Your last PMO success doesn’t guarantee your next one. In fact, it can trip you up . . .
I’ve lost count of how many PMO leaders I’ve met who walked into their new role with that quiet, earned confidence of “I’ve done this before.” And they had, brilliantly. They’d transformed chaotic portfolios into high-functioning engines. They’d convinced reluctant executives to buy into governance. They’d built teams who could deliver results with precision.
Then, six months into the new role, they’re staring at a portfolio that’s slipping, a team that’s disengaged, and a credibility curve that’s dropping instead of rising.
Not because they forgot how to lead.
But because they assumed their success was portable without adaptation.
This isn’t about competence. It’s about context. And context will crush even the most accomplished PMO leader if they ignore it.
Why This Happens to Experienced Leaders
When you’ve been successful, your methods feel proven. You trust them; they’ve carried you through budget battles, executive pressure, and delivery crises. But when you start a new role, you’re not walking into the same organization you just left.
You’re stepping into a new ecosystem with its own:
- Political undercurrents
- Cultural norms
- Decision-making rhythms
- Executive “languages”
- Historical baggage with the PMO itself
Your toolkit still matters. But without recalibration, you risk becoming the leader who says, “This worked in my last PMO,” without realizing that in this one, it’s the wrong opening move.
Mistake 1: Assuming Your Previous PMO Playbook Will Work Here
The scenario:
You land in your new role, open the binder (real or mental) from your last PMO, and start rolling out your tried-and-true processes. After all, they were successful before — efficient, scalable, measurable.
Why it happens:
Confidence turns into autopilot. You’ve lived this movie before, so you skip the “learning the script” part and start directing.
The cost:
You miss subtle but critical differences:
- Governance tolerance (how much oversight leaders will accept)
- Appetite for change (sometimes masked by polite nodding)
- The organization’s decision-making cadence
- How “success” is defined in this context (hint: it may not match your metrics)
What to do instead:
- Treat your first 90 days as reconnaissance, not rollout.
- Map current governance pain points as they define them, not as you imagine them.
- Use pilot initiatives to test and tweak before scaling.
- Ask every executive: “What would make you call the PMO indispensable in six months?”
Mistake 2: Underestimating the Cultural Onboarding
The scenario:
You land in your new role, open the binder (real or mental) from your last PMO, and start rolling out your tried-and-true processes. After all, they were successful before — efficient, scalable, measurable.
Why it happens:
Confidence turns into autopilot. You’ve lived this movie before, so you skip the “learning the script” part and start directing.
The cost:
You miss subtle but critical differences:
- Governance tolerance (how much oversight leaders will accept)
- Appetite for change (sometimes masked by polite nodding)
- The organization’s decision-making cadence
- How “success” is defined in this context (hint: it may not match your metrics)
What to do instead:
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Identify cultural translators trusted insiders who can decode why things happen the way they do.
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Observe decision-making forums before you influence them.
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Pay attention to informal power: who everyone defers to in meetings may not be on the org chart.
Mistake 3: Aligning Too Late with the Power Brokers
The scenario:
You assume your formal sponsor (often the CIO or COO) is your main alignment priority. You don’t actively court the informal influencers early on.
Why it happens:
You believe sponsorship is enough. And in theory, it should be. But in practice, it’s often the SVP who controls capital allocation, or the head of Product who owns the innovation agenda, that can make or break your PMO.
The cost:
When tough portfolio trade-offs emerge, your PMO’s recommendations get sidelined.
What to do instead:
Map decision influence networks in your first month.
Schedule one-on-one “listening” conversations with them early.
Frame PMO value in their priorities, not just enterprise ones.
Mistake 4: Treating Inherited Teams Like Blank Slates
The scenario:
You reassign roles, restructure reporting, and rebrand the PMO in the first few months.
Why it happens:
You’re eager to shape the team to your vision. And maybe you’ve been hired to “turn things around.”
The cost:
You alienate team members who carry critical institutional knowledge. The ones who understand the organization’s portfolio scars may disengage — or worse, subtly resist.
What to do instead:
- Diagnose before you design.
- Hold individual capability and perspective interviews.
- Identify “trusted messengers” on your team who can help you pace the change.
Mistake 5: Over-Focusing on Processes Before Proving Value
The scenario:
You roll out robust intake forms, dashboards, and governance calendars before executives have seen tangible value from the PMO.
Why it happens:
You want to bring order to the chaos quickly and processes are visible proof of control.
The cost:
You reinforce the stereotype of the PMO as bureaucracy before you’ve earned the trust to lead change.
What to do instead:
- Identify one quick-win project or portfolio intervention that matters to the C-suite.
- Publicize its impact before introducing heavier governance.
- Position processes as enablers of value, not ends in themselves.
Mistake 6: Misjudging Portfolio Maturity and Appetite for Change
The scenario:
You assume the organization’s portfolio maturity is higher (or lower) than it is, and design your approach accordingly.
Why it happens:
Previous roles have tuned your instincts — but every portfolio’s maturity curve is unique.
The cost:
You either move too slowly and frustrate executives, or move too fast and trigger resistance.
What to do instead:
- Conduct a rapid but rigorous maturity assessment in your first month.
- Share a phased roadmap showing that you understand both the “now” and the “next.”
- Balance ambition with capacity.
Mistake 7: Failing to Secure Early Visible Wins
The scenario:
You focus on setting up the foundation for long-term success but fail to deliver visible, short-term results.
Why it happens:
You believe your credibility will be built over time. But executives judge early.
The cost:
By month six, you’re seen as “still setting things up,” and patience wears thin.
What to do instead:
- Identify a project in flight where PMO intervention could visibly improve delivery speed or quality.
- Deliver it. Publicly. Repeatedly.
- Use that momentum to justify your longer-term initiatives.
Bringing It All Together
The biggest trap for experienced PMO leaders in a new role isn’t lack of skill it’s the belief that skill alone wins.
Every new PMO role is a fresh political, cultural, and operational puzzle. You can’t import your last solution wholesale. You have to earn your leadership all over again faster and smarter than the first time.
If you’re stepping into a new PMO leadership role or about to and want a sparring partner to help you decode your new landscape before the early mistakes set in, let’s talk.
Reach me here
You’ve already proven you can lead a PMO. Let’s make sure you prove it here, too.
