Feeling lost? Do this instead.

Many years ago, I was on a failing project, which was stressful for all involved. Another project manager asked me about a very specific type of piping that I didn’t know about and she berated me for it. “How can you call yourself a project manager and not know that,” she said. My response? How can you consider yourself a good project manager if you think you need to. Confused? Let me explain. 

While details are important, it’s not your job as the project manager to know every technical detail of the work being done. Your responsibility is to oversee the project as a whole. As you grow in your industry, you will eventually become more well-versed on the technical side of things, but that comes with time. So if someone tries to makes you feel dumb for not knowing every single detail about the work being done, then they don’t understand the role of a project manager. You just can’t be an expert in all the details of a project and manage it well, especially when it comes to complex projects. Secondly, embrace feeling lost and quickly take action to remedy it. Feeling lost can be a great motivator depending on what you do with it. 

What to do when you’re feeling lost

Don’t feel bad about it

There is zero shame in not knowing something. It’s impossible to be an expert in everything. Rather than be down on yourself for not knowing something, realize you’re only human. Never forget the people who seem like they know everything started with not knowing anything. Sure, they’re smart but it’s because they’ve been there for 30 years. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

The only way you’re ever going to not feel lost about something is by learning everything you can about it. The quickest way to do that? Ask questions. Meetings are a great opportunity to get on the same page with the people on your team. Will you feel vulnerable exposing your lack of knowledge? Most definitely. But people already know you don’t know. You can’t hide it. You have to ask questions to really understand and do your job well.

Don’t think you can learn everything on your own

The fastest way to speed up the learning curve is by getting help from the experts and one of the biggest mistakes of my career was not asking enough questions when I first started out. Now, despite being an expert in my field, I’m much more comfortable doing that. Before I thought, “I won’t have time or they don’t want to help me — I’ll just learn it on my own.” That’s not the way to go, because you’ll never fully learn it on your own. You lack the experience and perspective the experts provide. Seek out their help.

Realize the benefits of being lost

Experience has pluses and minuses. It’s great when you’re following a proven process. But it’s also a huge hindrance because it keeps you from trying new things, because you stick with what has worked for you. When you lack experience, you don’t know how it’s been done before and have a chance to approach a challenge from a completely new perspective. 

So when was the last time you felt lost and what did you do about it? Tell me in the comments below or tweet @theomarproject on Twitter.