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The PMO Coach, Portsmouth (2026)

23/10/2026

PMO:
“Everything is green, but I have a couple of questions.”

Stakeholder:
“Why? The project is green.”

PMO:
“Yes, I know.”

Stakeholder:
“So what's the problem?”

PMO:
“There might not be one. That's why I'm asking questions.”
😂

One of the most valuable PMO skills is having the confidence to look beyond the colour on the dashboard.

Green does not mean there is nothing to discuss.
It does not mean there are no emerging risks.
And it certainly does not mean the PMO should stop being curious.

Sometimes, confidence is simply being willing to ask:
“Are we sure?”

Because a good PMO doesn't challenge for the sake of it. It challenges because it sees something worth exploring.

And sometimes, that question is exactly what prevents tomorrow's green from becoming next month's red.

22/10/2026

I remember a coaching situation where a PMO professional had noticed something that didn't quite make sense.

The project was reporting as green.

The milestones were being met.

The dashboard looked good.

On paper, everything appeared to be under control.

But when they looked across the information they were receiving, there was a growing dependency that could potentially affect several projects further down the line.

They were hesitating

Should they raise it?

The project was green.

Senior stakeholders were comfortable.

And they didn't want to appear as though they were creating a problem where there wasn't one.

I advised them to raise it in the next progress meeting.

It turned out the dependency had not been fully understood.

The conversation that followed helped the team address it before it became a much bigger issue.

That is what confidence in PMO can look like.

Not having all the answers.

Not challenging people for the sake of challenging them.

Simply trusting your judgement enough to say: "I think we need to take another look at this."

Sometimes that one sentence can make a much bigger difference than another green status report.

21/10/2026

Confidence in PMO isn't about having all the answers or being the loudest person in the room. Its about knowing when to speak up, ask questions and challenge assumptions.

Here are 4 situations where PMO confidence matters:
1. When a project status doesn't add up.
The report says green but delays and unresolved risks tell a different story. Don't just accept the update. Ask what evidence supports the status and whether anything needs attention.

2. When a senior stakeholder makes an assumption.
It's tempting to stay quiet when everyone agrees. But respectfully asking, “What are we basing that decision on?” could reveal something important that has been overlooked.

3. When you don't know the answer.
You don't have to pretend to know everything. Be honest, commit to finding the right information and follow through. That's professional confidence, too.

4. When you spot an uncomfortable risk.
Raising concerns can feel awkward, especially when everyone wants to move forward. But highlighting a potential problem early gives the team more time to respond before it escalates.

The takeaway?

Your value in PMO isn't just in the reports you produce or the processes you manage. It's also in the questions you ask and the conversations you're willing to have.

Sometimes, one thoughtful question can make all the difference.

Which of these four situations do you find most challenging? Share your thoughts in the comments. Your experience might help another PMO professional find the confidence to speak up.

20/10/2026

One of the misconceptions about confidence in PMO is that you need to have all the answers before you speak. You need to be certain, have the facts lined up and know exactly what the solution should be. But in reality, confidence does not always look like having the answer. Sometimes, it looks like being willing to ask the question.

A confident PMO professional might say, "I dont know, but I think we need to look into this." They might say, "I've noticed something that concerns me" or "Can we challenge that assumption?" They might even ask, "What happens if we don't address this?" These may sound like simple questions but asking them in the right room, particularly when senior stakeholders are involved, can take confidence.

The PMO often has visibility across projects, programmes, risks, dependencies, resources and priorities. That wider perspective can reveal things that may not be obvious when looking at one project in isolation. But having that perspective is only part of the value a PMO can bring. The real value comes when the PMO is prepared to use that perspective to contribute to the conversation.

Confidence is also not about challenging people for the sake of it. It is about knowing when something needs to be explored further and being prepared to raise it constructively. You may not always be right and that is okay. The purpose of asking the question is not necessarily to prove that you have spotted a problem. Sometimes, it is simply to make sure the right conversation is happening.

