Okay, so you have been working in technical role for couple of years and now you want to move one step ahead in career. Maybe you are fascinated by how projects and programs are handled. This article will provide you with a few pointers which can help you in transitioning to a project leader role.
What is Project and Program Management:
Before you embark on the journey, it is a better idea to have a clear understanding of what is project and program management. You might have contributed to projects as a star performer but unless you understand the basics you may not be able to make informed decisions.
Going by definition of project as per PMI, project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.
A program is a group of related projects, subsidiary programs, and program activities that are managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually.
Project Management is more than a technical stuff.:
From the definition of project and program management, by now you must have got an idea that, project or program management is not just technical stuff like creating Gantt Charts.
Most important understanding you should have is, if you wish to move to Project Leader role, you must be willing to work with diverse stakeholders. In your technical role you may not deal with diverse stakeholders because you would mostly work and interact with your team (in most cases).
Project and Program Management involves dealing with a lot of real human beings who have emotions and different backgrounds. Each of them has different powers and may influence your project as per their power.
Okay, so now you know the basic difference between working in core technical role and working on projects and programs.
Project leaders are not supposed to know everything under the sun:
Yes, you read it correctly. In the capacity of project leader, you need not know everything, but you should develop skills to identify subject matter experts and reach them for help.
You may not know everything in depth, but you should always strive to gain knowledge about things outside your regular technical domain.
Some of the areas you can try to understand are procurement, negotiations with stakeholders, commercial aspects, and sometimes legal aspects.
Interpersonal communication:
In managing projects and programs, you must deal with human beings at every stage. If you want to be a successful project leader, strive to improve interpersonal communication. It is one of the most important skills project leaders should have.
Stakeholders can make or break projects due to their influence. Once you understand who can influence things due to their designation and authority you should strive to build rapport with them so that they can support your projects.
Primary duties of Project Leaders:
Now you know that building interpersonal relationships with stakeholders is very important. Similarly, creating charter, creating project plans, and integrating all the aspects of projects is crucial role of project leaders.
In your pure technical role, maybe you were not that concerned about regularly communicating with other stakeholders. But when you think of transitioning to project role you should constantly communicate with others and ensure the health of projects.
As a project leader, your primary role is to facilitate things to ensure that project objectives are met.
Also, by now you must have realized the shift in role from technical to project leader.
Formal Project Management Education:
Once you have made up your mind to enter project management, it would be a good idea to go for some formal education in Project Management. You can go through Project Management Standard and PMBOK Guide by PMI.
Formal education can give you insights about systematic methodology and best practices of project management. It helps in understanding global language project professionals speak. If you are interested, you can also consider going for some Certification. Though Certification does not guarantee success in dealing with projects, but it can give you a confidence about global methodologies.
Practice, practice, practice:
There is no magic formula for becoming a successful project leader. Whatever you learn, you must apply it in real life situations. You may encounter conflicts among team members, influence from key stakeholders, you might mess things up, risks might turn into issues.
Whatever may be the situation, you should learn on the fly and be in the driver’s seat to successfully deliver projects and programs.
Hope you enjoyed reading. Don’t forget to leave your comments below.
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