The Accidental Project Manager

Project management has sometimes been called the ‚“accidental profession ‚½ because so many project managers take on their first project management duties without benefit of formal training. They often are promoted to these positions because they ‚ ve succeeded as a software programmer or a salesperson or advertising designer or other nonmanagement role. They may have good social skills and even exhibit strong leadership potential. In other words, they seem to intuitively possess all of the requisite attributes of a good project manager. They lack only one key ingredient: project management skills.

Needless to say, these ‚“accidental project managers ‚½ are in for a bumpy ride as they try to work through their first few projects. Many embark on a crash reading program to find help. Many also wisely seek out other project managers in the organization who have demonstrated some degree of success. They pick up tips and tools more or less randomly , often getting contradictory information about how best to plan and manage projects. They hear terminology that often changes from one area within the company to another. No one uses the same word to mean the same thing. It ‚ s the Tower of Babel project all over again.