Stay Humble
This is part 3 of a 14 part series describing my professional philosophy. Part 2 can be found here.
For anyone that knows me well, they may chuckle when I say the next point of my 12-point philosophy is to be HUMBLE.
Yes, humility. I do have it. I have been knocked down enough times, lost enough battles, been called a loser many times, and have wallowed in the agony of what I felt was perpetual suck-i-tude.
I’m not the best with humility, but I do know that I am not where I am today without a ton of help from friends, family, and many others I will never know.
HUMILITY — you do nothing in this world by yourself.
Everything you’ve done came with some support from individuals or groups. Recognize it and don’t overestimate your capabilities as a loner.
What does this have to do with project management?
A lot.
As a project manager, do you execute the project all by yourself?
No.
You have a team.
You have a group of individuals working as a single entity to meet a shared vision or goal, hopefully.
You are LEADING that group.
They could still do the work without you — although maybe not as well or as quick — but they could.
The point is — remember that YOU ARE PART OF THAT TEAM and not the ‘most important’ one on the project.
This is extremely important, because without the humility up front — the remaining points will fall on deaf ears or over-inflated egos.
Stay humble my friends.