Taking the Plunge

What is this magical concept, influence, and how does one wield it effectively?

1. Knowledge: the power of Insight. As a project manager, you may know things others don’t, like dependencies, risks, or hidden costs. When everyone has the same information, you can help shape what it means. You have tools that help you forecast possible outcomes. You have the ability and opportunity to shape opinions.

1. Timing: the power of When. You have insight into the moving parts and pieces of the schedule. If you pay attention, you can identify when the pain of not changing exceeds the fear of change. Sometimes, all you need is the right time to turn a bad idea into a good idea.

1. Access: the power of Proximity (Who and Where). You’re often in the right place to access decision-makers, doers, and peers who control resources or information. I learned years ago that one of the greatest factors of success in most things, not just in project management, is knowing who to talk to.

Rejuvenate - /rəˈjo͞ovəˌnāt/ - verb – to restore energy and motivation into your work by refreshing routines, learning, or shifting perspectives.  To breathe new life into your career, without necessarily changing jobs, through new challenges, projects, or skills.  To rediscover meaning and fulfillment in your professional journey by aligning work with values and passions.  To revitalize your sense of growth by experimenting with new directions, opportunities, or approaches.

Have you ever felt stuck, like you’re doing the same thing over and over, and over again?  You want something more, but you either don’t know what it is or you can see it but it’s just out of reach?  A lot of us have been there, in more ways than one, and it can be difficult to get past that feeling.  I’ve found that if you want to get unstuck, it helps to understand why you feel stuck.

I’ll be honest, you don’t have to go through a long self-awareness process to figure out why you feel stuck.  Sometimes you know what the problem is and can act on it quickly and easily.  If that’s where you are, go for it.  Other times, you may know what the problem is but it’s the wrong time to act on it.  So, you figure out the right time, or the right signal, and prepare for action.  The rest of this post is for those who aren’t quite sure why they’re stuck or what they can do about it.

Welcome to CareerChecker.  Please Describe Your Symptoms

• Chronic Boredom – every day feels like copy/paste
• Promotion Blockage – you’ve been in the same role too long with no promotion path
• Skill Atrophy – your industry is moving forward, but your skills are stuck in the past
• Meaning Deficiency – you’re asking, “What’s the point?” more than, “What’s Next?”
• Compensation Malnutrition – your paycheck hasn’t kept up with the job duties
• FOMO Syndrome – everyone but you seems to be advancing

What’s The Diagnosis, Doc?

You may have heard the expression, “Don’t live to work, work to live.”  There is some truth to this, but it’s not equally true for everyone.  You can take either approach and still feel stuck.  This feeling often comes from the following kinds of stagnation:

• Skill Plateau – you feel like you’re no longer learning or growing
• Role Ceiling – you feel there is limited upward mobility in the current organization
• Market Value Gap – you’re unsure if your skills are still relevant or competitive
• Fulfillment Gap – your work no longer feels meaningful or energizing
• Lack of Transparency – it’s not obvious how your work is adding value to the organization

So, what can you do?

Prescription for Rejuvenating Your Career

Once you understand the reason(s) you feel stuck, it’s time to determine what you can do about it.

You don’t have to change jobs to rejuvenate your career

There are several actions you can take to combat stagnation, regardless of your industry:

• Expand on your skills – pursue a relevant certification or build technical, leadership, or transferrable skills; learning something new, practical, and applicable can give you a new outlook on your career.
• Change your expectations – frame your work around value and outcomes, not tasks; looking at the bigger picture can help you work past feelings of drudgery.
• Market test – benchmark your skills and experience against external job postings, explore adjacent roles; this will help you understand if your skills are still relevant and if you have options.
• Experiment – mentor/coach someone, lead a working group, take on a side project, or volunteer; finding ways to share what you know or serve others can bring its own sense of fulfillment and help you work past negative feelings at work.
• Reframe your mindset – view your career as cycles of reinvention, not a ladder with a straight shot to the top; the opportunities to start at the bottom and working your way to the top aren’t what they used to be.  You might be able to choose a lifelong career.  You might also learn new things along the way that take you in a new direction. 

