Four Reasons to Consider Specializing as a Project Manager

Should a project manager be able to manage any project in any industry? Yes, if industry experts are available to supplement the project manager’s skills and experience. Is that efficient? Do businesses want PMs without specific industry experience? Here are four reasons to consider specializing to promote your project management career.?

Vocabulary and regulations. Each industry has its own vocabulary, including slang, acronyms, and unique descriptions of regulatory items. If you have to learn the lingo, you take your time and effort away from the project team, making it difficult to build respect. By specializing, you understand the lingo and solidify your reputation as a knowledgeable industry insider.?

Keep up with trends. In almost every industry, equipment, vendor capabilities, techniques and available resources change quickly. Bottom line: it’s taxing to keep up with the changes in multiple industries. Specializing allows you to increase your value by introducing latest trends, rather than learning about them from your stakeholders.?

Develop foresight. Specializing in an industry or type of project builds experience that helps you anticipate issues and take advantage of successful approaches from prior projects. You can anticipate and understand project-related risks and how to address them. Keen foresight can positively impact all three elements of the triple constraint: time, scope and cost. Projects deliver more value when you add your industry skills to those of the project team.

Build a network and reputation. The best project managers don’t have to look for work – they are pursued by business sponsors because of the reputation they’ve developed. Working consistently in an industry enables effective networking with project team members, peers, and key stakeholders. Promoting yourself within a single industry is simpler and allows you to spend more time delivering your current project, with fewer worries about your next assignment or corporate position.

For more about building your project management career, check out the course Become a Project Management Entrepreneur, co-authored by Seyi Kukoyi and yours truly.