I was recently talking with a woman who I had recruited for a Project Manager role for my client.
When I asked her about what she did she did what all the best interviewers do…she told me a great story.
She had taken over a web portal project which was at a point of failure. The project had been stalled for 3 weeks. The first thing she did was interview all the people involved both on the technical team and then she met with the business users.
Her objective, she said, was two-fold:
- To listen and ensure that all voices were heard
- To move everyone to agreed-upon next action steps
By following this path, the project was completed promptly and successfully.
Our lives are like one big project
We have timelines, budgets, resources we need to manage, people that are part of the solution and we run into problems that can stall our progress.
It is still January. It is like there is a clean slate. Now is the time to figure out what projects you want to move forward this year and how you are going to make that happen.
Doing The Two-Step
Step 1: Listen…to yourself. There is a reason why we associate winter with quiet and January with resolutions. Because this is the time that not much is happening on the outside though plenty of stuff is going on underground. Go inside, ask yourself some questions and just listen.
- What does your career want to say?
- What do you love doing?
- What do you want to stop doing?
Take some time, ask yourself these simple questions, let your mind wander. Let your different voices be heard. Jot down the possible action steps and make some agreements with yourself about what you will make happen this year.
Step 2: Take action…like springtime, action brings results. Outside you will see daffodils that were dormant begin to sprout up. Farmers start planting. Now is the time to begin to take action on what you heard.
Then…just for fun-do the Texas two-step! Nothing like a little dancing to get things going in the right direction.