A Prescription Only Works if You Take the Medicine

You’ve recognized that you feel stuck.  You’ve identified options to overcome that feeling.  It’s time to pick a direction and take action.  Yes, you could analyze each option, in depth, to determine which would be the most effective.  If this helps you feel unstuck, I’m not going to tell you not to.  For others, it’s time to act; to pick a direction and commit to it. 

Sometimes, you have to change jobs to find the opportunities for growth you’re looking for

If you spend too much time worrying about whether your direction will help you feel unstuck it probably won’t help because your focus is on being stuck.  Instead, focus your thoughts and energy on your new mindset, expectations, and/or actions.  For example, if you’re going to coach someone, don’t do it to help you feel better about yourself, do it to help someone else grow.  They can tell the difference, and it will be less effective for both of you if your focus is on yourself.

This may sound a little contrary to what I just wrote, but if you’re the reflecting type, you may find it beneficial to pay attention to your feelings and keep a journal.  Journaling can help you keep track of what worked and what didn’t work, which can be important to know as you experiment with different ways to get unstuck.  You may find you need to pivot, but don’t start off planning to pivot.  Give it an honest try before moving on.

However you start, start small.  Pick one thing and get started.  Maybe that’s all you’ll need to feel unstuck.  Maybe you’ll discover a whole new direction to pursue.  You could also find more reasons to feel stuck (that’s a good time to pivot).

These are just my thoughts.  What have you done to get unstuck?

A question I see come up a lot, and not just from Project Managers, is “Which certification should I get?”  Most of the time it comes across as if the person asking the question expects a new certification to make them more employable.  Sometimes this is true, but it isn’t always the case.  In fact, the mentality that you need more certifications to be better qualified could be considered a trap that can keep you from focusing on long-term objectives.  I’m not saying you shouldn’t get certified.  I am saying you should be selective about which certification(s) you pursue and that certification should be part of a larger plan, not the plan.

Why Do People Pursue Certifications?

Let’s look at reasons that people pursue certifications.

• Professional Credibility
• Career Advancement
• Increased Earning Potential
• Skill Development
• Global Recognition and Portability
• Network Expansion
• Personal Confidence
• Organizational Benefits
• Legal/Regulatory Requirement
• It’s part of a career roadmap
• Dopamine – a feeling of accomplishment
• To impress others
• To fix a stalled career without examining and addressing the root cause
• Productive procrastination
• Resume padding

Which Certifications Are Worth Pursuing?

Before you run out and get the latest and greatest certification, you should do some research to determine which certification(s) may be worth pursuing.

• Which certifications are often required or preferred in jobs you’re interested in?
• Which certifications are recruiters talking about/looking for candidates to have?
• Which certifications are mentioned at conferences or in speaker bios?
• What have your peers or mentors in the field found valuable?
• What skills are emerging or in demand?  (Be careful with this one – whenever something new comes out, there can be a lot of hype for new certifications that don’t measure up)
• Are there regulatory, compliance, or contractual requirements mandating specific certifications?

How Do I Choose?

Once you’ve identified some options, you should answer the following questions about each certification on your list:

• Does the certification align with your current or future role?
  • Will it remain relevant for at least 3–5 years?
• Is it recognized in your country, industry, or specialization?
• Are there prerequisites (experience, coursework, degrees)?
  • Do you meet the prerequisites?
• What’s the cost in time, money, and effort?
  • Can you afford the time and financial investment, right now?
• Is this a “nice-to-have,” a “gatekeeper” that you need just to get an interview, or a “differentiator” – strategic for standing out.
  • Is there clear employer or market demand for it?

Review the answers to these questions and see which certifications you can eliminate from your list.  If you haven’t narrowed the list down to just one certification, that’s okay.  You don’t have to choose just one, but you do have to prioritize them.  Gatekeepers should be your first target, with the caveat that your expectations are realistic.  If you only have a year’s worth of experience in Project Management, for example, the PMP may not be your best starting point.  It could be, but realize that you’re not likely to get an interview for a job that requires the PMP if you don’t have it.  Is there another certification that it makes sense to pursue while you are becoming eligible for more advanced certifications?

