Your Journey from New PM to Seasoned PM…and Beyond

John is a versatile, results-driven technologist and manager and is recognized for leveraging his broad business experience, technical knowledge and analytical skills to drive change and help organizations achieve their strategic objectives. John loves sharing ideas through his articles and is eager to hear feedback from the community. John is also the President of PMTrainingOnline.com.

  Career Development   New Practitioners  

Becoming a new project manager may be a milestone, but becoming a seasoned, competent project manager is a process that, like a fine wine, takes time and focused effort. Whether you are a brand new project manager, a highly experienced one or somewhere in between, it can pay to understand where you are in the process, move toward your ultimate goals and think about where project management fits for you.

Trust your instincts – and go with what you know
Being a project manager is a unique experience. If you were previously working as an engineer, software developer or other hands-on job on projects, you have been a “doer.” As a member of a team on projects, you have been responsible for executing your own tasks.

Your field of view changes completely when you become a project manager. The world, in a sense, turns inside out, as you are no longer so much a doer but rather are an organizer--and are responsible to make sure things get done. As a result, the range of your accountability--for the tasks of other people individually and the team as a whole--dramatically increases.

I was a project manager many times before earning my PMP, and I found that it was important to simply have confidence in my basic abilities. For me (and for you, too), even when you fall accidently into a project manager role, it’s for a reason. You likely are the best person …

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