Managing a project on any scale can be challenging, but when it’s your first time the pressure feel overwhelming. At least it was for me, when I was tasked with managing a pilot mobile buyback program at 22. And yet, I knew my success depended on overcoming my anxiety and putting on my project management hat. Below are some professional tips for surviving your first role as project leader.
Survival Tip #1: Develop an Action Plan
Depending on the complexity of your project, you may opt for a list of action items over creating a formal project management plan. Again the choice lies in the size, scope, and budget of the project. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I was unfamiliar with Microsoft Project or Basecamp at the time, so I couldn’t complicate matters with adding in the new software. I strongly recommend sharing the action plan with any stakeholders (i.e. sponsor) before being implemented.
Survival Tip #2: Remember Knowledge is Power
This was a pilot program, meaning there weren’t metrics available to measure my team’s progress. I didn’t have records of prior action items or archived templates for making my project a success. However, I did have seasoned leadership who came with a wealth of knowledge. I can admit, that the planning process would have been harder without their knowledge. Consulting with senior management gives you the opportunity to have your ideas vetted. Moreover, it helps with building internal support, which goes far in securing your project’s success.
Survival Tip #3: Make a Tight Budget Work For You
Having a tight budget means you have to be creative with utilizing your resources. When it came time to recruit talent, my small budget meant I couldn’t afford to pay for flashy job ads. To be honest, Facebook wasn’t the giant it is now in 2008. My alternative was advertising on Craigslist and relying on word of mouth. Trust me, I would have used Twitter hashtags “pleaseworkforme”. Sadly, social media was not a viable option then. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram weren’t the affordable, marketing magnets they are today.
Instead my main tactics involved Craigslist’s free platform and word of mouth. Word of mouth included reaching out to my neighbors, meeting college clubs, and marketing to Greek houses. Luckily I lived in a college town, with a vibrant party atmosphere, so this word of mouth tactic really helped. I was able to recruit a team of mobile buyback sellers while staying within budget.
Survival Tip#4: Set Achievable Goals
Managing a project involves managing stakeholders expectations. With a pilot program, the expectations can be incredibly high or or a dismal low. Without any metrics, managing expectations can seem impossible. In lieu of previous metrics, I recommend honing in on the individual seller’s current performance. Recording any sales, techniques, or strategies in follow up interviews, templates, emails, or etc. Bottom line, you have to work with what you’re given to set future goals.
Survival Tip #5: Capture Lessons Learned
As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t have any lessons learned available. I would have been loss without the input from senior leadership. Pilot programs are value when testing out new programs, products, or processes. Rolling out a failing program on a large -scale could prove expensive, which is where the results of these limited runs prove vital. Data collected in the lessons learned usually assist executive leadership with making strategic decisions.
Developing a template may appear tedious, but remember without any form of metrics you are not showing how your team is performing. It’s important to remember that sales numbers alone do not show the entire picture. It’s a good practice to add some context by collecting some qualitative data when possible too.
Qualitative data can include a buyer’s technique or strategy. Perhaps one of your buyers made more sales because his frat brothers were his target demographic. Maybe your sales person is taking classes online so there’s limited interaction with her peers. Or there could issues with the mobile devices, which interferes with the sales registering properly.
Conclusion
This is not an exhaustive list of survival tips for surviving your project. Still these are my personal mental notes that have helped me navigate through some uncertainties. As an aspiring project manager, I know firsthand how important sharing these “survival tips” are to successfully managing future, larger projects. Feel free to share your own in the discussion section below.
– Ms. Biz Analysis
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