PM-Mastery

The Journey of a Senior Strategic Project Manager with Attila Engert

• Walt Sparling • Season 1 • Episode 47

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In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Attila Engert, a Senior Strategic Project Manager, on his journey in project management.  Attila, originating from Hungary, shares his professional journey has taken him to the Netherlands, where he now excels in a role which relies on the power of soft skills. As he leads complex projects across multiple sites and divisions, he shares how soft skills have been critical to his success. His story includes his family, pets, and a love for sports and games. Attila's experience, insights, and stories will challenge you to rethink project management and its importance in today's business landscape.

In our conversation, Attila takes us behind the scenes of the rapidly evolving project management field. He stresses the importance of staying current with industry developments and the value of a robust network. Listen in as Attila openly discusses his challenges, especially regarding resource availability and using tools like Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and Smartsheet. To top it all, Attila also gives us a sneak peek into his recent foray into entrepreneurship. This episode is an engaging narrative and a great listen for anyone looking to sharpen their project management skills.

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Intro/Outro:

Welcome to the PM Mastery podcast. This podcast is all about helping you master your project management skills by sharing tips, tricks, tools and training to get you to the next level, while sharing the stories of other project managers on their journey in project management. Now here's your host, Walt Sparling.

Walt Sparling:

Welcome everybody to the current episode of PM Mastery. Today I have with me Attila Enger. Welcome to the show, attila.

Attila Engert:

Hi Walt, Thank you very much for inviting me.

Walt Sparling:

Pleasure to have you. We're going to do our typical learn a little bit about you, and we'll start out with who you are as an individual personally.

Attila Engert:

Well individually. I'm a father of a wonderful daughter and a husband of a wonderful wife. The family tends to be a bit bigger, as we have a pretty big Bernice Mountain dog and a cat since a while as well. I really like doing sports. I'm playing squash since now more than 15 years at the competition level. I love playing board games. I also like to travel and barbecue. I'm originally from Hungary, so my wife, we moved to Hroningen in the Netherlands three and a half years ago more or less, and I got the opportunity to work for my current company as a project manager.

Walt Sparling:

Awesome. Now you said you had a Burmese Mountain dog and cat. So it's just a Burmese Mountain dog and a cat, not a Burmese Mountain cat.

Attila Engert:

No, it's not. However, sometimes the cat is behaving like a dog, but they are hanging out well with each other.

Walt Sparling:

All right, you're in your current role. Can you tell us a little bit about specifically what you do in your role?

Attila Engert:

Yes, I'm a senior strategic project manager. I work for the term of the scientific, which is a Fortune 500 company. The company is a supplier of analytical instruments, life science solutions, specialty diagnostics, laboratory, pharmaceutical and biotechnology services. I myself I work in the Biologics business unit and I have a global role. I lead projects across the sites across the business unit, across the world. Actually, there are currently six sites two in the US, two in Europe and two in the Asia region. Our group is a formal PMO, so I'm not a technical project manager. We are really project managers Mainly the projects which are coming from the strategic planning, which has either more importance, higher value, higher complexity. Those are coming to our group. That's where we usually jump in. Then we work cross divisions, cross groups and, yeah, really multiple different projects, depending on the actual strategies of the company and what they really want to get done. Okay, that's a lot. It can be, but the group is big enough. It's not that I have hundreds of projects.

Walt Sparling:

Yeah, that's better when you don't have too many, because it makes it a lot easier to execute them successfully.

Attila Engert:

Yeah, I completely agree, and it's easy to fall into the trap that you just get more and more projects actually also based on experience because as far as things go well, you don't have that much job as when things start to go wrong. But then if you have too many projects and things start to go wrong in all of them at the same time, then you realize that. Okay, then probably this is a bit more than I signed up for.

Walt Sparling:

Yeah, it's interesting how that works. If you're successfully executing and everything is going smooth, well, you obviously can take on some more and then, to your point, some problems start happening and now you're overloaded, yeah exactly. I think we all need a little bit of a break where we have a couple easy projects for a little bit while, because we know it's going to end up ramping up again, rather than a constant workload that is just overwhelming. All right, so why? Why did you choose project management? Or maybe why this specific role?

Attila Engert:

Okay. So I didn't choose project management. Since the beginning, I would say project management chose me. Originally, I'm a biochemical engineer and I started to work as a manufacturing engineer in the FMCG industry, having different roles throughout the years and towards the end of my journey at that company I've been assigned as a project manager and it went pretty well. Then I figured out okay, this is something I like, this is something which seems like I'm good at, and of course there were several things which I needed to learn and get used to, but some things came very naturally. So then I stayed in this path.

Attila Engert:

Since then I left that company. I went to another industry which was completely new for me. I had exactly zero hard skills, but I took all the soft skills with me which I learned and which I had and I've been very successful at that company as well, even having zero hard skills at the beginning. Of course, I've been learning a couple of things throughout the last half years. What I've spent there, they've been trying to keep me when I changed to my current position, where now I'm back in the industry what I was learning at the university, having the role which I really love. So that's the journey in a nutshell, actually.

