Why Project Management?

Recently, I spoke to a group of one of my long-standing clients on the topic of project management. They had prepared several thoughtful questions relative to the role and how to handle some of the key challenges one faces as a project manager.

In preparation for this discussion, I felt an important question was: “Why Project Management?” That is, why would someone want to be a project manager in the first place.

To be sure, project management is NOT for everyone.

As an example…Early on in my career I worked for a mobile communications company, well before most people had even touched a cell phone. One day my boss called and said: “We just acquired a small cellular carrier and I want you to lead the integration of the company and its assets into our firm.”

My first thought was: “Is he serious?”

That is, I had absolutely NO experience in performing what seemed to be such a daunting task. And, to be clear, nor did anyone else in our fledgling company. Nonetheless, the job had to be done. So, I assembled a team of smart people, organized all the activities, ensured timely execution and we got ‘er done!

Building on the above, I’ve performed as project manager under numerous titles over three decades. While my official title varied, the PM aspect remained the same: organize a team, get sh*t done, and move on to the next.

And, this is exactly what jazzes me about project management. That is, we aren’t doing the same thing over and over again, for years on end. Instead, we find that each project offers something new. We’re constantly learning new processes, technologies, organizations, business models, cultures, etc. And, we are meeting and working with new people, serving to build-out our most important career-related resource: our network!

In addition, during the process of managing projects we are constantly challenged, on a never-ending basis, to solve myriad problems and negotiate complex agreements with numerous stakeholders, all of which have unique needs, abilities and perspectives.

Considering the exposure we get to the cross-functional aspects of the business we are working within, we experience nothing less than exponential growth. In fact, I’ve often said that once we’ve led cross-functional initiatives for 3-4 years in a particular firm, we’ll know more about the interrelated workings of the organization than most others who have been employed there for a much longer period of time.

The sheer dynamics involved are absolutely incredible. To be fair, anything less (for me at least) would be a bore…

And, finally, the sense of accomplishment one feels after completing a high risk, high priority initiative is extremely rewarding! At this juncture, we get to take a deep breath and say “we did it.” This, even though early on in the project we may have had our doubts and we certainly heard from the naysayers regarding the challenges we will face, suggesting the initiative may very well fall flat on its face.

But, we did it anyway! At this point, we can enjoy the pause as we prepare to get on with the next.

Onwards and upwards!!!

In closing, if you are seeking to up-level PM competencies in yourself, or organization, please reach out to discuss how we can help.

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