#RealJob: Project Management Office, The Change Catalyst of a Company
Meet our Project Management Office (PMO) Associate at Mekari, Diana Octavia. For Diana, working at a PMO function means that you are the change catalyst of the company, as well as the glue to every division.
From Business Analyst to Marketing to Project Management Office
From her first job until now, Diana has experienced many positions in her professional career. After graduating from the School of Business and Management at ITB, Diana started her first career as a Business Analyst. After her first company invested in Sleekr (a business unit of Mekari), she was then assigned to the marketing division. She spent 2 years focusing on marketing before specifically handled product marketing. After she had enough experience in marketing, she was ready to get a new challenge.
The timing was right when a new opportunity came, she decided to move internally to the Project Management Office. “I am the kind of person who loves variety. When I felt like I only grew incrementally in marketing, I was ready to get a new challenge. Thankfully, in Mekari, there will always be many opportunities for me to immerse myself in something new,” Diana said.
Being the change catalyst that glues every division in the company
“Project Management Office is the change catalyst of the company, ensuring every project can run well, fast, and according to plan. When you work at PMO, you constantly work with different divisions in every project. That means you have to be able to ‘glue’ them as one and work together to reach the same goal. I always remember what one of my mentors used to say when I was still in charge of product marketing, that I have to influence others without authority and trigger them to work together,” Diana explained.
Working with many people with different minds and personalities is not easy for sure. Diana said that one of the challenges PMO faces is to balance each of their priorities and ask them to work together for the sake of the project. Diana said, “Each project usually involves different divisions. Of course, they must have their own priorities and the project might not be on the top of their list. To balance those priorities together is really hard. If we can’t have the same priority, it’s difficult to encourage them to do the project together.”
To solve this, Diana realized that it’s important for everyone involved in the project to understand the reason why they need to do the project and how this project is important for the company. “Before starting every project, I always do validation first. I ask the people involved to spare some time to talk to align our perspective: that this project is necessary for the company’s growth,” Diana explained further.
Mekari offers endless opportunities to grow
Diana has been with Mekari since day one. When asked why she chose to stay in Mekari, she answered it with three reasons. “Firstly, I honestly believe in Mekari: its vision, founders, potential to grow more, and real impact. Secondly, I am surrounded by supportive people in Mekari and Mekari offers endless opportunities for me to grow. I’m sure I won’t find it again anywhere else. Last but not least, having great leaders and mentors to work with is hard these days. I found mine in Mekari.”
Diana added, “That’s why I choose to stay in Mekari until now. When you have found the right place that has everything you need, why bother looking for other places? Mekari has everything, from new challenges to a good environment, and it is enough for me now.”