Walt Sparling:

And it's very common. Project management usually chooses the person or the person gets in there by accident, sometimes on purpose, but it's typically a later choice in life, not first. So I don't know many kids that grow up and say I want to be a project manager.

Attila Engert:

Yeah, that's not something which is advertised or it comes to your face when you are preparing, to which university you want to go or what you want to do later on. What jobs do you want to do. So that's very interesting. But I can tell, looking back, I've done a couple of things already since early age which can relate to project management. But I had no clue at that time that this is something which I'll do for a living. So, planning ahead for a couple of years, since high school, I had plans ahead for three, five years what I want to do, where I want to go, which university, what faculty it is. Then later on at the university, I had the chance to be part of an organization where we've been organizing events and that was going also very well. Still, I haven't had too much knowledge about project management, so it's also interesting to see the whole picture together.

Walt Sparling:

And it is. There are a lot of schools now that do offer four-year degrees and master's degrees in project management, on top of all the certification options that are out there. So if someone did decide as a high schooler that they wanted to go into project management, they definitely could. Construction management has been around a long time as a formal type of coursework, but project management is really growing All right. So we know a little bit about you, what you do, why you do it. The next thing would be how do you manage to keep up with your job or with your project management knowledge?

Attila Engert:

Well, I'm trying to find always some opportunities to improve and learn and develop myself. I read a lot that's for first, books and articles as well in project management, in leadership, development, self-development books so many, really many different types and articles at PMI also, I'm very active on LinkedIn, so I have a nice network and it then comes up and seems interesting. I jump on it and also check what's going on. So I think it's very important to keep up with the changes and with all the new things which are coming to our way, because it's faster and faster. So the world is improving around us and we need to keep up. So there is no other way. And we need to keep up with hard skills and soft skills as well. Where one is easier for some types of personalities, the other one is easier for another.

Walt Sparling:

True, all true. Network is great. Constant change is definitely a factor as technology improves changes happening. Ai is really hitting hard now A network one of the things that I love about the LinkedIn network is the continued learning just by following other people and seeing some of their blog posts or their articles and their surveys, where they ask questions, end up leading into an educational opportunity right there.

Attila Engert:

Yeah, I definitely agree with that. Actually, if you have the right network, which I believe I have I have great project management coaches and project managers all around in my network then basically reading through your LinkedIn is like reading a newspaper which is dedicated to project management.

Walt Sparling:

So yep, good point, good observation. So challenges what kind of challenges do you face? Or maybe a recent one that you've been through?

Attila Engert:

Well, it's also a recent one, but it's generally throughout the course of my project management career. I think the biggest challenge is the resource availability and resources. And recently, as the global economics are slowing down, so you can see that companies are not really hiring but they are laying off people, they are saving costs where they can and that's usually end up the lowest possible human resources to be able to execute even the core business, and we are not talking about projects here. And then, in these circumstances, you still need to get resources for your projects, because those are, of course, important and it's very hard to kill a project in a company.

Attila Engert:

I've tried it a couple of times, but usually you end up oh no, no, no, just continue. Yeah, we've applied the resources, we accept the delays, but don't kill it, don't kill it. So that's not really a possibility. So then you need to still fight for those resources, try to keep them on your projects where other projects are going on, priorities are changing and with already not enough resources. That's, I think, one of the biggest challenge for probably every project manager out there who are trying to keep their metrics on track.

Walt Sparling:

Yeah, resources have always been an issue to some extent. I think since COVID days it's got even worse. I probably have had a half a dozen conversations this week alone on resource issues with people, and not just in project management, like you said. Construction side, retail banking all of them are struggling with getting through and getting their tasks done because they're doing more than they typically would because they don't have the resources.

Attila Engert:

Yeah, that's true, but the question is that they don't have resources because they need to cut cost and lay off people, or they don't have the resources because they want to hire but they cannot find anyone. I think currently we are more in the first, unfortunately, than in the second.

Walt Sparling:

Yes, agreed, all right. So challenges tools in your job. I'm sure you have some favorite tools that you use for either software or maybe even physical tools.

Attila Engert:

Yeah, so favorite tools, I would say it's also. They are a bit of a must have, as everyone is using more or less the same within the company, which is already good, actually, to be honest. But the Trinity is Teams, outlook, smartsheet that's the three most used and most important tools that I'm daily using. Of course, teams for communication and sharing all kinds of documents, and a couple of years ago we changed from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet, which is slightly different, of course, from some aspects. It has less capabilities.

Attila Engert:

But what is very good is that you can create dashboards from all the different sheets what you are managing if you build it up well, and then you can save a lot of time on creating presentations and dashboards for different meetings and stakeholders because, well, you have it already, so everyone can check it. So that's something that I like At my personal life and personal business. I'm a huge fan of the Google services, so Gmail, google Calendar, drive, forms, meet everything. So I'm living from my Google Calendar synchronized with everything that I can have there. So that's something that I prefer, and recently I use Canva a lot. Actually, I find it very helpful for creating posts.

