Project Management Institute reviews

For an organization in the project management space, PMI can’t execute a project to save its life. The culture is a political mess that rewards those who spread inaccurate information, do zero work, interfere with people actually trying to do work, treat others disrespectfully, and pin teams against one another. The CEO is self-serving and decisions are made irrationally to accommodate pre-existing outside friendships. PMI chooses to outsource pretty much everything to ridiculously expensive contractors and agencies, while hiring copious amounts of internal colleagues to “manage” these relationships, but not do any of the work. Finally, there is practically no accountability whatsoever, which simply rewards the dead weight.

At a glance: Fear based management Lack of accountability from executive management Psychologically unsafe Emotionally abusive PMI advertises itself as a people-first, innovative organization — but behind the branding lies a culture of fear, dysfunction, and delusion. What’s sold as empowerment is actually control. What’s called collaboration is micromanagement. What’s described as visionary leadership is, in reality, chaos at the top. The tone is dictated by CEO Pierre Le Manh and Chief of Staff Lenka Pincot, whose leadership style centers on intimidation and blame-shifting. Feedback isn’t welcome, and asking for direction on enterprise projects is treated as defiance. When real issues surface, employees are met with empty slogans like “do M.O.R.E.” — a phrase that means nothing and serves only to silence anyone pointing out problems. Over twenty enterprise projects are being run by an understaffed, overworked team because so many employees have either quit or been pushed out. Those who perform well are “rewarded” with more work and no support. Leadership folds under pressure from other business units, especially when those units challenge the endless busywork and process documentation coming from Lenka. Instead of standing up for her team, she throws them under the bus, falsely admitting her own departments is the issue — all while expecting her same people to clean up the mess. Deadlines are dictated by Pierre with no understanding of what’s required to meet them. Once a date is set, it’s untouchable — even when the scope changes or major roadblocks appear. The result is rushed, brittle work held together by tape and willpower. Quality and planning are irrelevant; what matters is hitting a date that was never realistic to begin with. The role definitions are another bait and switch. People are hired as project managers or business analysts, then told they’re “strategic partners” without any guidance, authority, or context. When confusion inevitably follows, leadership blames the team. To top it off, employees are being “coached” on how to write emails and schedule meetings — a condescending exercise that says everything about how little this leadership team trusts or respects its own people. PMI’s employees are some of the most capable and driven professionals around, but their expertise is ignored and their morale systematically destroyed by leaders who care more about optics than outcomes. Bottom Line: PMI is a cautionary tale in what happens when ego replaces leadership. Until there’s a complete overhaul at the top, expect a revolving door of talent, hollow slogans about culture, and an organization being held together by people too loyal — or too tired — to keep pretending things are okay.