Hi ladies!

5 Comments

1. AnonymousSeptember 17,2021 at 10:10PM UTC

   I’ve been in a similar position but with different roles. I found success by befriending one of the teammates with the most social power and making them an ally to help advocate for me. I also started providing feedback to my peers, even though it felt weird at first as the new person. I feel that was very important to flipping the switch

2. Susan IshamSeptember 18,2021 at 1:44PM UTC

   I really like the feedback idea. Thank you!

3. Barb HansenSeptember 18,2021 at 12:25AM UTC

   Random ideas in no particular order:

   If you are sitting in the same cubicle (assuming you've gone back into the office), ask to be moved to a new area of the office.

   If you have not returned to the office and you are living your work-life on Slack, update your display name to Your_Name_PM (or something that feels right to you) and update your avatar or picture while you are at it.

   Find a mentor in your company. Preferably a more senior PM.

   You don't say if you have PM training, so if you don't have PM training, start taking some classes. Any PM classes will do. You need to walk the PM walk and talk the PM talk (if you aren't already).

   And some hard truths:

   If your fellow PMs are treating you like an admin by asking you to set up meetings, take notes or send out emails, remind yourself that there are plenty of admin tasks in PM-land, and because those two words at the same (admin-tasks and admin-PM-tasks) that doesn't mean your colleagues are diminishing your work.

   You also may be getting the admin-PM-jobs because your the lowest man on the PM ladder (I'm making an assumption that you are the lowest man on the PM ladder) .

   Talk to your manager or your mentor (if you have one or can find one) and:
   - make a plan to move up the PM ladder (if you feel you are getting admin roles because you are at the bottom of the PM ladder)
   - your manager to assign you as lead PM or co-lead PM on an upcoming project (if you aren't leading a project yet)

   And lastly, you may never be able to shake off your colleagues view of you as an Admin, so you might need to pack up your PM-talent-suitcase and hop on the find-a-new-job train.

   Congrats on the promotion! I hope everything works out for you.

4. Susan IshamSeptember 18,2021 at 1:43PM UTC

   Thank you, Barb! I work from home mostly and I do have any cubicle in an entirely different department. But what I've also realized is that the PM's don't really respect each other, save my boss. He is also my mentor and the highest-ranking PM at the agency. I got my master's degree in public administration with a project management emphasis in June 2020. I think part of the problem is all of us have come from different backgrounds. Some have degrees and some do not.

5. Kristen WavleSeptember 27,2021 at 4:37PM UTC

   Hi there. I also like the idea of proving yourself. If you find an article that you find useful, share it with your teammates. If you have an idea that might be useful down the road, share it. When they see your value, the respect will come. Be confident and show them what you can do both in projects and just as a teammate. Good luck!