Career empowerment

Abstract

This presentation is created for project managers who want more opportunities in their career. The key to becoming “career smart” and having a meaningful, purposeful, and inspiring career as a project manager is your ability to put yourself in high demand with managers, program and project managers, senior leaders, and hiring managers. Through interactive tools, powerful thought-provoking exercises, and inspiring stories, you'll learn the step-by-step process for building credibility in the workplace, networking effectively, and transitioning from project manager to program manager.

Specifically, this paper will teach you:

Who to connect with—Identifying career influencers who could help you get hired, promoted, or introduce you to others who could potentially hire you as a project manager.

How to develop relationships—Learn four connection strategies to help you build your career and strengthen your network of career influencers:

•  Show a genuine interest and ask great questions.

•  Become a resource for them.

•  Plan ahead. What do you want to happen?

•  Be open to possibilities.

How to build your credibility and influence—Many project managers miss out on incredible opportunities every day because there are so many fires, hurdles and constraints that have to be managed, they become weary of anything that doesn't fit inside their pre-planned, time-constrained schedule. Learn how to consider the possibilities and benefits of every opportunity.

Introduction

I'm a program manager working for a Fortune 100 company, where I've been employed for the past 12 years. Five years ago, I made a radical change in my career when I received my PMP and transitioned from marketing manager to a technical SAP project manager. The result was leading higher-valued projects, increased credibility with senior leaders, and a 32% salary increase. Two years later, I transformed my career again when I became the program manager for training and developing 8,000 global managers across the company. The result was a larger network of internal senior leaders and external thought leaders, increased opportunities, and more control over my career. Today, I'm a full-time program manager, as well as teach others about career strategies through my books, professional speaking, and my private coaching practice.

The critical piece of my own transformation has been networking, or more specifically, creating and nurturing professional relationships. People are the jet fuel behind our careers. They can help us get hired, promoted, introduce us to others who could potentially hire us, teach us something new, inspire us, or help promote our ideas. Our job is not a final destination, but instead one stop on our career path. We were meant to develop, stretch, and grow, and the only way to do that is through the help and guidance of others.

This paper provides the concepts and strategies to help you create more opportunities in your career by building powerful professional relationships with project managers, program managers, department managers, customers, senior leaders, industry experts, and potential employers.

Part One: Who to Connect With—Three Types of Career Influencers

It takes two things to be successful in your career: doing high quality work and having positive relationships with the right people. In other words, you can't enjoy a meaningful, enriching career without the support of others. People are the key ingredient to having a successful career. They can help you get hired, promoted, transitioned to higher-profile projects, and introduce you to others who could potentially hire you. Whether you're employed or not, cultivating deep connections within your professional network is critical to your success.

Who is in Your Sphere of Influence?

Let's start by looking at your sphere of influence. Picture three rings, one big, one medium, and one small. The three rings fit inside each other. You are represented by a single dot in the center.

Each ring symbolizes a target audience. The ring closest to you symbolizes the people you connect with on a regular basis and who know you fairly well. They can include your direct manager, program manager, project team members, peers, clients, vendors, and the like. They are people whom you associate with regularly, and who directly impact your career.

These are influencers who can help expand and accelerate your career. They can champion you to others and spread the good word about your work, accomplishments, and the value you provide. These are the people who could help you get hired onto your next project, help you get promoted, as well as provide job leads, referrals, and recommendations to help you land your next career.

The medium-sized ring symbolizes others who may have some influence on your career. They are people you know, but may not see on a regular basis. They could be managers from other departments, senior managers, past employers or clients, external suppliers, or people whom you've met at professional associations, civic organizations, or tradeshows.

As you think about your network of career influencers, analyze your current work environment. Include managers and colleagues who have specific areas of expertise and those who can provide guidance and share information. Every company has an inside network of influencers who are well-positioned within the company. Their ideas are accepted, their projects are funded, and they are on the fast track in their careers. Identify who those influencers are. Keep your eyes and ears open. Listen in meetings. Who is talking about ideas? Who is talking about how to grow the business? Influencers are easy to spot. They are well-respected and usually well-liked within the organization.

They are movers and shakers, constantly helping to move the organization forward. Others seek out their advice and ask for their suggestions. These are career influencers you should add to your target audience list.

The big ring symbolizes your wish list—those you want to meet and add to your sphere of influence. Is there someone who inspired or impressed you, whom you would like to get to know? Write down her name. Is there someone you admire for his knowledge, skills, or career success? Expand your mind to think big. I love what Donald Trump said: “If you're going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.”

