The Learning PMO

The Most Underrated PMO Model

When I first started working with organizations to design and launch PMOs, I used to think there was a right way to do it. Imagine a single blueprint that could be followed to deliver a structure right with the reporting lines, service catalogue, and ways of working.

As time progressed and I gained experience to appreciate the diversity of organizational needs, that view was completely transformed. It was shaped by understanding that PMOs don’t all look the same because the reasons for having them are different. We deal with organizations that have different contexts, are impacted by varying market forces, who operate in diverse industries, and experience different levels of maturity. We are also interacting with executive teams who perceive value in different ways.

Not All PMOs Are Built the Same

Some PMOs are purpose-built to support a single complex initiative. Examples of this could include a multi-year transformation, a company launch, a post-merger integration, or a large-scale capital program such as airport development. Another type of PMO functions as a project support office, offering services like scheduling, cost control, and delivery assurance.

Then there are departmental PMOs focused on managing portfolios within a single function such as marketing, IT, or operations. These tailor their priorities to address the specific domain the operate within.

There is of course the Enterprise PMO which sits at a higher level and is often seen as the desired goal for organization. However, even EPMOs don’t follow one model. In my experience, EPMOs tend to operate across three main lenses:

1. Delivery Excellence: focused on methodology, tools, and improving execution discipline.

2. Career Stewardship: enabling the growth of project talent through development pathways, mentoring, and clear job models.

3. Governance and Oversight: supporting portfolio performance through insight, decision enablement, and risk visibility.

Each of these can play a critical role. The combination and emphasis should reflect what the organization actually needs. That’s the part that often gets missed. Instead of starting with purpose, we’ve fallen into the trap of starting with labels.

The Alphabet Soup of PMOs

Over the past few years, there’s been a surge in rebranding the PMO. Some of the more common naming conventions include:

• Strategic PMO

• Value Delivery Office

• Results Delivery Office

• Agile PMO

• Transformation PMO

The acronyms keep piling up, each trying to signal a sharper, more business-aligned version of what came before. With the rise of AI it’s only a matter of time until someone introduces the AIPMO.

Here’s the thing though, changing the label doesn’t change the function. Most of these models are built on the same foundation: improve alignment, accelerate outcomes, and demonstrate value. That’s a good aim. The problem is they often ignore the one thing that actually defines whether a PMO is effective or not. That missing ingredient is fitness.

Leaders need to consider organizational context, culture, leadership environment, maturity, and delivery reality to produce a fit for purpose PMO regardless of what it’s called.

I’ve seen beautifully structured PMOs fail because they didn’t read the room. They built dashboards when what the business really needed was coaching. They enforced process where flexibility was the real success factor.

If we want to build PMOs that last, we need to stop chasing revolutions and start focusing on evolution. That means shifting the mindset, not just the model.

The Real Gap: Learning

In the push to make PMOs more value-focused, many have skipped over something more foundational, learning.

PMOs that embed learning into how they operate don’t just improve delivery, they improve people. They surface insight, adapt faster, and strengthen the organization’s ability to navigate change.

A Learning PMO isn’t a new type of PMO. It’s a shift in mindset.

You can apply it to any model: support office, departmental, enterprise. It’s not about where it reports or what it’s called. It’s about how it operates, how it reflects, and how it evolves.

It’s the mindset that values growth as much as, if not more than, delivery.

What Makes a PMO a Learning PMO?

Here’s what sets them apart:

1. Reflection Is Built In. Retrospectives, debriefs, and feedback loops aren’t painful steps as part of closing out projects. They are championed by team members as they seek improvement to accelerate the achievement of excellence.

2. Capability-Building Happens by Design. The PMO doesn’t just track projects, it focuses on developing people. It embraces mentoring and coaching as a critical success factor.

3. You Surface Patterns, Not Just Status. The value isn’t in reporting what happened but in spotting what’s likely to happen next. This responsibility is embedded not simply as an AI functionality but more importantly as a human capability.

4. Mistakes Drive Progress, Not Blame. Learning PMOs create safe space. This is perhaps the hardest element to achieve. We all hear a lot of talk from organizations who claim they want to achieve it but in the end quickly turn to pointing fingers when things do go the way the leaders want.

5. Learning Is Rhythmic, Not Random. It’s not left to chance, it is operationalized through habits rather than hero moments.

This mindset gives the PMO flexibility and allows it the room for growth and scalability, ultimately earning it organizational trust.

So What Now?

We’ve spent the last decade asking if PMOs deliver value and its been a worthy and important question. Maybe it’s time to ask something different.

What learning does your PMO enable?

That’s what makes it future-ready.

What’s one learning habit is your PMO interested in building or has built already?
Drop it in the comments or share this with someone rethinking how their PMO creates impact.