Thinking about a career in Project Management

We at Crescent Consulting are frequently being approached for career advice, which direction someone should take to end up in a particular area, what the prerequisite and nice-to-haves are, and what training courses to pursue.

Project and Program Management is an increasingly popular area and often one feeds into the other – people can come from a variety of backgrounds and a good Project Manager should naturally build a career on their ability to plan, have a big picture view, all while being detail conscious and an overall great communicator. Directing people and resources to achieve a desired outcome within a defined timeframe is a skill that most successful Project and Program Managers must have down pat.

Often Project Managers advance to become Program Managers to manage a group of projects and resources at a higher level simultaneously. We recently interviewed Sutter Schumacher, a PM with a non-traditional background now a leader in the Modern Workplace delivery space.

She’s a great supporter of our Women in Tech groups and is a very busy person so thanks a lot for your time sitting down with us and having this chat!

How did you get into the Business Analysis (BA)/Project Management (PM) space and where are you now?

Sutter comes from a background in journalism, which led her to tech marketing in the States. An OE brought her over to NZ, and though she wasn’t planning on a forever move, she ended up staying and secured a role in the customer service space at YHA. They had a legacy system that needed updating, she knew the way they worked from her previous temping experience with them, and had some tech experience from marketing, so they asked her to become project coordinator on the project. This progressed into an IT PM role, opening the door to a career as a PM in software, which led her to consulting in SharePoint. Sutter ran Project Management Offices (PMOs) for a few years, doing business transformation, went into consulting and now is working in modern workplace.

At Brighter Days Sutter’s role is a triangle: equal parts customer health, ensuring employees are happy, and organizational commercial viability. Her job title is Practice Lead – ensuring the team is across how to use Microsoft productivity apps properly, as well as some business development (BD), people management and finance. Change management is important to her, engaging and involving people – no point building something for it to sit on a shelf.

What excites you most about the work?

Working with people, helping them to see opportunities they have at their fingertips and creating efficiency.

What’s the best project you’ve worked on and why?

Significant business transformations where she’s introducing or refining business processes, tools and people changes to make that come to light. A large piece of work with a nationwide company helping them get into the 21st century with their systems and tools was one recently.

How do you deal with push back?

Sutter understands the importance of breaking it down for people, making achievements clear and building momentum. It’s necessary to chunk things down effectively and have a high degree of empathy – you must be curious, ask questions and listen. Never underestimate that people want to help each other.

What have your biggest roadblocks been?

Finding good employees. Also, navigating the modern workplace with an emphasis on “place” – what is an office like, what is a team like, in this day and age (hybrid, remote). Working with different generations in the workplace with different expectations – this is not insurmountable but takes a lot of care.

What advice would you give to someone trying to get into the tech BA/PM space?

Find somewhere to volunteer and practice your skills. Sutter volunteered to help run events like TedX Christchurch and there were some valuable skills learned.
Be humble – be willing to take a step down or back to learn.
Find a mentor – someone you can watch and learn from. This is something that’s very underutilized.

What do you love most about living here in Christchurch?

Sutter was on a working holiday here initially and her husband was born and raised here. She tried to bring him back to the States but that was a no go. Something clicked for Sutter after 18 months of her time here – Christchurch really grew on her – it’s got all the mod cons without the traffic and dense population. You can have a house with a view of the sea that won’t be affordable in most places in the world, and an international airport half an hour away!

What books/podcasts/training/qualifications/professional development would you recommend for anyone aspiring to work in BA/PM space in tech?

Podcasts:

Books:

Dan and Chip Heath – Switch

Stay tuned for next month’s blog on another discipline within the tech arena!

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