Where Everybody Knows Your Game
Why Networking Is Less “Getting to Know You” and More “Getting to Know Yourself”
Have you ever felt like you’re creating your playbook from scratch? That you’ve had to re-invent the ‘game plan’? Or maybe even devise a whole new sport?
How would you feel if you found out you weren’t the only one who felt that way?
Vindicated? Validated? Reassured and reaffirmed? Rewarded, too, perhaps, by the pleasantly surprising wealth of knowledge that comes from others in the same or similar boat.
I experienced all of the above this past February, when I attended the recent Digital PM Summit and Workshop (hosted by the Bureau of Digital Affairs & HappyCog). There, more than 70 digital project managers from Austin and beyond gathered to brainstorm, workshop, celebrate, and commiserate about the prizes, perils, and pride that comes from our line of work.
Like many of the people with whom I spoke there (and, in fact, most of the career professionals I know), my path to managing digital projects was less than direct. There’s not a tremendous amount of formal training for project management or methodologies; and while certifications exist through Project Management Institute and Agile Scrum, these are — at best — great foundations that require finesse and experience in order to successfully apply them in the evolving software industry.
But that’s not the only reason to have a community. Nor is digital project management the only vocation that can benefit from having one.
In fact, you might consider finding a community of like-minded professionals if you’ve ever in your life or career:
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Wanted to hear which new tools and applications have failed for others so that you know which ones to avoid.
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Needed a fresh POV on your own line of work, including past trends that you’ve missed and emerging trends and technologies that aren’t yet on your radar.
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Come across the need for a professional support group, where even just hearing that someone else has encountered the same problem can make you feel a bit better.
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Felt like you’re constantly re-inventing the wheel every time you instigate a new process and want to see what works (and what doesn’t!) for others.
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Benefitted from insightful conversations that challenge your own conceptions of how you can and should do things.
If none of those apply, please write a blog of your own — we’d all love to be in on the secret.
Finding the right community can be worth the search. And if it doesn’t already exist, take the initiative and start a new one (as Christine and Dina of KickassPM in Austin have done). You’ll be surprised at how much you’ll get out of it.