Your first project as a manager: Why early success builds trust
How an early win establishes credibility, and can unlock your career growth
My first management job came by way of an internal promotion. My manager at the time probably saw some redeeming qualities in me, and he handed me my first project to lead.
My project was highly experimental in nature. Our company’s technical support department was looking for ways to speed up the time it took the support staff to resolve a customer problem over the phone. I was to explore how we could leverage a new tool called a “web browser” to that effect. The year was 1995. I had to learn a new programming syntax called “HTML” in the process. I was a team of one.
As far as projects go, they couldn’t have come any simpler than this. It was the perfect size for a rookie manager like me. We were a very process-oriented company, so I had to run my project like any other. I learned how to write all the project documents, held frequent status meetings and reviews, nurtured the relationship with the stakeholders, and managed to hold things together. The project finished on time and on budget.
I delivered a small intranet to the technical support team. It was nothing but a series of HTML pages, all linked together like a clickable flowchart, that pulled data on the fly from the company’s impossible-to-navigate and poorly organized knowledge base. I even had to give a demo in front of a large audience — my first public speaking gig. I finally got to wear the one tie in my closet.
Everyone loved the tool. It was simple to use, accessible from anywhere, and it zeroed in on customer issues more quickly than the old method. I got a pretty nice pat on the back. Because the internet was so new and foreign to most at the time, I was perceived as “the internet guy.” This helped open doors for career advancement within the company.
It is vital for you to hit a home run on your first project. Here’s how and why I succeeded:
The project made use of brand-new technology that no one else in the company had any knowledge of or experience with. HTML and intranet were foreign concepts at the time. I was given time to learn, and my peers couldn’t second-guess my work because I knew more than they did.
The project was experimental in nature and non-strategic. Expectations were low, so I didn’t feel any real pressure. I was free to set a timeline that gave me enough time to learn all I needed to learn and implement something concrete.
I was a trained computer scientist with expertise in software engineering and object-oriented languages like C++ and Java. HTML was super easy for me to learn because it was well within my wheelhouse.
HTML pages, by nature, are highly visual and interactive. What I delivered looked shiny and had a wow factor. I received a lot of “ooohs” and “aaahs” during my demo.
When choosing your first project, look for a combination of the following: low complexity or pressure, non-strategic or experimental, sufficient time to deliver, something new that very few people know or understand, and something highly visual and sexy.
An early success means you’ll earn respect in your new leadership role. You’ll be on your way to building your reputation. With reputation comes trust, and trust is everything when you are assigned another project with higher stakes, more vested stakeholders, and new team members.
For your first project, come out swinging like you’ve never swung before. Introduce yourself to the world with a bang!
Key Points
A first management project often sets the foundation for long-term trust and credibility within an organization.
Early leadership success is about choosing the right project.
Delivering something visible and tangible helps create early momentum and positive perception.
Trust earned on small projects often results in larger responsibilities, higher stakes, and broader influence later on.