Career Advice for Project Managers

I have a team of people right now that all have sparks in them and on one-on-one discussions with them - most of them want to be project managers. I just know that all of them will become great project managers someday and I see myself as one of the few people who can help them get there faster...by telling them what mistakes I had and how I learned from them and hopefully they learn the lessons faster than I ever did...I figured that my own success is driven by them becoming great project managers in their own right so I always see this as a win-win move.

My team gets juicier projects and our sponsors know that even amidst of several high profile, complex projects - my team delivers.

One of the basic discussion points though that I think most people miss that is critical to their careers is knowing what they want to be when they grow up and I am not talking about people wanting to be VPs or even CEOs at some point in their lives but truly describing in detail how they see themselves becoming that person and what exactly are they doing by then and most importantly knowing what would it take for them to get from where they are now to where they truly truly want to be.

I always tell them that it is like using a GPS - their own career GPS so to speak.

1. Know in detail where you want to be (eg you typing the exact address in your GPS and not just the city)
2. Know exactly where you are right now (even the GPS does this first time you turn it on)
3. Know the milestones or critical turns that you need to remember along the way
4. Check every now and then if you are still on the right path
5. Expect surprises along the way and when they happen, be ready to take action and change direction if need be