Photo left to right: Emily Jefferson and Hannah Henderson, PMO Team Lead.
We visited Nationwide HQ in Swindon for Behaviours of a Successful PMO, hosted by House of PMO and led by Carol Hindley (Head of Digital PMO, Parliamentary Digital Service) and Eileen J Roden (lead author of the PMO Competency Framework). Rather than a presentation-heavy day, it was interactive and full of practical discussion with people who understand the realities of PMO work.
The central idea
A successful PMO isn’t defined by frameworks and tools alone – it’s defined by the behaviours that sit behind them. The session explored behaviours at three levels: individual PMO professionals, PMO teams, and the PMO as a wider organisational function.
Three things that stuck with me
- Trust is built in the day-to-day. It doesn’t come from governance alone. It comes from being reliable, following things through, and being honest in your conversations. And it needs to exist at three levels: in you as an individual, in your team, and in the PMO overall.
- Small behaviours shape big perceptions. Taking ownership, being proactive, and giving open (but constructive) feedback all add up. A PMO’s reputation is rarely changed by one big moment – it’s shaped over time through everyday interactions.
- It’s not “us and them”. A PMO isn’t there to police delivery teams – it’s there to help them succeed. When you approach the relationship as a partnership (not oversight), the dynamic changes completely.
One insight worth sharing
Try to take the emotion out of feedback. It’s easy to feel defensive when your work is challenged, but most of the time the aim is to improve the outcome – not criticise the person.
A simple way to keep feedback helpful is to focus on situation / behaviour / impact. You can also use the same lens when receiving feedback, which helps create a more open environment where people feel able to learn and improve.
One idea worth trying
We finished the session with a concept called Resolve: One Small Shift. The idea is simple: instead of trying to change everything at once, choose one behaviour to focus on over the next couple of weeks. It feels realistic – and it’s often the small, consistent shifts that change a culture over time.
It was also reassuring to hear that a common challenge – PMOs being seen as admin-heavy rather than value-adding, isn’t unique to us. It’s something we can actively influence through the way we show up and work with others.
Interested in PMO careers at UKSBS? Visit our careers page to find out more about working with us.