Working on Jenney Games has transformed my way of thinking about the kind of collaboration and the quality of communication needed among people who are responsible for providing a great client experience. The shifts in culture that Jenney is creating, complementing the existing capacity and tradition of the legal community, have been in the making for a long time. We’ve researched and collaborated with lawyers and legal professionals to reimagine the way people in the legal industry work and interact. I’ve recently had the pleasure of diving into the conversation about getting ahead with this certification. In fact, I’ll let you catch up with the article while I share some thoughts about another way to think about this certification and the transformation it can enable.
The certification process, like leveling up in a video game, provides a goal – or a series of challenges – to help you better contribute to your guild, or team. Guilds are a great analogy because the work of legal project managers isn’t just about the individual; it’s about the ability of the team to deliver complex work items (or “quests”) on time and within budget. The intricacies involved in corporate law are multiple, and in live-action role playing, a single path won’t guarantee success. It’s necessary at all levels to consider various skills and approaches to complete each quest. With collaboration at the forefront, creating a path toward collective success begins with precise planning and a clear definition of objectives shared by all players – whether they be lawyers, paralegals, team members across the hall, or fellow players around the world. This type of coordination and focus is why strategy and planning games are so popular. They showcase the need for creativity, logical decision-making, and maybe even math skills.
In Jenney Games, gameplay is about preparing for a quest, getting ready to level-up, and evolving to higher challenges. In the game our team is developing, players learn what the game universe is about, what skills are needed to complete a quest (and where to find them), and how to effectively plan a series of quests to achieve a mission. In the end, players will have the confidence to play their roles to evolve and adapt with each level-up.
Taking the same approach in the legal project manager certification process can only yield similar results. Being able to role-play what you will need to do as a legal project manager is a great start. As a new LPM, you get a chance to observe how to create efficiencies and cost-savings for your guild while doing new and exciting work (or quests) in the process. The steps outlined in articles like Getting Ahead with Legal Project Manager Certification help you plan your game map. With each success, you’ll gain experience, and as your experience grows, so does your ability to overcome even the hardest challenges – like saving your team from the ancient dragon. Similarly, you will be better able to overcome the formidable tasks that may come your way.
Like all of factors used for level-up in a game, it’s also about unlocking new skills for your character. It’s about gaining the ability to create new and better approaches, and maybe even new branches of skills in your career (or characters). One success leads to incremental rewards. For example, Jenney seeks to reward frequent players every step of the way, providing badges, lore, and special powers. These same types of incentives can help you maintain interest in your path to certification and then beyond.
In addition to the idea of branches and new skills in Jenney Games, roles are a huge part of the game and how players add to guild success. You’ll be able to choose your character’s developments as you level up just like in the LPM certification process. There are options for everyone, no matter your unique skill set.
Quests, guilds, skills, and maps are all essential elements both for the game Jenney is developing and for earning your Legal Project Manager certification. Becoming certified by the International Institute of Legal Project Management (IILPM) is like breaking new ground in a game. You don’t just get one bonus that you must choose to play. Instead, you gain a wealth of new options for the future. This is great news for legal project managers eager to continue their careers.
Leveling-up and certification go hand-in-hand. Whether you are already an expert at LPM or just beginning your journey, the certification process is an exciting opportunity to improve your skills. Industry certifications are not something to hoard, though. They are quests that give you new powers. To move, you simply have to decide the path you want to follow.