Got Grit? How Passion and Perseverance Help You Achieve Career Goals

Bruce is the founder of ProjectManagementHacks.com, a resource for growing IT project managers.

  Career Development   Talent Management  

Most worthwhile goals, especially career goals, take substantial time and effort to achieve. In some careers, the path to success may take a decade or more. For example, specialized physicians must complete several degrees and years of specialized training to reach their goals.

What about project managers? In contrast to lawyers and physicians (where there is a well-defined—if highly demanding—path to success), charting your plan for project management career success may require a different approach.

Get Clear on Your Long-Term Career Goal
Getting clear on what you want next from your career is "step zero" before we do anything else. As someone with project management capabilities, there are two broad career pathways you may consider:

1. The first path is to develop your career with a project management focus (e.g., move on to manage larger projects, lead programs, manage project management offices, and the like).
2. The second path is to leverage your project management skills in a new role (e.g., consulting or traditional management).

Once you have chosen a path, take a few minutes to outline your next career goal. For example, are you interested in seeking a specific promotion at your current organization? Or are you excited about changing industries to something entirely new?

Once you have a clear picture of your next career move, you …

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