Yesterday I posted about why I am still feeling pretty optimistic about the prospects for project managers, even given the current state of the economy. That’s got me thinking a bit wider, about why I enjoy being a project manager so much.

Now, I am sure there are as many reasons for this as there are project managers. I came across one post, Why I love Project Management by Alora Chistiakoff which, while it was good, didn’t quite hit what I find so enjoyable about project management.

Alora talks about how she loves to implement change, and I can certainly see the attraction. But for me it’s about something else.

What I really love doing is solving problems, all sorts of problems. From great big huge problems, right down to tiny niggling little problems. And, to me, this is what project management is about.

First of all, you have your great big huge problem, looking for a solution. This is what would make me start a project – to deliver the solution. Then within the project, you have a series of smaller problems, some of which can be broken down further.

Now, some of these problems will have known solutions – the processes and methodologies of project management can provide some of them. Others won’t, and this is where I find it gets really fun – getting over the obstacles in the way to a solution. You get to ask great questions, ones that start with “Why don’t we…?” or “Is there a better way to…?”

It is this side of the work that I love. Finding solutions no-one else has, being novel, innovative, creative. I’ve worked with many people who have thought that there was nothing about project management that required creativity or original thought – boy, are they wrong!

Project management is about finding the solutions, about getting stuff done. And because we are dealing with an environment of change, we can’t rely on what has worked before. Sometimes we need to make that leap, and find the novel answer, the innovative way, the creative solution.

And that’s why I love project management.

What about you? What made you want to be a project manager? What about the job keeps you getting up everyday? Let me know below!