It’s your project, your career, your life – why not take the bull by the horns and make a difference? Do you want to be told what to do by someone else for the rest of your life in exchange for a paycheck, or do you want to make a name for yourself?
I had to intervene in a project that was off the rails several weeks ago, and today I was asked for performance feedback on the responsible project manager from his HR manager for “coaching” purposes. I had many data points to share, but the underlying theme is that this person simply does not have the capacity and/or the desire to lead – he was the wrong person for the job. Complex projects with ill-defined problems and even less defined solutions need an architect, a creative thinker who knows how to leverage all resources at her disposal to execute and succeed.
If you want to be a cog in a wheel and follow a methodology, there is an entire class of project work out there just for you. They have better definition, they have been done before, and they are predictable. However, if this is the role you prefer to play, don’t be surprised if you get caught up in the next big riff and spend 12 months searching for work. All companies, startups to large enterprises, need people who can make things happen and who aren’t afraid to break the rules, bend policies and shake things up to get something done for a customer.
Question is, where do you stand?
