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Up and Coming Young Project Manager – Ivy Horn
The stress of being a project manager can be intense, having to deal with time and budget constraints, solve problems quickly, and manage people whom all have lives of their own.
This week, we had the pleasure of interviewing Ivy Horn. Ivy is an assistant project manager at Champion Painting Specialty Services Corp. and has been making strides in the company for the past five years. Ivy, at the young age of 24, supports project managers company-wide.
Thank you so much for interviewing with us! Can you share what led you to want to be a project manager?
Thank you so much for thinking of me. When I first started at Champion, I did not expect to be where I am today. I grew a lot throughout the past five years and learned the more intricate parts about the company. As I continued to learn more, I realized that I wanted to know all the aspects of what we do and be more hands-on.
Can you share your favorite part of project management?
My favorite part of project managing is learning. Every day there is something new to discover and add to my skillset. I work with the most outstanding project managers out there, so I am getting the best hands-on learning experience.
While you are learning a lot, is there an aspect of project management that you find to be the hardest?
The hardest part of this job is the uncertainty. Plans in the field change so quickly that you must always be actively thinking to be able to adapt to changes on a whim and figure out a way to work around any obstacles.
Through the various challenges of project management, how has becoming a project manager helped shape you?
Being a project manager has changed the way I view things; I use to think about just my job and my portion of what I need to do. That is how I viewed my life as well. Project managing made me realize the bigger picture and the moving parts, how I play a role in helping a project succeed, and the role of others as well.
What, to you, defines a successful project?
I would define a successful project as one that goes off without a hitch. From the bid to the final inspection, where everything goes as planned, no one gets hurt, and the customer is pleased with the work done.
Is there something that you think older project managers could learn from you?
I think the biggest lesson older project managers could learn from me is being more proactive in learning computer skills and adapting to changing technology.
To other young project managers who may be reading this, what advice would you give them?
My advice would be to keep your head up, it definitely gets stressful and overwhelming when you are learning, and you are not 100% competent in the work you are doing. Ask questions; even if you think they are dumb, ask anyways, the more questions you ask, the more others will want to teach you. When teaching, people want to know that you are actively engaged and excited. While new ideas and innovation are great, do not assume that you know better. Suggest things but don’t be discouraged or offended if they are not implemented because things take time. Lastly if someone says you “probably should” do something ABSOLUTELY DO IT, it will only help you succeed.
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