PMI Talent Triangle Dimensions And Project Managers Decision Styles
Project Manager; Project Management; Decision-making; DMI; Q Methodology
The project manager (PM) is the figure within the organization that dialogues between the higher hierarchical levels, exerting influence in the decision-making process. It is therefore crucial to understand how these professionals make decisions and whether there is a decision-making style they are most inclined to. The study was based on the Talent Triangle (TT), developed by Project Management Institute (PMI), which defines three competencies dimensions (technical knowledge, leadership and strategic and business management) required to respond to the complexities of the projects and the market. These competencies have a close relationship with decision-making. Thus, this study aims to investigate the relationship between the decision-making style of engineering and IT managers and their preferences regarding the dimensions of the PMI Talent Triangle. To achieve the goal of the research, it was adopted the Dual Process Theory in its version modified by Regret Theory, here called TPD-m, which assumes that each individual can have a more prominent decision-making style among three possibilities: analytical, intuitive and emotional. Seeking for research resources that could dialogue with the TPD-m theory, two tools with psychology bases were adopted: 1) the DMI (Decision Making Inventory) psychometric test that aimed to investigate PM decision styles and 2) Q-Methodology, which aimed, among other things, to capture subjective aspects by suggesting to the participants to establish the most priority items of the TT dimensions The results confirm the preponderance of the analytical style among the PMs investigated and also point to a more pronounced inclination to the strategic vertex of the TT. This discussion allowed to emphasize a subject sometimes relegated to the background, which is the decision-making as a cognitive process and to deepen the studies of competence in project management, establishing a bridge between market concepts and studies in the academic environment.