You’re Not a ‘New Project Manager' Just Once

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.

  Career Development  

I was chatting with someone about a project management position they had taken on at a new company. They have been managing projects for more than a decade, but at one point, they said, “It sometimes feels like I’m a new project manager again. Everything is so different from my last company.” Well, cue this article!

It’s human nature to gain confidence with experience. As we start adding to the number of projects that we have successfully managed, we recognize that our abilities are improving, that we feel more comfortable in the role, and that we don’t suffer from the same concerns or worries that we did during those first few projects that we were managing. That’s positive—it means that we’re growing into the role, and it will help us as we continue to develop.

But then something changes. Perhaps, like this PM, we move to a different company. Maybe we just have to deliver projects for another department, or a different type of project. It could simply be that we’re asked to learn a different way of delivering project work.

Whatever it is, it knocks our confidence. It makes us feel as though we’re taking a step backward toward being a “new” project manager again.

Consolidate to grow
I don’t think that’s a bad thing. In fact, I think it’s necessary for PMs to continue to grow.…

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