A 2022 Retrospective
Around this time last year, we looked at potential trends for 2022. As always, it’s fascinating to look back and compare the list with where we ended up. We were on target in a few areas, but there was one major trend we missed.
Here’s a retrospective on the trends 2022 brought our way.
AI + automation
Long gone are the days when we worried that robots would take our jobs. In the project management world, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation present an opportunity for menial routine tasks to be removed from our plates and give us back our workday for the tasks that matter. According to a study by PMI and PWC, adoption of AI in the project management space will likely more than double (from 21% to 49%) by 2026. 2022 showed major strides in moving us toward an AI-driven future and the need for upskilling and re-skilling to meet the changing environment.
2. Climate change and sustainability
One thing we missed in our 2022 predictions? Climate change. Though the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic showed a dip in overall greenhouse emissions, the trend has not continued. Despite more people working from home or in hybrid environments, our collective emissions seem to be back to pre-pandemic levels. While organizations as a whole are considering how to be more sustainable and turn the tide, project managers are beginning to incorporate sustainability into project metrics. PMI suggests factoring emissions targets as a KPI in project tracking and including emissions management as a discussion topic during resource planning.
3. New perspectives on collaboration
Hybrid workforces are now a way of life, even for project teams working on tangible, on-the-ground construction projects. Project managers and team members may even live in different states or countries. In addition, certain teams may now have folks from up to four different generations working together. These factors create a need for excellent collaboration. This year organizations all around the world experimented with what hybrid models worked best, focused on outcomes over inputs, and rethought what team-building should look like.
4. A need for soft skills
The three trends outlined above all created a need for better soft skills among project managers and team leads. Though 2020 is well in the rearview mirror, many are still struggling with the changes the pandemic wrought. Supply chains are in a challenging place, and we may be facing a recession. Needless to say, we’re under a lot of stress, and we must remember that we are human and so are our coworkers. In 2022 project managers focused on boosting skills such as listening, critical thinking and building psychological safety in the workplace.
As the calendar turns again to a new year, we foresee some tough days ahead, but we’re inspired by the creativity, resiliency and determination those in the project management world have developed over the past few years. As long as we keep the focus on working together and on continuous evolution, we’ll come out successful on the other side.