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Originally published at Internet.comWhen you think about what your career needs to move forward, it can often be simplified to three key factors: 1) you get things done efficiently 2) you show the results of your work and 3) you gain the confidence of your peers and managers.
What other skill set besides project management is focused on those three things? When I talk to successful people in any field, what I generally find is that underneath their professional niche beats the heart of a great project manager. If you're a professional project manager, take your own pulse and see if you're using your skills not just to manage projects, but also to propel your career.
Here are 10 questions to ask yourself and ensure that you're using project management as your career's secret weapon:
1. Do you show results? Project management is the art and science of getting things done. When you improve your project management skills, you know how to get things done quickly, and even more important, you learn how to document the results. In our careers, we are often as good as our last hit. You can't be a one-hit wonder. Instead, you want to keep charting, year after year, with success after success.
2. Are you efficient? When you apply project management principles to your work or your home life, you stop reinventing the wheel. Project management teaches you how to make the most efficient use of resources to generate the best results in the least amount of time.
At the end of every project, you capture best-practices and lessons learned, creating an invaluable documentation of hits and misses. Sound too good to be true? Good project managers do this on every project, and you can, too.
3. Is your communication ongoing? One mistake I see a lot in project management and on teams is the assumption that there's one meeting and everyone goes away, and then the communication ends, and somehow everything is still going to magically get done.
Your communication skills are not about your vocabulary. They are about how you manage your communication. Are you communicating frequently enough and with clarity? Are you communicating what is relevant? Are you communicating your successes?
4. Do you play well with others? People hear the word teamwork, and they groan or they say that they are, of course, a team player. That's why I like to bring it back to the kindergarten place in our mind: Back to the sandbox. Do you play well with others? Do other people want to be on your project team? Are you respected? Do you listen actively to what others have to say?
Good project managers know when to lead and when to get out of the way. When someone is interviewing you, you know what that person is thinking: Can I work with him? Will my team work well with her?
5. Do people trust you? It's important that you keep your commitments, meet deadlines and always "walk the walk." Even showing up late for meetings can make people question their ability to count on you. Project management skills focus on timelines and results that build your reputation and give team members a reason to trust you.
6. Are you the person people can count on to keep a level-head? Good project managers can remain calm and in control because they have a project agreement which has all the critical information about the project in it. They know when all the deadlines are, who is responsible for what and when, and they've also documented changes. Everyone wants to have someone on the team who can stay calm when a project gets rocky and bring stability to chaos.
7. Do you adapt to change? Even the most accomplished CEOs can fall victim to ignoring change. Companies change. Deadlines change. People come and go. Good project managers know they often have to adapt their plans and document what has changed and how that impacts the entire project.
8. What do you still need to know? What skills do you need to move from the status quo to the next level? Once you have a solid foundation of project management skills, keep building on that foundation. Don't stagnate. Continuous learning and a thirst for knowledge are always attractive to employers and team members.
9. Are you passionate? People will follow those who know what they are doing and who can generate results. Project management is a powerful leadership tool because it not only shows us how to keep our eye on the prize and the purpose, but it's also about the passion to achieve and succeed. Nothing feels better than accomplishment.
10. What should you stop doing? Think about not only your skills, but your habits. Is there anything you are doing that is not helping you to move forward? Do you hold meetings that are long and laborious? Is there anything you do that causes eyes to roll? Be honest about how others perceive you, sometimes it's the small things that give people the biggest impression of who you are.
When you look at project management, don't make the mistake of just viewing it as a job. It's a universal skill set that is often the difference between success and failure. Use your skills not just to manage projects, but to manage your own success.
Michelle LaBrosse is the founder Cheetah Learning and an international expert on accelerated learning and project management. In 2006, The Project Management Institute selected Michelle as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in project management in the World, and only one of two women selected from the training and education industry.
Author: Michelle LaBrosse
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