As companies are increasingly expected to deliver projects of all kinds more frequently and quickly, agile project management is emerging as an increasingly important process (and skillset) across an array of industries.

I learned this lesson after having spent five years as an executive assistant in a corporate setting for a pet-care company. My boss would give me projects to organize and a team to manage to deliver results. This gave me initial exposure to project management and I quickly recognized how invaluable those fundamental skills became in my job. It made me want to explore project management further to understand how else it could benefit and propel my career.

I decided to enrol in an online Master of Science in Project Management programme, which allowed me to work and study at the same time. Not too long after I began the programme, my manager noticed that not only had my skills improved, but my confidence as well. This led him to recommend me for a promotion – and a challenging career change – to the corporate affairs department.

As a new communications manager, there was a lot more to learn. However, I also realized there were plenty of transferable and applicable skills I was bringing to my position as a result of my previous experience in project management, as well as everything I was learning in my online programme.

Click here to read more

So what are the key things I’ve learnt through applying a project-management mindset to a communications role?