Significant Career Lesson From A Construction Project Manager At Los Angeles World Airports
Sebastian, a Construction Project Manager, learned that "there's a thousand ways to skin a cat," emphasizing the value of collaboration and diverse perspectives in problem-solving. This realization, requiring significant maturity, shifted their approach from needing to be the sole contributor to embracing and integrating the valuable ideas of others.
Project Management, Teamwork, Problem-Solving, Communication, Overcoming Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Sebastian Potes
Construction Project Manager
Los Angeles World Airports
USC
MBA UCLA Anderson
Engineering - Civil
Aerospace, Aviation & Defense, Architecture, Construction & Design
Operations and Project Management
First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. There are multiple approaches to problem-solving; be open to diverse perspectives and ideas.
2. Collaboration is key in a team environment; value the input of others and be willing to adapt your own approach.
3. Professional maturity involves recognizing the value of diverse viewpoints and integrating them into your problem-solving process. Don't be afraid to compromise or adjust your own approach if a better solution is presented
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
This is a good question, and I'll sum it up in one brief phrase. I think "there's a thousand ways to skin a cat" is the one lesson that I've learned over my career.
What I mean by that is, you work in a team, not in a silo, most of the time. People have different ideas and inspirations. There have been times where I thought I had a really good idea that would have solved the problem, but so did two or three other people.
They just had different ideas. So, over time, I learned to understand that there are many ways to tackle one problem, and more heads are better than one.
I think it goes back to me wanting to prove myself. I want to be the one to contribute my idea. But then, I also learned that other people have very good ideas; there are very smart people out there.
I learned to gel with those other people and their ideas. It's about not being so rigid in your internal framework that you can't accept somebody else's. You should be able to improve their framework and toss yours aside if theirs is better.
That's tough to do, and it takes a lot of maturity to realize that and make those changes. For some people, it comes naturally. For me, it didn't; it took years to figure that part out.
But yeah, to sum it up, "there's a thousand ways to skin a cat" is the most important lesson I've learned in my career.