If you are currently focusing only on the role you have been assigned in your project,

• You are missing the opportunity to broaden your understanding of the entire project,
• understand the context of the workflow, and
• understand the power dynamics that have a strong influence within it.

This means you are missing out on a great opportunity to accelerate your career.

If you feel overwhelmed by this suggestion, here's some good news.

Understanding the different perspectives of stakeholders within a project doesn't simply mean talking directly to everyone or clearly defining what they care about. In reality, it's about experiencing each stage of the project as a more subtle and holistic experience. It is a proactive attempt to redefine your role, build a unique perspective, and explore hidden growth potential.

Projects are a hidden stage where you can learn different perspectives of stakeholders and grow faster.

One project is hidden field for learning multi percept and growing 3X faster.

When I moved from working at an investigative journalism company to the advertising industry, I was hesitant to reveal myself. I worked within the rules of the creative agency from my first year to my third year. At the time, I thought creativity was the key to survival in the industry. But what was the result?

It wasn't.

No one knew how to develop ideas by spending time directly in the daily lives of target customers. And brand and agency decision-makers implicitly agreed to share the ROI that was becoming uncertain as a result. Industry professionals were busy filling in the Next Idea for marketing execution within a limited timeframe.

In the process, I realized that I needed to look at the perceptions of the stakeholders in each project and the overall context of the project. I used some methods I used in investigative research to understand each Multi-perception. After deciding to broaden my understanding with the roles of all stakeholders, people began to be interested in and respond to my questions. Finally, they shared their roles, the hidden intentions behind their public decisions, and the political dynamics within the organization, and they began inviting me to be their conversation partner after the project. That's how I was able to rise to the position of Creative Director in the advertising industry in 3 years, which usually takes more than 10 years on average.

This way, when people share their hidden stories, it gives you the opportunity to understand the overall working dynamics, from stakeholders to the entire industry's physiology.

People in reality face difficulties in their own situations, feel fear, and feel burdened by giving up responsibility. Therefore, asking appropriate questions that show your intention to understand the other person will reveal the missing pieces that allow you to understand the entire context of the project that you hadn't previously discovered.

You can't find enough growth opportunities on your own.

You need to actively be interested in what your team members have done, what they are concerned about, and why it's important, and you need to let your team members know about your attitude and intentions. This is the most important opportunity to move your career faster than others in the same amount of time.

With an average project duration of about 2 months, you can only experience 6 projects a year. How long are you willing to work as a corporate employee? When will you start your own business?

Life is a limited time.

If you want to grow faster than before, the 'project' you are participating in is the stage where you can understand the situations of the people you work with, learn from their perspectives, and grow multi-dimensionally.

So, how do you grow effectively in one project?

Here are some ways to get started:

1. Read the meeting room

Despite using technology for decades, office workers are still communicating with their bodies. You can understand the context of relationships by checking the position of people's bodies, such as whether there is always an empty seat for the leader only in meetings, the different postures between leaders and employees talking across desks, and who is breaking the context of the presentation.

2. Take a strong stand on controversial topics in meetings.

Speak boldly on controversial topics. If you're always the owner of safe opinions, who should care about you? People are drawn to those with conviction. To check the perspectives of others in the project, you need to create opportunities to express your curiosity about your current role and other tasks throughout the project, as well as to make your presence known.

I had an experience where I emphasized that ideas can be discovered through real observational data rather than being made through brainstorming, and used this perspective and practical approach to get the attention of the project leader and connect with various task managers.

In the process, I was able to identify those who disagreed with my opinion or who wanted to stay away. This means you have gained baseline information that distinguishes between the people you need to focus on and the people who will not be helpful in the project going forward.

3. Make good questions, follow-up questions authentically.

People first suspect the intentions of someone who is interested in their area. Your intention is to increase your understanding of the entire project to concretize your role and find opportunities to expedite or help others' work progress. Share and share that this attempt helps not only your rapid growth but also the activation of the entire team. I'm not trying to emphasize a friendly tone and a respectful attitude. Questions that are organized through sufficient consideration from the other person's perspective are enough to convey a sense of being respected in itself.

4. Make it clear what you know and what you don't know.

Those who have participated in the project each have their own expertise. And they often define the meaning of the project based on their own perspectives, attitudes, and knowledge in their respective areas. Therefore, rather than arguing about what is right and appropriate, make it clear what you know and what you don't know, and based on this, show an attitude of trying to understand the other person's work, role, and meaning. The moment people confirm that they are being respected in their area, they will begin to respect your curiosity. The start and conversation of clarifying what each of you knows and doesn't know invites you to a sea of understanding that goes beyond expectations.

5. Silence and listening are persuasive forces.

When you ask questions about the situations those you have encountered in each project stage, people may often answer that they are annoying or unnecessary. Again, your goal is to understand the whole picture from a broader perspective. Questions and words are just one way to get closer to your goal, and you can also get the information you need by observing silently in response to the other person's reaction. You can also step back after one question and approach the meeting outside the meeting or directly in the workplace to see how the other person's work is concretized and what discussions are used to determine the progress.

In fact, how the other person responds to your questions and curiosity can also be information that can help you check the other person's attitude towards the project and their work priorities. So, rather than focusing on their response, accept their response as one piece of information for the overall understanding.

Get started

If you don't currently have any projects you are involved in, you can also choose to check the documents related to previous projects. After checking the areas of your assigned tasks and those that were not, you can request a coffee chat with the related task performers. Mention the data or situations at the time and ask what their role was, what their expectations were, and what pressures they had. This process can lead to the expansion of your own perspective on the project.