Nurturing Your Career Orchard: Leveraging Transferable Skills for Project Leadership

I love a good apple. Especially a cold gala or honey crisp apple.?? What about you?

Imagine you’ve been nurturing an apple tree in your backyard. Year after year, you’ve tended to it, ensuring it grows strong and bears fruit. You understand its cycles, its needs, and how to get the best apples each season. Now, envision expanding this knowledge to an entire orchard. While the principles remain similar, managing an orchard requires a broader perspective, advanced strategies, and a deeper understanding of diverse factors. This is similar to transitioning from a Project Manager to roles like Project Director, Program Manager, or Director of Project Delivery.

As an Unboxed PM, you don't desire to stay in one place. Growth and advancement is top of mind, and becoming a project leader is often on the list. You already have so many skills from managing projects. Now you can take it to the next level by leveraging your transferable skills to transition into your next opportunity.

Here are five tips to leverage your transferable skills and successfully pivot into these advanced roles:

1. Embrace Strategic Thinking

From Tree to Orchard: Just as managing an orchard involves planning for different trees, varieties, and environmental factors, project leadership requires strategic thinking.

?? Tip: Develop the ability to see the bigger picture. Understand organizational goals, market trends, and how your projects align with long-term objectives. Enhance your skills in strategic planning and decision-making. Courses on strategic management and business acumen can be beneficial.

2. Enhance Your Leadership Skills

From Nurturer to Visionary: While nurturing an apple tree is hands-on, managing an orchard involves leading a team of specialists, each with their own expertise.

?? Tip: Strengthen your leadership abilities. Focus on inspiring and motivating your team, fostering a collaborative environment, and driving innovation. Participate in leadership workshops and seek mentorship from seasoned leaders.

3. Master Stakeholder Management

From Personal Care to Public Relations: Managing an orchard means dealing with various stakeholders, from suppliers to buyers, and ensuring their needs are met.

?? Tip: Hone your stakeholder management skills. Learn to communicate effectively with a diverse range of stakeholders, understand their needs, and build strong relationships. This includes negotiating, influencing, and resolving conflicts.

4. Expand Your Technical Expertise

From Specific Techniques to Broad Knowledge: Knowing the intricacies of one tree’s needs is different from understanding the diverse needs of an orchard.

?? Tip: Broaden your technical knowledge. Stay updated with industry trends, new technologies, and methodologies. This could involve additional certifications, attending industry conferences, or continuous learning through online platforms.

5. Focus on Risk Management and Resilience

From Single Tree Health to Orchard Sustainability: An orchard faces a wider array of risks, from pests to climate changes, requiring a comprehensive risk management strategy.

?? Tip: Develop robust risk management skills. Anticipate potential risks, develop mitigation strategies, and foster a culture of resilience within your team. Regularly review and adapt your risk management plans to ensure they remain effective.

Transitioning from managing a single project to overseeing multiple projects or programs is a significant shift. However, by leveraging your existing skills and expanding your expertise, you can successfully pivot into advanced project leadership roles. Remember, just as an orchard is a culmination of well-managed trees, your career growth is a reflection of your ability to adapt, lead, and innovate. You got this!

Are you ready to transition from managing your apple tree to overseeing an orchard? Share your experiences and tips on pivoting into project leadership roles in the comments below.

Let’s grow together!

About The Author: Tareka Wheeler

Tareka Wheeler is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with more than 20 years of project and program management experience in the public and private sectors. She is a wife, mom, Senior Project Management Executive, Career & Work-life Strategist, and Podcast Host of the DNA of a Professional Podcast.

She often lends her voice and expertise to various podcasts and conferences, and Tareka serves as a mentor for professionals seeking to advance in project management. Tareka is also an author, along with an incredible group of leaders in project management. Discover a treasure trove of wisdom and practical guidance in Executing Excellence: Actionable Insights from 10 Savvy Project Managers. This practical, thoughtful book brings together a diverse group of experienced project managers from various fields, including construction, consulting, software, and more.

As founder of the career development and consultancy, T. Wheeler Strategic Solutions, her team specializes in empowering professionals and organizations to accelerate their growth and strategically achieve their goals through project management, personal branding, and strategic planning.

Tareka is also the founder of The Unboxed PM, a movement and community designed to reshape the narrative for women in project leadership and empower them to boldly take up space, obliterate gender disparities in project leadership, and secure project leader and executive roles.

When she's not busy serving, leading, and strategizing, you'll find her at home with her husband, spending time with her three children, or hanging out with her family's two fur babies.