THIS WEEK’S FOCUS
Continuing our focus on project management foundations:
80% experience, 20% training: 3 steps to become a project manager
Welcome to Success Factors Discovery, your weekly email for enjoying projects + delivering with confidence.
“How do I become a project manager?”
When I started out, I thought training was the main answer.
I started with a foundation course (APM) that went into leadership and management. It gave me a lot, but not what I needed.
I got this after a process qualification (PRINCE2), which gave me clear steps that I could follow.
I realised then, that knowing where to start comes with wisdom. I realised later that we also need to apply behavioural science to this question.
Here’s my honest answer, shaped by behavioural science and my experience as a Chartered Project Professional (ChPP), where I’m bound to give you straight advice.
Step 1. Believe in your own experience.
Almost everyone has been exposed to projects or change. That means you already have a starting point.
Take two minutes: write down 5–10 things you think make for a good project manager, based on what you’ve seen.
These are your personal “rules of thumb.” Trust them, they’re your secret sauce.
Keep refining them as you gain experience.
Step 2. Do what others have done.
The fastest way to learn is to borrow wisdom from those who’ve gone before you.
Mentors:
• Think of this as finding your Yoda.
• Keep it simple: identify someone with experience and ask them for a coffee.
• Or, join a formal mentoring scheme (APM, PMI or local networks).
Training:
• If you want broad skills, go to APM, PMI, Praxis or IPMA and start with the foundation courses.
• If you need to lead and deliver a project now, start with a process certification.
• That gives you the practical steps you can follow straight away, then circle back to the broader learning.
Observe:
• Watch what experienced PMs actually do.
• Their hard-won wisdom often comes down to simple heuristics “Success Factors”, some call these expert secrets. They make the difference.
• Write these down and put them into practice.
Step 3. Do what others didn’t realise they should do.
Here’s where you can leapfrog.
Take insights from interviews with experts, read research into what really makes for successful projects. Apply this, and see radical improvements to project success rates, and people enjoying working on your projects, much more.
Tuesday Action
Sketch your own development plan using these three steps. Or forward this to someone starting out who would value a clear path.
Sketch your own development plan using these three steps. Or forward this to someone starting out who would value a clear path.
Has this caught your attention? Would you like to see more like this? If so, press reply and let me know.
See you next week,
Greg
P.S. If you’re interested in the shortcut for Step 3, that’s what I have been working on for the last two years. It’s now live, in the APEX-4 Project Expert Formula™.
It is designed as an easy to apply checklist that applies insights from thousands of project experts. It has great reviews. It is designed for you to apply quickly.