Defining Yourself in Project Management
Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected]. Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.
On day one, all new project managers are going to be pretty much the same. With no experience, and the same basic training, there will be no differences between the approach that one PM will take, compared with another. There will be differences based on approach (agile versus plan-driven, for example), but within those disciplines—and in the same business areas—every new PM will be pretty much the same.
But only on day one. As soon as project managers gain even the tiniest amount of experience, they begin to diverge from that standard, cookie-cutter definition. That’s a good thing. In fact, it’s a great thing. Project management is much more art than science. You need to know the fundamentals, and you need to gain experience applying those fundamentals to real-world scenarios. But you also need to develop a personal style, an approach that is uniquely your own.
It's no different to a cohort at an art school. They’re all taught the fundamental building blocks of art, but then they diversify into numerous varied and personal styles. The success, or otherwise, of an individual artist requires them to understand concepts like perspective, but it also requires them to have an approach to their art that resonates with customers.
Project management is no different. Your ultimate success depends on how you interpret the rules and apply your …
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