Myths About PMs

Patti Gilchrist, PMP, is a Senior Technical Manager with more than 20 years of IT experience. Visit her website at www.freepmstudy.com

  Career Development   New Practitioners  

There are many misunderstandings about project management as a profession, as well as about what project managers actually do. Over the years, I have heard many misconceptions about expectations of the role from everyone: executives, hiring managers, aspiring project manager and even project managers themselves.

So I thought I’d share a few of my favorites…

1. Project management seems to be an area in which anyone can excel. With the increased demand for skilled project managers, many are eager to jump in and try their hand in the role. So maybe you’ve tried everything else and figure, why not try project management? It can’t be that difficult, right?

Many view project management as a generalist discipline, and assume they can excel regardless of their discipline or background. While I agree with this sentiment--for the most part, in that project management is a generalist discipline, in the sense that it requires a broad skill set--I don’t entirely align to this view. There are specific skills and behaviors (or mindsets, if you will) that are necessary to be successful in the field.

Instead, I hold the opinion that relevant technical and/or applicable domain knowledge serve a project leader well--and often make the difference between being a good project manager versus an excellent one.

So if you think it’s a career in which …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.