What are the Three Components of the PMI Talent Triangle®?

Project Management Institute (PMI) identified the PMI Talent Triangle® skill areas to guide Project Management Professional (PMP)® credential holders in their continuing education efforts. These skill areas are Business Acumen, Ways of Working, and Power Skills.

On this page:

• The Three Components of the Talent Triangle
• PMI Talent Triangle skill areas | Business Acumen
• PMI Talent Triangle skill areas | Ways of Working
• PMI Talent Triangle skill areas | Power Skills
• How to determine PMI Talent Triangle skill areas for submitting PDUs
• PMI Talent Triangle Training Solutions
• Summary

The Three Components of the Talent Triangle

The PMI Talent Triangle® is composed of the strategic knowledge areas needed for effective project management: Business Acumen, Ways of Working, and Power Skills. PMI certifications, like the PMP® certification, are maintained through Professional Development Units (PDUs) applied to the Talent Triangle domains within a given renewal cycle.

For more information on the PMI Talent Triangle, check out our articles on:

• What is The PMI Talent Triangle®?
• The Evolving PMI Talent Triangle®
• The PMI Talent Triangle® Sets PDU Requirements

PMI Talent Triangle Skill Areas | Business Acumen

PMP credential holders are high-performing project managers who use their domain-specific knowledge to inform recommendations and decisions for the broader organization.

Business Acumen definition

Business Acumen (previously Strategic and Business Management) is the ability to “…cultivate effective decision-making and understand how…projects align with the big picture of broader organizational strategy and global trends.”

Why Business Acumen skills are needed in project management

A project manager with deep business management knowledge makes strategic decisions to safeguard the project.

Business Acumen skill examples

A few examples of business acumen are:

• Competitive analysis
• Legal compliance
• Organizational strategy

PMI Talent Triangle Skill Areas | Ways of Working

Regardless of your preferred project management methodology, you need knowledge of the different project approaches, such as Predictive, Agile, and Hybrid, to earn and maintain a PMP certification.

Ways of Working definition

Ways of Working (formerly Technical Project Management) encourages project professionals “…to master as many ways of working as they can – so they can apply the right technique at the right time, delivering winning results.”

Why Ways of Working skills are needed in project management

A project manager needs knowledge of core project management methods for many scenarios.

• Teams may use different project approaches and yet find themselves working together.
• A project manager may seek career advancement regardless of the project methodology used at a given company.
• Not all projects benefit from the same approaches, and the project manager needs to know when to use which.

Ways of Working skill examples

A few examples of ways of working skills are:

• Agile project estimating
• Performance management
• Scope management

PMI Talent Triangle Skill Areas | Power Skills

Power Skills (previously Leadership) encompass the skills needed to lead, collaborate, and communicate with diverse stakeholders.

Power Skills definition

Power skills are the ability to effectively, consistently, and efficiently foster teamwork, trust, and information sharing to achieve shared goals.

Why Power Skills are needed in project management

The project manager and team need to influence stakeholders, understand the customer’s needs, and work effectively together through changes to reach the project goals.

Power skill examples

A few examples of power skills are:

• emotional intelligence
• strategic thinking
• strategic leadership

For more information on Power Skills, check out our resources below:

• Developing Leadership Skills in Accordance with the PMI Talent Triangle®

How to Determine PMI Talent Triangle Skill Areas for Submitting PDUs

For a training or professional activity, use the descriptions above to determine the PMI Talent Triangle® area to which the activity is aligned. Then, submit the hours to PMI for your certification maintenance.

1. Confirm the total training duration.
2. Determine how much time you spent focusing on Business Acumen related skills.
3. Subtract that time from the total training duration.
4. Review the remaining content to determine how much time you spent on Ways of Working-focused content.
5. Subtract those hours from the total training time balance.
6. Review the remaining content to determine how much time you spent on Power Skills-related material.
7. Subtract from the total training time balance.

For more information on claiming and submitting your PDUs, check out the following resources:

• How to Claim PDUs for your PMI Certification

PMI Talent Triangle Training Solutions

Training courses may provide development opportunities in one Talent Triangle skill area or a combination. Just remember that the combined reported PDUs cannot exceed the total training duration. PMI encourages PMP credential holders to use their best judgment for mapping content to PMI Talent Triangle® categories.

Summary

PMP credential holders track their required continuous development work against the PMI Talent Triangle components: Business Acumen, Ways of Working, and Power Skills. Learn more in the article How to Claim PDUs for your PMI Certification