If you’ve been wondering what you were born to do, look inwards. Sometimes, the signs are there before you even realise it’s a job that you’d be good at.
Here are 3 signs you might be a project manager:
1. You own a filing cabinet or drawer…
…and you wonder how people who don’t own one manage their physical documents.
A vital part of project management is being organised. You need to organise yourself, your team, your client(s) and all the work going on. A normal project can easily add up to hundreds of emails, a number of important files, and a good few meetings.
If you’re not organised, and I mean seriously organised, then you’re liable to lose track of what’s been discussed in emails, your team will struggle to find the right files, the client will be unsure of the project status and your budget will spiral out of control.
This natural skill for organisation can easily spill into your personal life. My old housemate (who is not a project manager) used to stuff his letters into an old cereal box… If that sort of thing makes your skin crawl, then you might be a project manager.
2. You’re on top of your finances
I’m not saying you’re rich, but that you have a handle on whatever money you do have.
Project managers must do a careful balancing act between quality, time and budget, and as most projects come with a budget to manage, it’s important you understand what that is and keep on top of it. It’s not an easy job.
What’s important is to have a plan and a contingency – so, if that’s how you handle your personal finances, then you just might be a project manager.
3. You’re more logical than emotional
Vulcans are a fictional extra-terrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek franchise, noted for their attempt to live by logic and reason with as little interference from emotion as possible. Sound good? I think so. Emotions can be so… messy.
Project managers can have emotions, of course, but it’s vital they keep cool under pressure and don’t let them get the better of them.
Projects will almost always come with their stressful moments, some more than others, and project managers will almost always need to be involved with that. The team will be looking to them for guidance and direction, so if they’re falling apart at the seams, then the project will, too. Also, projects will often face criticism, so it’s important that they can take that and turn it into a positive action.
So, if, like me, you see Spock as a kindred spirit, then perhaps you could be a project manager.
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