Who are the influencers within the industry? Attend professional association meetings, industry conferences, and business networking events. Meet the members, speakers, and those on the boards of directors. Join a committee or the board of directors of an association. The idea is to meet people who are successful in the job role or industry where you want to be. Add them to your target audience list. Find ways to make connections with them to learn about their career paths, obstacles they had to overcome, best practices, and key lessons learned.

Think locally, nationally, and globally. Perhaps there is someone you want to meet who is an author or a conference speaker. Perhaps there is someone in the media, a political figure, or a project manager consultant who works for several companies on a variety of projects. Think about who might be a good connection, role model, or perhaps even a mentor—someone who could potentially help advance your career (or introduce you to others who might advance your career).

Career influencers can help promote your ideas, teach you new skills, and even help pave the way to new career opportunities. Once you begin identifying and building deeper relationships with these influencers, you'll then have more of the strategies, insights, and inspiration you need to have more choices, more influence, and more control over your own career.

Part Two: How to Develop Relationships

The goal of networking is NOT to start asking someone about job opportunities, or to mentor you, or teach you something the instant you meet someone. The goal of networking is to create a connection or build a relationship with someone.

So how can you do that? Here are a few key strategies that can help.

Show an Interest in Them and Ask Great Questions

Let's say you have a meeting, conference or a professional event that's coming up. Look at the agenda and ask yourself, “Who would I like to meet?” Maybe it's someone you've never met, or maybe it's someone already in your professional network.

Plan ahead and think about a topic that you think might interest them, such as a new product launch in their organization, or how you've applied one of their teachings that you read about, or perhaps offer them an idea you have on a challenge they are currently facing. The point is to keep the conversation focused on that person (it's not about you!—at least not yet!).

You connect with someone by being genuinely interested in him or her. While you're establishing relationships, you'll want to listen more than you talk. In other words, let them do most of the talking. To do this, you'll need to ask some good questions like, “How's that big project going that you're working on?” or “How is the new product doing that your company just launched?”

If it's the first time you've ever met, then you don't need to have a long, in-depth conversation. Instead, when you feel that the conversation has run its course, simply say, “I'd love to stay in touch—do you want to exchange business cards?” Or, “I can send you an article I just read on that very same topic. Would you like me to forward it to you?”

The point is that you want to connect with your contact and do so in a way that is genuine, authentic, and shows an interest in what they are doing.

Be a Resource for Them

As a career coach, I've noticed that many professionals make the mistake of sending a message to others that says, “I need a job,” or “I need a mentor,” or “I need support with a project I'm managing.” The message is all about them, and not about the other person. It's a one-way relationship, instead of a two-way relationship. It's very selfish. Who wants to be in a relationship like that?

Instead, you want to be sending the message that you're a successful project manager who's resourceful, well-connected, and who has some similar interests as they do. You want them to realize that you are someone that THEY should get to know!

Send out personalized notes and emails to your network with links to industry news, reports, case studies, press releases, videos, or cool websites that you think may interest them. Volunteer to write recommendation letters, and introduce them to others in your network. Invite them to business networking events, and introduce them to movers and shakers that you know. Be proactive and offer to connect them to others in your network who may help them solve a problem, offer advice, or potentially advance their career.

One thing that works really well for me is offering to share my resources, tips, and lessons learned that may help them in some way. I've found that doing this provides the foundation for a long-term relationship. Also, one of the key benefits of building a connection and being a key resource to others is that you are more likely to receive career support from them, including job leads, personal recommendations, and referrals.

Sandy Grason, author of Journalution, spoke at a webinar I attended about how she received a testimonial for her book from Deepak Chopra. She talked about how she had always admired him and wanted to meet him. One day, she read in the newspaper that he would be giving a speech near the town where she lived. The night before his presentation, she went to the auditorium hoping for a chance to meet him. Sure enough, he was there checking the sound system. She walked over and introduced herself, said she was a big fan and then told him that she knew he had flown in from out of town and asked if there was anything she could do to support him while he was there. He thanked her and said there wasn't anything he needed.

The next day after he spoke, she stood in line to get his autograph. Again she said that she knew he was visiting from out of town, and asked if there was anything she could do to support him. He asked if there was a restaurant nearby that she could recommend for lunch. She offered to walk him over. He said yes, they had lunch and from that exchange a testimonial for her book soon followed.

I thought that was a terrific way to connect with someone, so I used this same approach on someone I met two years ago who inspired me, Ambassador Barbara Barrett. I emceed a large conference in Phoenix and she was the keynote speaker. Even though she lived in the same town I did, after the conference I asked if there was anything I could do to support her. She told me about a graduation ceremony happening the following Friday at the Thunderbird Global School of Management (about 30 minutes from my house) to support women entrepreneurs from third-world countries. She said she wouldn't be able to attend because she was going out of town, and asked if I could attend the graduation in her place. I was honored and said yes.

