After your employer has decided you’d be a great project manager, it’s up to you to determine whether you’re actually the best person for the job. There aren’t any universal standards when it comes to who would be a good leader and should be put in charge of a team.
You shouldn’t accept a position if you don’t feel like you’d thrive in it. If you’re the manager, but you aren’t sure how to handle certain procedures or work with the staff, you’ll likely cause the project to go off track and fail. Further, you’ll likely hurt your own career and have to find ways to recover.
Figuring out whether you’re ready to ascend into a project management role can be tricky, but the following tips will help you make your decision.
Are you a people person?
According to a report Tom Kendrick wrote for the American Management Association, one of the factors on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a system used to describe personalities, is the difference between extroversion and introversion. He goes on to explain that the best project managers generally fall into the latter category because they have to work closely with others.
Put simply, if you thrive in positions in which you can act independently and don’t have to worry about what other people are working on, you likely won’t thrive as a supervisor. This is because you probably won’t communicate enough with your staff to ensure that they’re handling their responsibilities and on pace to finish before the deadline.
Extroverted professionals are well suited to management positions. Anyone who’s comfortable working directly with others and answering questions can likely lead a team.
That’s not to say that you’re guaranteed to thrive just because you’re extroverted or fail because you’re introverted. It ultimately comes down to how strong your communication skills are and how at ease you are being the go-to person for all of your colleagues.
Have you ever led before?
Few people enter the workforce with leadership skills. It takes experience to develop them, meaning that anyone who hasn’t been in an upper-level role before likely isn’t ready to take one on in the near future.
If you’ve never been in charge of a small group or spearheaded an initiative, it may be difficult to ascend into the project management position. While it is possibly to learn on the fly, it may be tricky to acquire the skills while you’re settling into a new job.
However, you may be able to overcome this hurdle if your company offers an extensive training program. A few classes and in-depth sessions should help you develop the requisite skills to be a strong leader as you make the transition to project manager.
Is this the career path you want to follow?
Whenever you’re offered a promotion, be it to project manager or any other promotion, you need to think carefully if that’s the career path you want to follow or there are other opportunities you’d rather pursue. If you definitely want to climb that corporate ladder, you should accept the job and do your best to succeed in it.
That said, if you don’t want to go that route, don’t become project manager. It’s not worth advancing into a new position when you don’t want to stay in your current field and would rather seek out different options.
A promotion is only beneficial when you’re satisfied with your work and think you’re ready to take on further challenges. Otherwise, you’ll end up with new responsibilities and won’t have the passion to handle them, which will cause you to struggle down the road.
Can I handle it?
Becoming a project manager can be great if you’re adequately prepared for all the tasks that it entails. However, the transition from your current job to the new one shouldn’t scare you. Our own Marie Larsen recently posted an article with some basic tips for rookie managers. Following her hints will help you reach your potential and overcome early challenges.
Making the leap to project manager is only worthwhile if you’re suited for it. Don’t accept the opportunity unless you’re certain that you would do well and feel comfortable becoming a leader.
Are You Ready To Be Project Manager?
