What's the step after Project Manager?

 After years as a Project Manager, managing projects of all sizes and shapes, I finally was given a job as Senior Project Manager.

What does the word Senior mean in Project Management? Senior Project Manager is usually defined as managing multiple projects, each with its own project managers. Coordinating resources and schedules between projects instead of managing the actual project.

Doing so involved a lot of coordination with management. Specifically preparing the agenda for the bi-weekly status meetings and then implementing the decisions. 

These meetings included the CTO, the Chief Innovation Officer, the VP of Product other Senior Managers.

These C-Levels were getting their marching orders from upper management and the board of directors.

So what comes next? I've decided to learn how to become a member of the Board of Directors. To do so I enrolled in an intensive 12-week course at the Hebrew University.

We are learning about the responsibilities of the Board of Directors, how to analyse financial statements, and how to be an active member of the board by providing constructive criticism and novel ideas.

With my background in software development and cloud-based cyber-security, I see myself as being able to play an important role in ensuring that companies are implementing state-of-the-art security measures as well as comprehensive backups.

Even if I continue the exciting job of Project Management, I still think that this education is valuable. Understanding how the board functions and what their agenda is, (long-term planning and short-term stability), will help me focus as a Project Manager and make better decisions.