After the graduation, I sent her a note thanking her for the experience and telling her about some of the graduates I had met. At the end of the note, I asked if there was anything else I could do to support her. Because of my connection with Ambassador Barrett, I've now had the privilege of joining her at her private table at an event to honor the Pulitzer-prize winner David McCullough, and now I'm joining the “Career Management Team” at Thunderbird to consult on their global strategies and initiatives.

Plan Ahead—What Do You Want to Happen?

Our careers are meant to be a journey, not a destination. We're meant to constantly grow, stretch, and develop, and one way to do that is by collaborating with others who inspire you. Think about other project managers, program managers, and senior leaders you know. Who do you respect? Who do you want to follow? Who inspires you?

In my own career, I had the pleasure of hearing Marcus Buckingham, best-selling author of StandOut, Now, Go Discover Your Strengths, and First, Break All the Rules, at a conference in Orlando, Florida. I knew I wanted to meet him, so I bought a copy of his book ahead of time and stood in line to get his autograph. As I waited my turn in line I thought to myself, “What do I want to happen?” The answer was that I wanted to make a connection with him—a real connection.

I thought about my own book signings and how much it resonates with me when they talk about how they've applied a principle from one of my books. So I told Marcus about how I applied one of his strengths principles and how it had made a big impact on my career. He listened as he signed my book, and then he invited me to an event he was hosting later that same day.

That entire afternoon all I could think about was the possibility of talking with Marcus again, and what I wanted to happen from that exchange. In my job, I had created a monthly forum called “Career Chat for Managers,” where I brought in a panel of three senior leaders from the organization each month to talk about their career challenges and lessons learned. An idea popped into my head: why not ask Marcus if he'd like to join one of these panels to promote his new book and also share insights into career development for our managers?

Marcus said he was interested and gave me his contact information. I was thrilled! Three weeks later his assistant scheduled a 30-minute phone conversation. I knew I would be on vacation in Newport Beach that day, but I accepted the meeting invitation anyway. Once again, before our conversation, I thought about what I really wanted to happen. Yes, I wanted Marcus to speak to our managers in the “Career Chat for Managers” forum, but on a more personal level, I really wanted to find out more about his own career path and insights into being a professional speaker and best-selling author. I decided that if there was an opportunity in the phone conversation, I would share that I was vacationing in Newport Beach for a few days. I was secretly hoping that since he lived in Los Angeles, maybe we could meet for coffee.

What actually happened was much bigger than that. Marcus invited me to tour his office in Beverly Hills and grab lunch. For four hours, we brainstormed, masterminded, and shared ideas. It was amazing! What was so incredible was that before I met with him I had never thought about writing another career book. But somehow, just by being around someone who inspired me so much, brought out creativity and innovation inside of me that I didn't even know existed. Five months after meeting Marcus in his office, I had written my second career book.

Another amazing event that followed was when I had dinner with one of my best friends, Cynthia in Santa Clara. I told her about meeting Marcus and she said, “Wouldn't it be great if he endorsed your book?” I loved the idea but it was too bold for me to even consider. “Why not?” Cynthia kept asking. After an hour, I agreed it would be fantastic, but I didn't know how that would even be possible. Cynthia then asked me questions like, “How could it happen?” “What would his testimonial say?” “How would you reconnect with him to ask him?” On the plane flight home, I grabbed a cocktail napkin and scribbled out what I wished Marcus would say about my new book.

Three months later, Marcus graciously endorsed my book.

What did I learn? First, being around people who energize and inspire you can have a significant impact in helping you tap into a deeper level of creativity and accomplishment than you ever thought possible. We get bored and frustrated in our career because we're under-challenged and staying at the same level. During those times, you need to step up, branch out, flex your professional muscles, and reach for new heights, and the easiest way to do that is by connecting with others who inspire you.

Next, I learned from that experience the principle of thinking ahead and asking myself, “What do I really want to happen?” Many times, I didn't know the specifics of what I wanted from my interactions with Marcus, but I knew that I wanted to create a real connection. I achieved that, and so much more.

Finally, Cynthia helped me learn to open my mind to possibilities. If she hadn't kept pestering me (in a beautifully encouraging way...), more than likely I would have never allowed myself the possibility of achieving such a bold request.

