These four areas are the root cause of making mistakes at work. Since I did all four of them in this one example situation, I promise that this article is not written with any judgement or holier-than-thou attitude. Let’s take a look at these four things that contribute to you making a mistake at work!
Project management relies on executing a series of steps well. It requires that certain standards be upheld at all times. Projects also require that milestones and timeframes are maintained throughout a series of complex, coordinated steps. All things considered, few industries operate like this on such a consistent basis as the airline industry. While flight was thought impossible about a century ago, it’s now become so routine that you can go online, buy a ticket and be anywhere in the world tomorrow, all in relative comfort as well! Perhaps project managers can learn a few things from this process. Let’s explore some project management steps in action by observing the commercial airline industry!
We’ve all heard the saying, and we all cringe every time we do. Who even came up with these expressions? Regardless of how corny the expression is, it’s true. In project management, you’ll need to work with many different personalities: people you may not see eye-to-eye with, people you don’t care for, and even people you can’t stand! I’ve been there many times, and it gets easier. By easier, I mean your focus will remain centered around the overall results, and less on the individual actions happening around you. You can have all the skills in the world, but knowing how to approach and work with different personalities will make managing a project team a much easier process.
Love it or hate it, project managers must be jacks-of-all-trades. While most of us come from backgrounds that are more specialized ie. engineering, architecture, programming, business management, etc., one must transcend these focuses and take on a larger, broader skillset to be an effective project manager. If you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in becoming a project manager, or you’re being “strongly encouraged” by your current employer. Either way, there are several project manager skills that one must develop over time through experience, regardless of your education level or technical background. Having a solid understanding and on-the-job experience in the following areas will ensure you’re ready to rock when it comes time to assume the Project Manager title!
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