The Role of Project Manager: Is it For You?

 

I receive many passionate questions from the studio audience about which degree they should go after, how to prepare for a certification, and how to land a job as a project manager.

But many of them missed a step.

Is This For You?

Before diving in to the world of project management, it's important to take a step back and evaluate if this is even something you want to do.

A good starting point are my previous articles, the 10 Attributes I Look for in New Project Managers, and Run Away! (And Other Helpful Advice For A Career in Project Management).

Besides those attributes and passions I discussed in those articles, I tend to see one trait in common among people who end up being good at managing projects.

You know how they say if you love your work, it never feels like work?  That's not entirely true, but it is mostly true.

Loving to Bridge the Gap

This is the one thing that will carry you through tough times while managing projects.  But only if you really love it.

What I mean is a love for helping people understand each other.  I found very early in my career that I really enjoyed finding the little clues in a group conversation where I could tell people were not on the same page.  They were talking past each other, or at each other, many times without even realizing it.

I wasn't even particularly good at it in the beginning, and I continue to get better.

The second part of the process that I love it figuring out the right questions to ask, in the moment, to get people on the same page.  It's not a matter of demanding answers or chiding people; it's about asking the leading questions that will force clarity into the conversation.

For me, there's nothing better than the epiphany people get when they realize what the other person was really talking about, when all along they thought it was something different altogether.  Sometimes it's a look of astonishment, sometimes it's laughter, sometimes it's a groan.  Either way, suddenly the conversation 'clicks' into place and real progress starts being made.

And this is why project management is perfect for me.  In my role, I can find at least one situation like this every day.  Between my team members...stakeholders...managers and directors...customers.  Every communication channel contains the possibility of miscommunication, and therefore an opportunity for me to help resolve the disturbance.  This is just one of the things I love about project management.

Every day, I can do what I love.

Ask Yourself

Before you head down any career path, ask yourself honestly what it is that you love to do.  I don't mean as a job, but what are the little things you enjoy and would like to do more of?  What are the things you abhor and want to do less of?  Only after this analysis should you decide whether or not project management is for you. 

I feel strongly about this and so the first 2 (out of 5) modules of my PM Career Coaching course are dedicated to finding the answers to these questions for yourself.  I have a structured approach with worksheets, but you can just get out a sheet of paper and start writing down the things you enjoy and the things you don't enjoy.  These are activities and behaviors, not jobs.

You might be disuaded from going after a career in project management.  If so, great! 

The primary goal is to find the work you love.  If that is not project management, so be it. 

Go find out what it is you love.

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