Hmmmm....actually I'm going to ask 2 questions instead. And maybe some sub-questions...what the heck. Being a contrarian is just part of my personality... though, it's not a "desired skill" for project managers. Especially not when you are contradicting a quote you picked yourself like I just did. See what project manager employment does to you after awhile? Koo Koo...Koo Koo
Those shiny, flashy careers in project management may seem inviting
coach sunglasses, but do you really have a passion for this kind of work? Does your personality lend itself to the type of work?
"You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well
cheap asics casual, do ya punk?" - Dirty Harry (1971)
Not Everyone Should Be a Project Manager
But let's be honest. We're all nuts.
There is a specific form of gluttony for punishment that comes with the territory (some consider it a clinical condition). The decision to head down the project manager career path should not be taken lightly.
4. No apologies please.Some actors seem to think they are among royalty when in an audition and apologize for everything they do if it's not perfect. That implies the wrong mindset in the audition. While it's nice to apologize, in an audition it indicates that you aren't totally involved in what you are doing...just focus on what you are doing, not how it's affecting the audience. You don't know how they feel about you. They might love your energy and everything about you but when you apologize you are pointing out that you think you did something wrong, so unless you fart in their faces or knock over the lights or camera, there's nothing in an audition to apologize for. I would say the one exception is if you are working on another job and don't have the time to get your lines down, you might want to apologize for that to manage their expectations a bit...but I'm not even sure that's a good thing.
This doesn't mean you throw your hands up in the air and let chaos rule... but it does mean that effective change management needs to be a key strength. Uncertainty and change happen, and it is all in how you deal with it (and anticipate it) that makes the difference.
Are you passionate about this stuff? I really enjoy the process of creating something that never existed before. Even if it is not a tangible, physical product it is very rewarding for me to be able to think about what we did as a team. I love process improvement and change. That's one reason why out of the various project management careers out there (project manager, business analyst, project controller
Ray Ban Online Store, program manager, etc.) I chose to be a project manager.
Do you like thinking about a project from every possible angle? Because that is what you will need to do in order to be effective. The customer, the team, the sponsor, external stakeholders...they all have to be happy. You need to be able to change shoes every 10 minutes or so. The nature of projects is changing requirements and approaches as you go, so there will always be situations where you are the hostage negotiator that has to make everyone come out alive and feeling happy.
One of the great things about project management is that at least once a week someone starts running around the place wildly yelling "My hair is on fire! My hair is on fire! My hair is on fire!"
Seriously though, I can't even smell burnt hair anymore.
I am passionate about project management in general, and helping people new to the field more specifically.
Do You Fit In?
Do you like working with people? I don't mean like social work, (although I might have something there) I mean being able to relay technical concepts to business people and get geeks excited about what upper management wants. You need to understand "Projects are about humans," as the Project Shrink says. The importance of communication in project management has become a cliché, but nonetheless, it's true. You need to do it effectively and fearlessly.
Prepared or not, apologizing to them is the same as making an excuse for yourself. If you are apologizing to the room before you perform, you are basically saying, "Sorry I suck" before you even speak a word. If you start out thinking you are going to suck...do the math...not much chance for success in that environment.5. Casting is rooting against you.Maybe because auditions are so hard to come by and there's a certain distance maintained between casting and actors, actors often get the idea that casting directors are in some way rooting for them to fail. Nothing could be more false. Casting has made a big decision in allowing you to fill one of the few spots available for each role. They are putting their reputation on the line with their bosses, the producers. They want you to validate that they have made a good choice.
Do You Like Challenge? (Glutton for Punishment Helps)
When I started out, there was a specific resonance I felt as I learned more about the role of a project manager. Everything I had really enjoyed about my previous positions seemed to be a part of this crazy thing called project management.
Do you thrive on change? The idea that a project plan is finalized and then very little changes from there is a fantasy... a theoretical construct that only lives in the pages of your project management textbook.