Welcome to season finale 2021, a perfect time to reflect back and plan forward.
2021 has been one of the hardest years, especially for people who started their new work journey remotely. So, a big congratulations to anyone sailing in this boat since ramping up at the workplace has been anything but easy. It was far from normal and I say that ’cause starting a new job before pandemic was way different than starting one during pandemic.
Building 1:1 relationships, gaining knowledge from peers and communicating within and across teams demanded a lot more effort and attention. A 5-minute office chat became a never-ending cycle of scheduling, attending, and following up on zoom meetings. As much as I adore my job, I know there’s a whole big room of improvement waiting for me in 2022.
I’m just a few days away from finishing my first year as a TPM and I can’t stress enough on how much I’ve grown, technically as well as humanly. Believe me, when I say, being a TPM right out of school ain’t a cakewalk. Well, nothing in life comes easy. Isn’t that true? The opportunity to work with some great minds and souls at my workplace has taught me lessons to reminisce forever. So, here I am, sharing a bunch with you.
1. Leading Without Authority
Leading without authority is one of the hardest traits to achieve as a program manager. Working in teams with highly experienced members and/ or outside your domain expertise can sometimes get tricky and discomforting. Remember, not everyone is your friend. Be observant, a good listener and believe in your gut. Don’t let your emotions cloud your ability to think rationally. Be polite but assertive. Putting this into practice isn’t as easy as it sounds, but it comes handy if made a part of a TPM’s survival kit. Find your confidants, learn from them and build an ever-lasting bond to set a path of growth and learning for yourself.
2. Take no shit
When you’re early on in your career, you might/ might not encounter some insensitive brats who spill things that can hamper your mental health. Never give anyone the opportunity to pull you down, especially if your mind says that you’re going in the right direction. Take a stand for yourself. Believe in your capabilities and focus on learning while filtering the noise. Noise will exist, all we need to do is develop a skill to live with it while we focus on our goals and growth.
3. Communicate (most-of-the-time) on emails
One thing that I learned the hard way is communicating every-damn-thing on the email. Stop being the good person, stop following up on teams chats/ slack and stop believing every story that’s narrated to you. Give everyone a benefit of doubt, but don’t forget you’re a program manager and it’s your job to drive things forward. Not everyone who commits delivers. So, practice assertive communication over emails with clear expectations, goals and progress.
4. Prep your meetings
As a program manager, one should be mindful of others’ time. If you’re scheduling a meeting, think about what you want to achieve out of this meeting. Do you need a sign-off from the leadership? Do you want the team to take a major decision? Always make a point to prepare and set objectives and write down the questions before the meeting starts. Set the agenda and communicate your expectations clearly at the beginning of the meeting so everyone is informed about your intentions and you can drive the meeting in your direction.
5. Play on your strengths
It’s super easy to get knocked off by the abundance of knowledge and skills you see in the technology world. The key is to not get overwhelmed and focus on the tasks at hand. If you’ve come this far, don’t think of things you’re not capable of, rather play on your strengths. Take up projects which excite you, work diligently, deliver results and while you do so, don’t forget learning is a never-ending process. If you don’t know it now, that’s ok, you’ll know it later some day.
Well, 2021 might end soon but this is just the beginning of my program management journey, a journey that’s not expected to be straight forward, but rowdy, challenging ,yet exciting. So many things to build, knowledge to construct and connections to make in 2022. I can’t wait to see what unfolds in the coming year and beyond. With that, here I am, wishing you a fantastic new year 2022 with lots of good luck, happy vibes and positive energy.
