I am joining a new team that has big project with a strict deadline

Danielle Bolden Crestwood, Il, United States

I am currently a program manager and this will be my first big project. Any suggestions on how I should show up in the first 30 days? All advice is welcomed

Posted: Aug 7, 2024 10:46 PM

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Danielle Bolden Crestwood, Il, United States

Aug 08, 2024 1:27 PM

Replying to Anna Tymoshenko

...

I am in a similar situation myself: joined a new team in a new company and completely different environment + a different language. And although I have quite some experience, sometimes my head is spinning. But I know it will pass, as long as I am trying to understand the people, be human in the first place, and not just push my PM agenda about how everything should be (it can be hard sometimes). Communication is a key 🙂

I could not agree more. Communication is key in all situations. Good luck to you.

Posted: Aug 8, 2024 7:31 PM

Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States

Danielle,
My first rule of thumb is not to break what's already working just fine when you walk in the door.

If you have a tight schedule, quickly learn the critical path and why it is what it is. One of the worst mistakes I have seen however and more than once is immediately making big changes because that's what worked in your past job, before understanding the complexities of the current situation.

My second rule of thumb is it takes about 3 months to get up to speed as a well-informed leader on something new that has many different side avenues and "Yeah butt"'s.

If I had to break out my typical new PM job into into Forming, Storming and Norming phases, my first 30 days is listening intently and trying to put the pieces together. Who's who and how do I best interact with they key players? My second month is working closely with the key players to create the right plan based on their expert knowledge, not mine. My third month I am executing the plan, getting results, generating new ideas, and building trust based on positive results.

Most of all, have fun. If you're going to put a lot of energy into something, it helps if you like what you're doing.

Good luck, and reach out if you need help!
Keith

Posted: Aug 9, 2024 12:38 PM

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I am joining a new team that has big project with a strict deadline

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