Walt Sparling:

So it sounds like in the corporate you're Microsoft focused and then at home you're Google. So you've got that's good, you've got a good feel for both of those.

Attila Engert:

Yes, well, both of them have the advantages and disadvantages. Yes, definitely. It seems like I loved Google services more, because that's what I use for my personal part.

Walt Sparling:

So Smartsheet is something that's I don't know. It's been coming up a lot lately. In fact, I was on a meeting last night, a mastermind meeting, and that was part of the conversation with Smartsheet. We've started to use Smartsheet now at work ourselves and I've got my own free version I'm playing with, so I'm hoping to learn a little more about that. So, all good tools, teams, very common outlook, obviously, another very common, especially in the corporate world Canva you said you really like that's. A lot of entrepreneurs use that for creating marketing materials and graphics book covers a lot of cool things. All right, before we get to the last question, do you have anything that you would like to ask or maybe something you want to discuss?

Attila Engert:

Yes, probably one additional thing that I could mention and I haven't said that when you've been asking that what I've been doing and where I'm working is that also this year I've started my own company as well. So after a couple of years in project management and was observing the people around me, I realized that there is something more that I can and I could give to the society, to my friends, to my network, and then I started to think about what could be the best way to do that. So then I started to work on a project management, coaching, mentoring, consultancy company, and this is something which is my passion, so that's my work as well. I think, and I believe that you can use a lot of project management aspects in your personal life as well, and it can be very helpful to set clear goals, to create plans, follow up on them, track how you progress, and it can take you far further than if you don't have it. So I've had the experience that I'm a networker.

Attila Engert:

I've always been a networker, so I know a lot of people, and I see people who have goals and plans and what they can achieve and where they are in their lives, and people who don't have it, and there are a huge amount of lost potential left on the table. And I'm not saying that the rest of the people who are, let's say, not planning that much. They are not happy, but you can see that they are not there where the others. And then I would like to help as much people as I can to really think about their goals and plan them and then start to work to achieve them, because they are achievable. And a lot of people are struggling at the beginning that the goal seems too huge. If they get lost in the normal everyday activities and life and if you don't break it down and have a plan how to do it step by step, then you will never start. It's just every day will be just one another day and you won't really progress towards your goal.

Walt Sparling:

So coaching, mentoring and that's a new business that you're doing Do you have a website or are you basically marketing it through LinkedIn?

Attila Engert:

I'm marketing it through LinkedIn at the moment and the website is being built, so I'm hoping to have it ready and published by end of November, hopefully, okay that's awesome.

Walt Sparling:

Well, this episode should come out pretty close, I'd say probably in the next three weeks, so it'll be just maybe just prior to your launch, which would be good. Yeah, all right. My last question for you is the fun one. Do you have an interesting? Did you know that you could share?

Attila Engert:

Yes, I have, and that's that the coffee is not the best and most effective way to wake you up in the morning, but what it is is fruits and apples, especially Because, at the bottom line, fruits and apple can give you more energy, which is coming from sugar, not caffeine, and also kind of sugar, which is much, much healthier for you as well. And, of course, next to this, if you think about it, if you are eating more fruits and drink less coffee, then you will be more healthy as well. It helps. It can help in weight loss, it can lower the risk of heart disease. So, just benefit Apple a day, or at least not. I'm not saying don't drink coffee, but if you don't start your day with the coffee, that can be an alternative.

Attila Engert:

yes, Awesome.

Walt Sparling:

I've heard that a few times. That is interesting. Plus, I think apples have fiber in them as well, so that's good for your digestion.

Attila Engert:

That's true.

Walt Sparling:

Awesome, I really appreciate you coming on. I am interested in learning more about your side business once you get your website up, or, if I assume, you're actively doing some of the work now.

Attila Engert:

Yes, yes.

Walt Sparling:

I am All right, I'll have to read through a little more in your profile on that.

Attila Engert:

Yeah, I have some clients for work-life balance coaching and for project management coaching as well, and also I'm working together with a couple of companies setting up some trainings in communication skill development and project management foundation. So these are the main projects at the moment.

Walt Sparling:

I will take a look at that. I'll share some links in the page that we share with links to your profile. Once you get your website up, send me an email and I'll add that in there as well. Show notes page. That's what I was trying to think of.

Attila Engert:

Okay, all good, perfect. Thank you very much. It sounds great.

Walt Sparling:

All right. Well, it was a pleasure chatting with you and I look forward to talking with you more in the future.

Attila Engert:

Well, thank you very much. It was a pleasure for me as well. Thanks for the opportunity. I just hope to talk to you soon again.

Walt Sparling:

All right. Thank you everyone else who listened and we'll see you on the next episode of PM Mastery.

Intro/Outro:

Thanks for listening to the PM Mastery podcast at wwwpm-masterycom. Be sure to subscribe in your podcast play. Until next time, keep working on your project.