How to Lean In—and Thrive—in Project Management
From the Voices on Project Management Blog
by Cameron McGaughy,
Lynda Bourne, Kevin Korterud, Peter Tarhanidis, Conrado Morlan, Jen Skrabak, Mario Trentim, Christian Bisson, Yasmina Khelifi, Sree Rao, Soma Bhattacharya, Emily Luijbregts, David Wakeman, Ramiro Rodrigues, Wanda Curlee, Lenka Pincot, cyndee miller, Jorge Martin Valdes Garciatorres, Marat Oyvetsky
Voices on Project Management offers insights, tips, advice and personal stories from project managers in different regions and industries. The goal is to get you thinking, and spark a discussion. So, if you read something that you agree with--or even disagree with--leave a comment.
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Date
By Jen Skrabak, PMP, PfMP
Over nearly two decades in project management, I’ve learned a number of strategies to make my voice heard and advance in my career. Much of that success has come by “leaning in,” as Sheryl Sandberg advocates.
As a woman in project management, I believe the following are key:
- Show grit. Demonstrate courage, show your perseverance and never give up in the face of obstacles. Know that it’s a multi-year journey, and you must demonstrate the passion to achieve your long-term goals as a leader in project management.
- Be the best. Knowledge, skills, abilities—you need to consistently demonstrate that you’re the best, and not be afraid to speak up and show it. Throughout my career, I have always assessed gaps in my knowledge or experience, and actively worked to close them. For example, although I started in IT, I wanted to transition to the business side to lead business transformation programs. I actively sought out progressive assignments by building a track record of successful projects that became larger in scope and team size with each project, until I achieved my goal of an enterprise-wide program impacting hundreds of thousands of users.
- Execute flawlessly. Execution is an art, not a science, and it requires creativity, impeccable organization, exceptional communication and most of all, follow-through. Many of these skills are intuitive in women, and the key is to understand that execution requires the leadership of large teams through four stages:
- Awareness: Create the right “buzz” around the project.
- Understanding: Teams need to understand their role and how their actions fit into the larger picture.
- Acceptance: Teams need to accept the message or change by changing their behavior and taking the appropriate action.
- Commitment: To demonstrate true commitment, teams should help champion the message throughout the organization.
- Build confidence and trust. Multiple studies support the notion that women are not only better at assessing risk, they are also better at guiding actions and decisions accordingly. Women should use this natural decision-making ability and risk management expertise to build confidence and trust as project leaders.
- Communicate clearly and concisely. Keep communications rooted in data and facts, not based on subjective information or personal preferences. Women in leadership roles tend to rate themselves lower than men on key attributes such as problem solving, influencing and delegating, and rate themselves higher than men on supporting, consulting and mentoring. How much time are you spending on communicating the right messages and influencing to gain commitment to your viewpoints versus supporting others?
International Women’s Day is March 8, and this year’s theme is #BalanceforBetter. Please share your thoughts on how we celebrate the achievement of women while we continue to strive for balance for women socially, economically and culturally around the world.
Posted
by
Jen Skrabak
on: March 05, 2019 10:42 PM |
Permalink
Comments (11)
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This is good advice for all Project Managers, regardless of gender. I'm glad to see more diversity in our ranks, as the introduction of other points of view can make for better solutions.
Cecilia Boggi
Executive Director| activePMO
Ciudad Autonoma De Buenos Aires, Capital Federal, Argentina
Thank for sharing Jen!
I would like to add another Sheryl Sandberg's advice: Support each other!
I think we should foster our own support and collaboration (instead of competition) to break the barriers still exist to reach to leadership positions.
That's the way we will reach balance for women socially, economically and culturally around the world.
Best wishes and "Happy International Women's Day"!
Jen Skrabak
Portfolio Management Office (PMO) Executive| Strategy+PM, LLC
Calabasas, Ca, United States
Glenn, absolutely agree! EVERYONE can lean in.
Jen Skrabak
Portfolio Management Office (PMO) Executive| Strategy+PM, LLC
Calabasas, Ca, United States
Hi Cecilia - great point - we need to support and elevate each other. Happy International Women's Day.
RAJESH K L
Project Manager, PMP| Bharat Electronics, Bengaluru, India
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Happy International Womens Day to you too! Inspirational effort thanks for sharing!
Abhishek Sharma
Vice President| Change Healthcare
Austin, Tx, United States
Leaning in. Thanks for sharing...
Keturah Smith
Senior Project Manager| CPI Group
Bristol, United Kingdom
Agree - support don't compete.
Happy International Womens Day to all woman .
I appreciate your efforts
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