Throughout my career at Peter Mayer, I have often been asked if I was a cheerleader in high school. Maybe it’s my endless supply of energy and positive attitude, or maybe it’s the exceedingly high volume of my voice. Whatever the case, the answer is: I am still a cheerleader.
As project managers at Peter Mayer, we are tasked with keeping projects on time, on budget and under control. Our work has us interacting with multiple departments and personalities on a daily basis. In other words, we have to be flexible. Just like you wouldn’t perform a stunt involving multiple tumbling passes without stretching first, we as project managers need to be flexible so we can quickly and effectively respond to obstacles that may pop up along the road to a project’s completion. Whether those obstacles are people’s workloads, client deadlines or hurricanes named Isaac, we have to be prepared to tackle them in the most efficient way possible.
Communication is everything, and our success depends on how effectively we communicate with our teams. People generally respond better to a positive attitude and enthusiasm. Our agency is family-owned and -operated, and our work culture reflects that. We are a family, and we are all cheering for the same team. Project managers understand the importance of motivation and how to motivate others. We are team players, but we also know how to lead. And sometimes, when a project veers off course, we have to be aggressive in getting it back on track. B! E! Aggressive!
A recent article in Inc. magazine featured a uniform company based out of Ohio whose employees are all former cheerleaders (through pure coincidence). Founder Heidi Sweeney said, “One of our value statements is, ‘Own every victory, every challenge, every mistake, and every failure, because we will experience them all.’ That goes right along with cheerleading: When you take a risk, I’ve got your back. It’s about people working together to achieve a goal, whether it’s a human pyramid or a business.”
The same is true at Peter Mayer; everyone is working together to achieve a goal, and we are going to experience challenges, mistakes and failures along the way. What is most important is how you handle it. Cheerleading has taught me to own my mistakes, shake them off and keep going (with a smile). One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned as a project manager is that I would rather be honest than try to be perfect. Respect is earned, not given.
Let’s look at this from a different angle. If project managers are the cheerleaders, that makes the creative and interactive departments the football team. They’re the ones that create and deliver beautiful work to our clients and receive the praise for “winning the big game.” The account executives are the coaches: overseeing that the correct plays are made and that the scoreboard yields the results they have planned for. We are all working for the same result. Whether it be pre-game strategizing and planning, or scoring the winning touchdown, or getting the crowd on their feet with “the perfect cheer,” we are all working toward the same result. Teamwork makes the dream work.
We’re New Orleanians—cheering is in our blood. We cheer for beads and throws, for our beloved Saints and for the resurgence of our great city. As a project manager, I cheer for deadlines being met, for all 10 people to attend the meeting I scheduled, and for really well-written change orders. But most of all, I cheer for my co-workers. I am one of those lucky few that can’t wait to get to work each morning because I get to surround myself with really fun, creative people. People that make this job not seem like a job. Do things with passion, or not at all.