8 Questions to Ask Before Taking on A New Project
JJ DiGeronimo
Award-Winning Author, Speaker & LightWorker | Helping Successful Women Trust Their Inner Wisdom & Create Meaningful Impact | Tech Savvy Women Founder (11K+) | Together We Seek Retreats
Are you aligned to the right work? Have you ever thought about how you align your time and the projects you’re taking on? The work and projects you say yes to now can affect the impact you have in the future.?
This week’s episode of Career Strategies for Women That Work, Episode 26: Are You Aligned to the Right Projects? We focus on the energy and alignment, which is especially important if you have aspirations to make a larger impact in the future.
Early on in your career, you usually can’t be picky about the work you're assigned because you're working to build a track record of results, which often drives your future career. But as you move along into your thirties, forties, and fifties, you can often be a little bit more specific about the opportunities and work you align to next especially if you are asked to take on many, many projects.
In my experience, I’ve found that you have to be strategic about where you spend your time—and that often comes down to the projects you take on.?
When I was researching my second book, Accelerate Your Impact: Action-Based Strategies to Pave Your Professional Path, I was alarmed by some research I found in the Harvard Business Review. A particular article titled Women in the Workplace shared some really significant data that highlighted the fact that, essentially, men get better projects than women. On average, the budgets for men’s projects were twice as much and came with three times as many staffers as projects led by women; and only 22% of women were given a budget of more than $10 million.?
And even in my own research, in meeting with women's groups and giving keynotes to corporations around diversity and inclusion, it's very obvious that men manage more teams and have more P&L opportunities.
So for many of you that are looking to take your career to the next level, it's really important that you keep track of the projects you're assigned to with very specific metrics. I'm not only sharing this with you because I think it's important but because it’s actually worked for me and many other women in STEM-based careers too.
Track and Assess Your Projects
Regardless of what your goals are, it's really important to keep track of what pieces, parts, and projects you're responsible for…and whether those projects are giving you the right access and exposure that you need to achieve your professional goals.
8 Questions
Before taking on a new project consider these 8 questions:
For many of us, there are so many things happening in organizations that we often take on every project that comes our way. I suggest asking a few questions to understand the expectations and alignment, as well as, identifying any potential obstacles out of the gate.
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The Project Alignment Chart
So, as you're thinking about the projects you work on each day, week, quarter, it's important to understand the differences in those projects based on specific characteristics, priorities, milestones, and impact. Striving for a flow in deliverables and visibility is key with this.?
This chart provides quick insight into the different levels of skills, exposure, and experience.
This chart has been shared with hundreds of executives to help them understand how they distribute projects and how their projects are helping to build specific areas of expertise. And it may help you understand what projects you're already aligned to and where you’re focusing your time, plus gain insights into where your gaps are and what projects you may have to take on in the future to set your trajectory for future impact.
I’ve found that sometimes my expectations at the start of a project are not always aligned with the outcomes. So be sure that even when a project is finished, you reflect back on the chart so that you have great data, not only for 360 reviews but also your bio.
Let me know how you’re using the chart!
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