A reflective plan of action
Changes in the business world are erupting daily, and this necessitates, I take action to safeguard my career. From the SWOT analysis, I have identified key issues that are likely to significantly impact my career if I don’t take corrective measures within two years. According to Jarrahi (2018), the future of human capital is likely to be affected by smart machines, which I fell it likely to affect me as well. I will invest in learning more on how to offer a more intuitive approach and holistic ways of dealing with uncertainties. Similarly, I will remain skeptical, learn to argue my ideas, and learn to the organizational context, which will help in decision making. This is essential in my career since, according to PMI, most organizations are being impacted by artificial intelligence technology. I will strive to take advantage of new technology. I understand that projects, especially big projects, face disruptions; therefore, I will research planning and analyzes skills to help me in managing, avoiding project risks, or minimize their impacts.
Project management roles are changing from what it is currently and seen to focus more on organizational leadership and management. Project managers are required to manage costs and project schedules and give the leadership a need to execute strategic initiatives. This makes the industry more competitive as many employers demand more output and a high level of efficiency from managers. Therefore, fit in the field and offer the best output, I am planning to do a personal reading on leadership and management skills. Also, I am working on understanding how to use agile project management to improve my procrastination habit. Layton and Ostermiller (2017) have provided guidelines on their book on how to apply agile project management, and this will be helpful in my carrier success. I will work on embracing changes provided in agile project management, which consequently help me in understanding the concept of aligning project resources to ensure its success.
The project management filed is getting saturated, just like any other career field, and as a result, new skills are needed to remain competitive. I plan to gain some soft skills such as emotional intelligence, relationship management skills, leadership skills, and developing social awareness skills that will help in interacting and other people in the field and more so recognizing their emotions. Accordingly, I need to develop self-awareness and develop cognitive skills to help in managing people. This is a useful tool in ensuring effective communication, which is an essential factor in project management.
According to Rebetez et al. (2016) procrastination, an emotional tendency of sticking to the past. I understand that my tendency for procrastination is a result of my resistance to proactive intrusion. This had led to delays in handling important tasks hence affected the results. The stun actions that are going to undertake to eliminate this tendency will commitment. I will commit to every task at hand until it’s completed and will try and limit disruptions. I have learned to believe in myself, and as a result, I will be tackling hard tasks fast so that I will have enough time for concentration. I will do this by setting a deadline for all the tasks to be undertaken and committing to them.
Most projects are complex and need someone who can cope with changes and situations. Having mental toughness issues is likely to affect my career, and the way forward is to make myself adaptable to the challenges. I agreed with Tibbert et al. (2015) that were their no pain, no gain. I will sacrifice more time for career development and work on becoming more resilient to different environments. Also, I will develop my passion for whatever I do fuel my grit in achieving my career and personal goals. I will develop the mental toughness needed to thrive in my career.
Conclusion
Project management is becoming an essential role in the business world since each business is striving at giving the best results to its customers, in the shortest time possible and at a minimal cost. For this reason, a project manager becomes key personnel in project management activities. Therefore, it is my duty as a project manager to keep up to the competition and offer the best and efficient project results for me to remain relevant in the field. To achieve this, I will need to understand my role and align my duties to the organizational strategies and work towards achieving its objectives and set goals. Similarly, due to changing trends in the economy, there are new demands and relevant soft skills that PMI has proposed to be essential in project management, and for this reason, developing such skills is not only crucial to my career. Still, it will be of high contribution to organizational growth.
Additionally, such skills give the organization a competitive edge and help me grow in my profession. Therefore, the set plan of action, as outlined above, will help me achieve these skills and in career development. I believe that within the next two years, I will have an improved and definite career progression records and work-life balance.