Eight Battle-Tested Survival Tactics for the New, Entry-Level DoD Program Manager

Abstract : Helping our new and junior program managers (PMs) learn their profession is not an easy task. One tool that helped this author was the advice and stories from senior PM mentors. Their insights assisted me in the current day-to-day challenges and also helped me realize that a PM career can be a very rewarding and fulfilling endeavor. Although the following is a hypothetical mentoring session for a new PM, it is based on my actual experiences. My objective is to generate greater interest in mentoring and sharing appropriate stories for those new to the PM career field. The focus of this article is on PM soft skills such as leadership, teamwork, and communication. Please note the position title of Integrated Product Team (IPT) lead is used interchangeably with junior PM in this article. So you're our new PM? Let's discuss some PM survival tactics that I've learned during the course of my career. These tactics are as follows: (1) Keep your promises! (2) Know your customer and your product, (3) Stay focused on program priorities, (4) Set a high standard, (5) Accept new challenges with the right mindset, (6) Build trust and communicate with your stakeholders, (7) Develop and maintain teamwork, and (8) Develop your skills and get training/education.