re coping with have to belief that while you elevate purple flags you might be at the beginning making an attempt to assist them focus consideration on the fitting place and are available alongside them to sort things… NOT expose individuals or lay blame.
The lacking piece? Change administration.
With out efficient adoption and embedding:
- Initiatives are delivered however not sustained
- Advantages are usually not realised
- The identical issues reappear
That is the place PMOs should prolong past governance and into actual organisational change.
WHAT HIGH-PERFORMING PMOs GET RIGHT
-
Know what issues to the organisation -
Perceive what leaders are attempting to realize -
Focus effort the place it would have the largest impression -
Do not over-engineer governance or lose sight of outcomes
The Actuality of Portfolio-Stage PMO
From the skin, PMO can appear to be reporting and templates. From the within, at portfolio stage, Liz described a operate that features:
- High quality assurance throughout the portfolio
- Enterprise case and closure report assurance
- Governance and funding approvals
- Tooling, onboarding, and coaching
- Monetary monitoring and inner recharges
- Supporting decision-making boards
It’s detailed, complicated, pretty work and is commonly underestimated!
“The amount and breadth of labor in a portfolio workplace is big. Folks don’t at all times realise what sits behind it.”
AI in PMO: From Quarterly Effort to Month-to-month Insights
Liz’s expertise when AI was launched into the PMO high quality assurance (QA) house on the council started with a Pilot challenge and is now a part of the group.
Earlier than the AI challenge:
- QA was guide and intensive
- Just one-third of the portfolio could possibly be reviewed every month
Now, utilizing a Copilot-based AI agent:
- The complete portfolio is assessed month-to-month
- Traits are seen a lot earlier
- Assist and coaching might be focused extra successfully
The shift to AI within the PMO is not only about effectivity — it’s about higher perception and smarter intervention. Liz says: “Begin with what hurts”.
Recommendation for New PMOs
When requested the way to construct a PMO from scratch, Liz’s reply was easy: “Begin with the burning platforms.”
Which means begin with:
- Audit findings
- Initiatives working late or over funds
- Funding tied up with no supply
- Lack of visibility for decision-makers
As a substitute of constructing a PMO based mostly on concept, construct it round actual organisational ache factors and do that proportionally.
Many organisations create massive, detailed templates — however anticipate everybody to make use of them in full and Liz says ‘use what suits’ and even when “they provide you the Rolls-Royce model. You don’t have to make use of all of it.”
The simplest PMOs:
- Tailor governance to context
- Scale documentation to suit the work
- Cut back pointless burden
Keep away from extreme course of which doesn’t enhance supply — it slows it down.
“Begin with the burning platforms.”
— Elizabeth Dewing
PMO Is Relational, Not Simply Operational
Maybe the most missed facet of PMO is relationships.In complicated organisations- particularly within the public sector- understanding context takes time and until you could have constructed relationships and credibility it may be onerous for the organisation to just accept the truth-telling that ought to come from growing PMO maturity.
“It’s deeply relational. You should come alongside the enterprise and perceive the way it truly operates.”
PMOs succeed after they:
- Construct belief with supply groups
- Perceive actual constraints
Translate enterprise wants into structured supply.
A Quiet Theme: Identification and Reinvention
Operating by the dialog was a extra private thread and Liz spoke brazenly in regards to the problem of being extremely experienced- however in a brand new setting the place that historical past isn’t seen. It’s a reminder that careers are usually not simply constructed on functionality — however on context, recognition, and id.
And infrequently, these should be rebuilt. Liz’s story is not only about PMO — it’s about perspective. It’s about stepping again and asking:
- What does the enterprise really need?
- The place are we including actual worth?
- And what would make this work stick?
As a result of finally, the finest PMOs are usually not essentially the most complicated. They’re essentially the most related, centered, and helpful.
Remaining Ideas
The perfect PMOs are usually not essentially the most complicated. They’re essentially the most related, centered, and helpful. Begin small. Deal with what issues. Construct from there.
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