Gaining From Others

Gaining From Others                    

7. Use project as a way of learning more about other disciplines.

        Promotion to leadership positions used to depend on rising up the company hierarchy. Now  vital work is increasingly carried out by temporary teams working on specific projects, which provide ideal opportunities for learning leadership skills.

Joining Project Skills

       Widen your knowleadge and learn new skills by joining a project team. These are usually set up  to work on new projects within an existing organisation. Such teams can become permanent if the prroject takes off, and are independent of the vertical hierarchy. The longer the project lasts , the more likely it is that team membershisp and roles  will change during the projecter’s life. This means you can join a project in a sabordinate position, but with the hope of finding a leadership role later.The large the team, and the wider its remit, the greater the chance to change roles or be promoted within the team. Gaining experience on projects led by other people is also an invaluable education in how to lead your own project.

8.Make friends with people in different departmants, and get to know how they operate.

Learining Flexibility

        The leadership of a project is often passed to different people at different stages. For example, it could move from the design department to the production staff to the marketting people, each passing on the baton in turn. This gives you the opportunity to learn crucial lessons in how to organize and collaborate with different functions and depatrmants, from finance to sales, engineering to purchasing. Although the baton changes hands, everyone still works as part of a harmonious team at all times. The abilities to be flexible and to understand other departments work are essential in leadership.

Broading Knowleadge

       Use your experience in multi-disciplinary project teams to broaden your general business skills. It is too easy to become and stay a specialist. The Japanes, for instance, believe that every manager shuld be a proper businessman or women, able to lead any part of the businise, successfully. So a personnel head can can move easily into sales, or a financial expert into marketing. Get to undestand the principles of business successfully. So  a personal head can move easily into sales, or a financial expert into marketing. Get to understand the priciple s of business and what part each component  skills plays in achieving sales and profits. Broaden your knowleadge by reading, and by establishing,and nurturing contacts in different departments- such efforts will pay great dividends in future.