Ask a Mentor

Feeling stuck in your project management career, wondering if there's any real future? You're not alone. The truth about project management's longevity might surprise you, and it has everything to do with adaptation. Uncover the essential insights and skills that will future-proof your career in this rapidly changing field.

In this months Ask A Mentor Session we explore this question;

“Is it true that staying too long in project management makes it harder to move up? I’ve been in PM for a while now, mostly mid and large projects and sometimes I wonder if I’ve boxed myself in. When I talk to execs or VPs, a lot of them didn’t stay in project management for long, they graduated into strategy, ops or product leadership after a few years.

Meanwhile, I know PMs who’ve been running projects for 10–15 years and they’re insanely good at it… but they seem to hit a ceiling. Companies lean on them to deliver but don’t always see them as leadership material. I enjoy the work but I don’t want to wake up in 10 years and realise I’m stuck in a lane that doesn’t lead anywhere. Does project management long term help to move up or should I pivot to something else to break through?”

YOUR MENTORS - Susanne Moore and Margaret Dos Santos
This webinar was recorded live with the Guest Speakers and registered attendees. It has been briefly edited for this channel

Governance and the Project Manager - The unseen project success driver

"What is the difference between project governance for the PM and what the Change Managers seem to do? As a Project Manager how do I deal with Change Managers trying to do my work?"

The crucial role of project governance in ensuring successful project outcomes is explored. How robust frameworks and clear decision-making processes contribute to project efficiency and avoid potential pitfalls is revealed.

"I am closing out two jobs that are at the finish line and things are moving so fast I have hiccups due to my full attention being focused on one job at a time. I know it sounds like I’m not capable, I’m really not, I just feel like I inherited a shit storm coming in the last 20% of a job with no prior knowledge as to how my current company closes out a job. I get told things once and I am expected to remember. Which is fair, but still pretty hard… especially when things are moving at 100 mph and everything is an emergency… Any tips?"

RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consult and Inform but what does this mean in practice? The RACI is an often-missed tool that can make a big difference to your project’s success. Let’s talk about how a RACI can get you out of trouble, how it can lead to agreements, why it should be done and who should do it. We will give some examples of RACI use as well as some positive reasons for its use.

"Recently I was hired as a PM for a small company and during the interviews, I was told that I would most likely be working alone to understand a problem, create a solution, and then executing the solution. I find this quite challenging and confusing because I always thought that the Project Manager would direct a team so how does it work to be the sole Project Manager?"

“As a PM that wants to act professionally, how should I deal with aggressive people on my project to make sure I can still get them to do the job?”

“How do I manage a hybrid team effectively?  Will I be judged as a PM for the success or otherwise of my hybrid management ability and what tools can I harness to make this a positive experience for the Team?"

Hybrid work is the new normal, but managing a team across locations and time zones presents unique challenges. Even managing remote workers is challenging with many employers now demanding people return to the office.