So you want to be a Project Manager

This blog posting was originally composed in a Project Management Case Studies class. We discussed the qualifications of a Project Manager and how to become a PM. After some thought this was my response posted on the class discussion board.

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The discussion in class about how to become a PM was very good. I am sorry if I was not much help. Maybe I can color in a few things here.

The skills of a PM are part art and part science.

The art part includes things like people skills, intuition, leadership, communication skills, psychologist and Den Mom. Being able to diffuse a project crisis with in the team or between stakeholders. Building relationships of trust across functional areas and with in the project team. These are the soft skills.

The science of being a project manager involves the technical “stuff” in the PMBOK: Making a Gantt chart and knowing how to use it in a project. Calculating CV, SV, CPI and SPI (PMBOK page173 – 174). Being able to identify scope creep and stopping it. Building budgets and resource plans. Being able to negotiate with vendors for material and resources. These are the technical skills.

Then there is the passion for the practice of Project Management. You have got to love it and breathe it in all you do, work and home. You have got to love taking the risk of being project owner/leader. You crave walking the line between the terror of failure and the exhilaration of success. You are willing to take a public bullet for the team and then step out of the spot light when your team pulls it off in the extra mile. You learn from failure and celebrate success. You always desire to become better and raise people up in the process.

This is the art and science of Project Management in my view. So… You still want to be a Project Manager? How do you make it happen…?

You just do it. Every project around the house use something new from the PMBOK. Judge your performance by the number of trips you make to Home Depot before your project is complete. Do PM at work. Write a brief scope statement for the latest assignment the boss gives you. Make a WBS and build a time line. Then follow it. Calculate where you actually are relative to the plan. Make adjustments. Learn the technical “stuff” of PM.

Be around senior Project Managers. Watch them in meetings, deconstruct their communications. Ask questions. Work into a PM position starting as a Project Coordinator. Become a member of PMI and volunteer to run a project for the chapter. (This is where I saw great project management modeled.) Set the goal of becoming a Certified Project Manager (PMP). Get project management input through books, magazines and the web:

Cornelius Ficthner has a podcast titled “Episode 62: How Can I become a Project Manager.” This link should get you to the podcast:
http://www.thepmpodcast.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=109&Itemid=9

Thomas Cutting writes a wonderful blog of PM lessons learned and techniques that are beneficial to him:
http://www.cuttingsedge.com/

I believe luck happens when preparation intersects opportunity. So start preparing and watch out for opportunities to be a project manager. Your preparations will open your eyes to places where the science can be applied. And as you apply the science you will improve your “artistic” skills of managing projects.

Go for it!