http://www.nma.co.uk/opinion/behind-every-great-project-is-a-great-producer/3018955.article

My favorite line: “You’re like a super-impressive blend of creative, sleuth, psychologist, project manager and that guy in Pulp Fiction who sorts out the brain-splattered mess in the car.”

I’ve been told loving your job is a rare find.

I was reading a really great book recently and came across an entry that made me do a “stop and think” thing. It read something like this: “If you’re lucky enough, your job can nourish you, and you can nourish your job. When you work with people you love, there’s a danger to it. You can rely on your job to give you more than it actually can. It becomes such a part of you, that you can’t imagine life without it, without that place to go to everyday. You can’t imagine your life without these people in it.”

I read this, and it occurred to me, this is how I’ve felt about every single job I’ve ever had. From my first job at Marie Calendars in the bakery, to my bartending gig at a beachside Italian wine bar in Key West, to my first serious job as a Producer at Disney Online. Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing? I definitely gave it a good long think.

So here is what I do know. For me, it is all about the people. The relationships. Achieving something, big or small, alongside your crew, your friends, your team, your family. I want to come to work and care. A lot. I want to be part of something. I want to work with smart, driven, talented, fun and alive people. I want to work with these people that make me better, smarter, bigger, bolder – that make me stretch. I spend A LOT of time at work. I can’t help but care. I can’t help but put my ALL into it. I find it hard to balance that passion for the job, and the people. I find it impossible to look at it as “only a job”.

So maybe I am just “lucky enough”.

With that…off to make some magic happen with a gaggle of great people. And that’s a beautiful thing, in my book.

During a recent tech workshop at Shopzilla, our VP of engineering, Phil Dixon, challenged some of us to think about our roles from a different perspective; to give our “job descriptions” a bit of a different spin — focusing on job expectations. One of these exercises was to finish the thought, “I am a …”

In a nutshell for me, what does it really _mean_ to be a Project Manager at Shopzilla?

Here is my take.

I am a Project Manager

• I own it.
• I follow through. I drive. I am relentless.
• I am responsible for getting it done.
• I know the context and can clearly articulate the “why”.
• I possess sound judgment. I know when to push, when to pull, when to say no, when to say yes, when to stand aside.
• I am good under pressure.
• I know how to balance getting things done with the need to coach and empower teams.
• I am a strong, contributing partner along with my Tech and Quality Leads.
• I am adaptable.
• I am self-aware and know when to modify my style based on my audience and the task at hand.
• I facilitate the scrum process while recognizing we are here to build value, not process itself.
• I possess the know-how to help a team self-improve.
• I am closely aligned with my business partners.
• I remove roadblocks and protect my team’s focus while supporting and motivating them.
• I schedule, I plan, I organize, I prepare, I facilitate, I communicate, I coordinate, I follow up, I track and I chase things down.
• I listen aggressively to ensure team members are always on the same page and have access to decisions, agreements and actions.
• I am committed to continuous improvement.
• I develop relationships, embody partnership and cultivate trust.
• I understand what’s at stake.
• I know that if I don’t, maybe nobody will.

I am a Project Manager because I am these things.  Period.