When I began tutoring on the Information Technology Management for Business (ITMB) programme at the University of Greenwich, I didn’t anticipate the ripple effects those lectures would create. Every week, I watched lecture halls fill, sometimes beyond capacity, with students eager to hear more than just theory. My secret? I wove in stories from the real world. Not just textbook scenarios, but the messy, complex, high-stakes realities of project delivery in the public and private sectors. Students leaned in. Questions multiplied. And year after year, many of those students graduated with First Class or Upper Second-Class Honours.

It wasn’t magic. It was mentorship rooted in application. They weren’t just learning how to manage tasks; they were learning how to think like strategists. They weren’t memorising frameworks; they were learning how to deliver outcomes. And perhaps most importantly, they were learning that project management, when done right, is not admin. It is transformation.

The Project Manager Title Problem

In too many organisations today, “Project Manager” is still seen as a glorified coordinator. A meeting scheduler. A Gantt chart guru. And while those tools and tasks have their place, they don’t define the value of a project leader.

We must reframe the narrative. Project Managers are not just there to keep things on track. They are there to ensure that what we’re doing is the right thing in the first place, and that it’s delivering genuine, measurable value at the end.

Project Management should sit at the heart of strategic delivery. Yet all too often, it’s an afterthought. The reason? We’re still too focused on process and not enough on purpose. It is time we changed that.

From Frameworks to Forward Momentum

One consulting engagement I led for a large-scale public sector transformation project taught me this clearly. The organisation had followed the methodology by the book. PRINCE2 templates were immaculate. Risk logs updated weekly. But progress? Minimal. Morale? Low. Outcomes? Non-existent.

We stepped in and reframed the entire programme around outcomes rather than outputs. Instead of asking, “Are we delivering on time?” we asked, “Are we delivering the right change for the end user?”

That simple shift from process to purpose unlocked momentum. We cut scope in some areas, amplified it in others, and placed benefit realisation front and centre. Within months, we saw tangible progress: a smoother customer journey, reduced service costs, and, perhaps most importantly, re-engaged teams who finally understood why they were doing what they were doing.

Contrast this with another project I was brought in to recover. It was an enterprise system implementation where the PM had rigidly followed a methodology without ever connecting it to the business context. Sure, the milestones were “on track,” but stakeholder trust was eroding fast because no one could articulate what success looked like beyond a completed deployment. It was a case study in missing the forest for the trees.

The Strategic and Commercial Edge

To avoid this pitfall, PMs must expand their lens. It’s not enough to know Agile, Waterfall, or MSP. We must understand commercial drivers, stakeholder psychology, and strategic alignment.

Research from the Association for Project Management (APM) and PMI alike underscores this. Organisations that prioritise benefits realisation management and strategic alignment consistently outperform their peers. Yet these are the areas often neglected in favour of delivery mechanics.

As mentors, leaders, and practitioners, we must help the next generation and our current colleagues build not just delivery capability, but strategic fluency. In today’s world, being fluent in business impact is as important as being fluent in Jira or MS Project.

Elevating the Role, One Conversation at a Time

That starts with how we teach and talk about the role. Whether it’s in a classroom, a boardroom, or a stand-up meeting, we need to shift the dialogue.

• From tasks to outcomes
• From templates to transformation
• From admin to leadership

As someone who has had the privilege of mentoring students, consulting with organisations, and speaking with business leaders across sectors, I’ve seen what happens when we make that shift. Projects don’t just get delivered. They make a difference.

A Call to Action: Elevate the Craft

To my fellow project professionals, mentors, and business leaders, it’s time to elevate the craft of project management.

• Bring real-world case studies into the classroom and the boardroom.
• Champion benefits realisation and strategic alignment in every programme.
• Mentor the next generation to think commercially, not just tactically.
• Start conversations with the C-suite about value, not just velocity.

Because at the end of the day, our work is not about delivering projects. It is about delivering change that matters.