The strongest PMO professionals are not necessarily the ones who always have the answer. They are often the ones who are curious enough to ask, "Are we sure?" when everyone else is ready to move on.

Because sometimes the most valuable contribution a PMO can make is asking the question nobody else is asking.

19/10/2026

Confidence is a critical PMO skill, especially when you need to challenge assumptions, raise concerns or question decisions. Having the insight is one thing. Having the confidence to speak up is another.

16/10/2026

We've all seen this one. The PMO presents the latest project update and at first glance, everything looks good. Budget: 🟢 Schedule: 🟢 Risks: 🟢 Milestones: 🟢. Another successful reporting cycle.

Then someone around the table asks the question nobody had prepared for: Are we still getting the value we expected?

Silence.

The PMO looks at the report.
The report looks back.😂

Because sometimes we can become so focused on whether a project is performing against the agreed plan that we forget to ask whether the plan itself still makes commercial sense. A project can be within budget, hitting its milestones and managing its risks while the business case behind the investment has changed.

The budget can be green. The milestones can be green. The dashboard can be full of green. And the project can still be moving in the wrong direction.

If You Know, You Know!

Commercial awareness isn't about turning every PMO professional into a finance specialist. It is about being able to look beyond the numbers, understand the business context and recognise when a different conversation needs to happen.

Instead of only asking:
Are we on track?
Sometimes the more important question is:
Are we still creating value?

Because a green status report tells you how the project is performing against the plan. It doesn't necessarily tell you whether the plan is still the right one.

15/10/2026

Commercial awareness isn't about becoming a finance expert. It's about understanding what the numbers mean for the business and the decisions being made.

What part of commercial awareness would you like to develop?

14/10/2026

A PMO was reporting on a major project that had been running for several months. The monthly report looked good. The project was within budget, milestones were being achieved, risks were being managed and governance was working as expected. From a project reporting perspective, there was nothing particularly alarming.

Then, during a meeting, the PMO asked a simple question: Has anything changed in the business since this project was approved?

It had. A new business priority had emerged, customer expectations had shifted and some of the assumptions behind the original business case were no longer quite the same. When the team looked again at the expected benefits, the case for the investment was not as strong as it had been at the beginning.

The project itself wasn't failing. It was doing what it had been asked to do. The issue was that the business context had changed.

This is where commercial awareness can make a real difference to the PMO. It is easy to focus on whether a project is delivering against the agreed plan but the PMO can also help leaders step back and ask whether that plan still makes sense in the context of what the business needs now.

Are we delivering what we planned?

And perhaps more importantly: Does what we planned still make sense?

Those are not the same question.

A commercially aware PMO understands that budgets, benefits, priorities, customer needs and investment decisions do not exist in isolation. They are connected to the wider business context and that context can change while a project is still reporting green.

Sometimes the most valuable contribution a PMO can make isn't another status update. It is asking the question that makes everyone stop and look at the bigger picture: Has anything changed?

13/10/2026

A project can be on budget, hitting its milestones and managing its risks well. The dashboard is green, the reporting is up to date and everything appears to be under control.

But there is another question that can easily get missed: Are we still getting the value we expected?

This is where commercial awareness becomes important for PMO professionals. It is not simply about tracking spend against budget. It is about understanding the wider business context behind the numbers.

Have the expected benefits changed? Have business priorities shifted? Has the cost of delivery increased? Are the resources being invested still aligned with what the business needs?

A project can continue to perform well against its original plan while the reason for doing the project changes around it.

The PMO does not need to make every commercial decision. But it does need to be comfortable asking the questions that help leaders understand whether the investment still makes sense.

Good reporting tells you what is happening. Commercial awareness helps you understand what it means.

What questions do you think PMO professionals should be asking when it comes to commercial value?

The PMO Coach

23/10/2026

22/10/2026

21/10/2026

20/10/2026

19/10/2026

16/10/2026

15/10/2026

14/10/2026

13/10/2026

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