Be Open to Possibilities

As project managers, I think many of us miss out on incredible opportunities every day, because there are so many fires, hurdles, and constraints we have to manage that we become weary of anything that doesn't fit inside our preplanned, time-constrained schedules.

One of the biggest mistakes I ALMOST made in my career would have been declining the privilege of serving on the American Marketing Association's National Council. I was naively looking at it as another volunteer opportunity that would cut into my professional and personal life. Fortunately, one of my professional connections helped me see outside my box at the bigger picture, which was the tremendous benefits, including strengthening my leadership skills, deepening my marketing expertise, broadening my professional network, and advancing my career. All of which happened.

Another example of being open to possibilities is a client of mine who was a project manager. He had been a successful project manager, but after working in the same job role at the same company for about six years, his career had flatlined. He was feeling bored, under-challenged, under-valued, and saw no opportunity for growth.

I suggested that he reach out to senior leaders who were sponsoring higher-profile projects to see if he could add support to any of those projects. At first, he was reluctant, saying that would make his days even longer and more stressful. Fortunately, he started also seeing the potential benefits, which were new relationships with senior leaders, increased credibility and influence within the department, and more opportunities for career advancement.

After two weeks of volunteering on one of the high-profile projects, the project manager of that project transitioned onto another project, and my client transferred off of his projects and became the new project manager. Shortly afterwards, he received a promotion and now mentors other project managers within the organization.

Before you turn down an opportunity, think twice. Whether you're considering a new job or a new assignment in your current organization, answer the questions, “What could be the best possible benefit of this new opportunity?” “Could this help me learn a new skill or strengthen a current skill?” “Could this help me broaden my professional network?” “Could this be a stepping stone to help me reach a career goal?”

Part Three: Building Your Influence and Credibility

As a leading career coach, I'm seeing that a lot of clients have one common challenge: talking about themselves. More specifically, how can you talk about your strengths and accomplishments with your professional network without sounding like you're bragging or selling yourself?

There's an art to promoting yourself without bragging. Talking about yourself can be one of the most difficult challenges, but the fact is, people aren't going to know what a superstar you are unless you tell them. Here are a few strategies that I've learned that may help you.

• Talk about your projects, teams, and the value they are delivering to the organization. When you're with your career influencers, you need to show that you're results-driven. Many project managers make the mistake when someone asks them how they're doing by saying, “[heavy sigh]... Oh, things are fine.” Or, “It's challenging, but we're making our way through.” You're not doing yourself, or your team, any favors by using this approach. Yes, your projects are stressful, and you don't have enough budget, and someone on your team is the biggest complainer in the world. That's life as a project manager! Get over it!

  Instead, focus on keeping the conversation positive. Talk about goals, or stretch goals, that your team has met and how they benefited the organization to help increase revenue, save costs, or gain more market share. You want to constantly give the message that you and your teams are delivering value to the organization by saying something like, “I'm doing great! We just launched the new XYZ tool on the SAP platform, which is going to save our group $100,000 a year!” Or, “I've got a terrific team of innovators and problem solvers,” or “I'm doing well! We're trying to figure out how to deliver the next generation of ABC product in just 6 months.” These kinds of comments reinforce with your career influencers that you love big challenges and enjoy your work. Who wouldn't want to be connected to something like that?!

• Focus on results. When you talk about your projects, try talking about the results you've helped achieve on your projects, programs, and teams. All programs are measured in terms of success metrics (or else they wouldn't get funded), so if you don't know the results, go back and ask the program managers or department managers.

  Try to quantify your successes with a number, dollar, or percentage. For example, instead of saying that you managed a project team that delivered a new product, instead, say that you led a team of five software engineers who released a new product that generated 3% more market share than anticipated. Quantifying your successes says that you are a driver, high achiever, and that you get results.

There's a fine line between sharing and bragging. Try not to force into the conversation your accomplishments, but instead wait until you're asked. Then, share a sentence or two, and stop talking. If your career influencers are curious, they'll ask you questions to find out more.

The point is, you have to share some of your strengths and successes in order for people to know what you're good at and consider you as an expert in their network. Get comfortable talking about yourself. It may take a little practice, but the more you do it, the better you'll get at it.

Bottom line: you need to connect with others if you want more opportunities and more control in your career.

One final thought, I strongly believe that no matter where you are in your career, we're always in a position to help others out. Is there someone else you can support by introducing her to a potential employer, or giving a recommendation, or inviting to a networking event? Sometimes we get caught up in focusing just on ourselves, but remember that when we help out others along the way, the universe gives back to us more than we ever dreamed possible.

© 2011, Sherri Thomas
Published as part of 2012 PMI Global Congress Proceedings – Vancouver, Canada