I know this is long, but it is an important question from the Ask Tom mailbag.
Lucinda was impatient. “I have been waiting for a promotion from Project Assistant to Project Manager for some time now. My manager has been putting my promotion off for the past six months. I worked hard, attended workshops, gained the confidence of clients. In my review this past week, my manager again said I needed to wait, that I wasn’t ready. As a Project Assistant, I am already doing all the work of a Project Manager, but get none of the credit.”
“So, what are the reasons that your Manager feels you need to wait?” I asked.
“I don’t know. He just tells me I need to wait, a bit more training, perhaps, but I have been through training.”
“Lucinda, does your company have other Project Managers?”
“Yes.”
“And what kind of projects do they handle?” I was probing. There must be some reason for Lucinda’s manager to hesitate on this promotion.
“Well, they handle larger projects, but they have more experience. But they had to start somewhere when they were young.” Lucinda protested. I smiled as I watched her stand up for herself.
“Lucinda, I want you to do a couple of things. First, I need you to take a longer view of this. I know you want to become a Project Manager in the next three days, but I want you to imagine your career three years from now.” Lucinda nodded. I don’t know if she liked what I had to say, but she nodded. “It is likely that three years from now, you will have been a Project Manager for some time, probably handling larger projects than you handle now. I don’t want you to focus on the next three days. I want you to focus on the next three years and begin to map out a course for the kind of Project Manager you want to be then.
“Next, I want you to spend some time with other Project Managers in your company. You said they all had to start somewhere. Find out how they started. Find out about their first projects. Find out what skills they see as most valuable during their careers. Ask one of them to be your coach.
“Then, go back to your manager and ask his help in mapping out a three year plan to become a Project Manager. Tell him you know you will be promoted, and whenever that is, will be fine, but that you are looking further into the future at what kind of Project Manager you will be in three years. Ask what areas you need to work on, what future skills you need to develop.
“Lucinda, you will get your promotion, maybe in the next three weeks, maybe in the next three months. Look further in the future, that’s where the real payoff is. What kind of Project Manager will you be three years from now?” -TF