VOICES Project Toolkit
Young project managers often have to go the
extra distance to prove they can handle the job.
So we asked younger practitioners: How do
you earn a new team’s respect?
New Kid on the Block
handle certain issues both internally and externally.
Therefore, I would always advise talking with more experienced colleagues who can help. As the saying goes,
don’t reinvent the wheel.”
—Bjorn Hoefnagels, CAPM, project manager, Wärtsilä Ship
Power, a PMI Global Executive Council member, Drunen,
the Netherlands
Show Your Support
The following has worked for me:
1. Keep advocates close. My advocates
have supported me and helped me be-
come an important part of my team. I listen to their
advice while tuning out naysayers.
2. Be open and available. I’ve gotten to know many of
my fellow teammates in the cities I work in. I’ve gone
out to lunch with them. It’s amazing how relationships go a long way toward building trust and respect
within a team.
3. Volunteer for leadership opportunities where appropri-
Listen to the Voices
of Experience
I’ve been a project manager since early
2012, when I was 32 years old. Given my
age, the biggest challenge is that there
are project managers with much more experience. So I
speak frequently to those project managers about my
current work and ask them about their work. For me,
receiving the advice of experienced managers who do
the same job and face—or have faced—similar situations
is the fastest way to learn.
Part of this is facilitated by the work context. In the
Wärtsilä project management team in the Netherlands,
for example, it’s quite normal that we discuss how to
