Imagine playing the piano on only two keys. Ding-dong. How would that sound?
Pretty dull, right?
Not only that. A piano has got 88 keys, and not using them would be a terrible waste!
The real beauty of a piano only emerges once you put it to its full use. When you combine notes in a harmonic way to form a melody. To understand what I mean, listen for example to Alan Silvestri’s Forrest Gump theme which I stumbled over on Youtube.
“But why are you talking about a piano here, Adrian”, you may ask.
I feel that many office workers are like the “underused” piano. We use only very few of our abilities, which is quite sad. If we could use more of our talents in our work, we could achieve much more in many ways.
Why is that we limit ourselves here?
First of all, we work in highly specialized jobs which require very specific knowledge and a very unique type of skill. Second, many people underestimate their own potential and prefer to stay in their comfort zone.
But what if you are the kind of person who likes to grow? You observe the people around you who are ahead of you, and you think: I want to be like them!
That takes courage and determination. Before you ultimately become the person you want to be, you are going to make mistakes along the way.
But it is through this personal growth that you make full use of your innate skills.
For me, choosing to become a project manager was the best decision I could have made in terms of my career. Not only did it allow me to apply more of my skills. I was also able to develop new strengths, like dealing with complex situations or becoming more thick-skinned and less affected by stress.
If you are asking yourself now: What skills do I need to be a good project manager? Look at the following points. Does this sound like you?
- You like being with people
- You like to lead initiatives
- You come up with solutions instead of seeing problems everywhere
- You like to improve and systematize things
- You like to learn new skills
- People trust you
Do you get a lot of YESes? If that’s the case you might be a good fit for the project manager job.
Life is not just about career though. You also want to have fun doing what you do.
Therefore, ask yourself what get’s you really excited. Maybe you love standing in front of a team and be respected as a leader. Or maybe you love helping others in developing their skills.
As for me, there were a couple of things that raise my endorphine level. I love travelling to other countries. I love travelling by plane. I like dining in nice restaurants. I like celebrating with other people. My job as a project manager allowed me to induldge in these experiences as a byproduct of my work.
Now back to you.
Which of your skills would you like to apply more in your job?
Tell me in the comments!
–Adrian
