Research and development project managers are expanding their reach into the boardroom and across the globe

As the world becomes smaller, project managers have to think bigger.

"In the past, the role of the project manager has been to organize and develop a process, communicate that process, and implement it throughout that organization," says Belle Collins Brown, PMP, a contributing author to the book Project Management Circa 2025. "Now we need project managers who have vision and can look at what's going on in the organization … then look at the bigger picture and make decisions not based on day-to-day details, but for the long term."

Ms. Collins Brown has witnessed the evolution first-hand as a program manager at HP, Houston, Texas, USA. A 16-year company veteran, Ms. Collins Brown rose through the ranks to become manager of one of the tech giant's project management offices. And she has witnessed how the profession has become less about leading teams through finite processes and more about leading with a global vision.

The changes are sparking a new camp of research and development project managers who integrate corporate strategy, innovation, passion and leadership into the daily activities of their teams, Ms. Collins Brown says.

Now more than ever, it's their job to ensure project goals align with global corporate initiatives.

"In some instances, these objectives may introduce additional costs into the project that would not be perceived acceptable in the past," Ms. Collins Brown writes in her chapter, The Coming Evolution of the Research and Development Project Manager.

Out of Scope

As research and development project managers expand their scope beyond organizing meetings, managing schedules and implementing risk analysis, they assume a far-reaching leadership role that stretches beyond their immediate team.

"It's the right process at the right time that will enable people to make critical decisions on what is needed based on the objectives of a company," Ms. Collins Brown says.

Often times, those objectives require project managers to tap into key leadership traits such as relying on experienced peers, soliciting participation for planning, and listening to and coaching fellow team members.

"The project manager's view would now encompass a wider range of dependencies that may or may not be under his [or her] immediate control," Ms. Collins Brown writes. "This will require a level of communication and coordination that has not been traditionally scoped as part of the project plans of the past."

Deep Down

The research and development project managers of the future will have to go in armed with a varied skill set.

"Research and development is a little different than other disciplines in that tools need to be broad instead of deep," Ms. Collins Brown says.

Adaptability will be another key trait for project managers, whose team resources will increasingly stretch beyond geographic borders.

"We will seek subject matter expertise while holding on to our fundamental process knowledge, and will transform the organizations that we serve into ones that incorporate principles of project management into all aspects of the project management community," Ms. Collins Brown writes. “This will require a level of communication and coordination that has not been traditionally scoped as part of the project plans of the past.”