So let's talk a little bit about moving upwards as a program manager to become a principal or senior
program manager and the way to do this is of course to take on more responsibility.
You can take on more responsibility in the depth or the scope of what you have responsibility for.
And this is basically what you need to do is create a reputation for yourself that the organization
wants to give you more responsibility and you can do this in two ways.
The first one being you become I really strong domain expertise such as an expert in that field that
others can't compete or you become known as a really good program manager somebody that the organization
can give the most valuable programs to and be assured that you're going to be the right person for the
job to see them through.
You might end up becoming what working in what's known as a SWAT team a Special Weapons And Tactics
team.
So this is perhaps where a particular part of business is really struggling and we need a program manager
who's really good at what they do to be put into that team to turn things around.
Another great piece of advice is to find a mentor.
Now this is applicable for all areas in life and being a program manager.
This is no exception.
If you can find a more senior program manager who's willing to mentor you then you'll be able to improve
your program management skills at a much faster rate because you're learning from their second hand
experience.
Now a mentor doesn't have to be somebody's internal.
It can be somebody external and it's actually ideal to have both particularly an external mentor can
help you learn what other organizations do and the way that other organizations approach different problems.
And it can also prepare you for move in because you get a greater comm contrast of the way that program
management works in other organizations and you build that network so that when job opportunities come
up you already know people external to your organization.
So it's really really good advice to have an external mentor as well.
Please bear in mind that I mentor doesn't have to be somebody who's more senior to you.
It can be somebody on the same level as you but in a different area or even somebody who is not senior
to you.
But there's also a person I can see good ideas and expertise in all people and learn from it.
And that's going to stand you in really good stead in the future.