If you have the required gatekeeper certification(s), then look at the differentiators.  These are certifications that aren’t listed in the job description but as you research potential employers you can find reference to them, or hints that they would be helpful in places like leadership bios, projects the company is working on or plans to work on, and problems the company is trying to solve.  If a certification is listed in a job description, it's unlikely that it is a differentiator, unless it is so new or unknown that relatively few people hold it.

You may also find that none of the certifications on your list are worth pursuing – you may already have the best certifications for where you currently are in your career and where you want to go next.  You should also consider that, sometimes, hands-on training and practical knowledge are more valuable than a piece of paper.  There’s a lot you can learn and apply that will help you add value, without getting a certification.  The answer to “Which certification should you get next?” may be none, for now, and that’s okay.  There may be other priorities that you need to focus on that will have greater impact in the short-term or help you achieve your long-term objectives.  Remember, certification is to help you achieve your objectives, not be the objective.

A friend of mine recently let me know that her second book is “coming soon”.  I’m not allowed to help her promote it until August, so I can’t say who she is or what the title will be, but I am going to share a little about a related topic from the perspective of my own experiences.

Tomorrow is my last day as VP of Communications & Technology for the PMI Northern Utah Chapter (PMINUC).  Over the past year and a half, I’ve split off the Technology function and taken over Marketing (our graphics designer and the "marketing" title were part of another team), but the changes had to be voted on in the last election and won’t be official (on paper) until July 1^st.  I could have stayed in the updated position for another term, but I have a few obligations I’ve been neglecting since I took over the role.  It’s bittersweet, but it’s time.

I have enjoyed my time serving and networking with our chapter members, updating the website, revamping the newsletter, and starting to figure out how to best use social media to promote chapter events.  I’ve made new friendships, built on existing relationships, and I like to think I helped a few people on their project management journey.  There have been challenges - people, process, and technology (StarChapter… IYKYK).  I may volunteer with the board, again, in the future, if my new journey allows time for it.  I don’t regret this short detour.

I’m not ready to talk about what’s next for me, but I would like to make a suggestion for you.  If you’re not already, find a way to volunteer and serve others.  It doesn’t have to be with a PMI Chapter Board of Directors.  If your chapter is like ours, it also offers the occasional opportunity to serve in the community or to be a mentor to other project managers.  Or you can find a shelter or food closet that needs volunteers.  Maybe you already belong to an organization that has service opportunities, like a church, fraternal or civic organization.  These are great ways to develop your leadership skills, expand your network and, in some cases, bring project management practices that can help things run more efficiently.

As I contemplate the last few things I need to do before telling the VP of Technology that my access can be revoked, I can feel a small void forming.  I’m a little sad to leave and excited for what’s next.  I’ll miss seeing one set of friends, regularly, while I make new friends.  No regrets.  It's time to take the plunge into something new.

Just to recap, in part 1 & part 2 GenAI presented some stereotypical negative opinions about project managers, executives, and other stakeholders.  In part 3 I asked Gen AI to take on the role and tone of coach and mentor and give each of them advice to overcome their negative perceptions of each other.  Looking back at this, I realize I made a mistake.  After getting the initial response, I should have asked GenAI to elaborate.

Consider the response to the project manager.  "Imagine you're leading an expedition through uncharted territory..."  This does sound like a coach, and the advice is not bad, but it's not enough.  A lot of project managers spend their time in the weeds and details.  They're not often dealing directly with executives, and on the occasions when they do, they may not have the relationship with them to immediately take GenAI's advice.  There may be some relationship building that needs to take place, first, and that can take time.  In this circumstance, a project manager might need their manager, or someone higher up above them, that has a relationship with the executive to allay any concerns and help establish a relationship.

I felt the advice to the executives and stakeholders works.  Parts of it seemed a little generic and incomplete, but 1) I didn't ask for additional information, and 2) that's what I've come to expect from GenAI.  I don't expect it to tell me everything I need to do in any given situation (especially when I don't ask for more), even if I give it all the context I have.  I expect GenAI to point me in a direction and get me started.  I may choose to ignore some of what it says.

What are your takeaways and what would you have done differently?