Spiritual Armor, Making a Difference, Advanced Child Tax Credit (ACTC)

I was talking to my mother the other night, and she was discussing how even though the economy was fading in Michigan, many stayed and they eventually found jobs.  Which is true, they did.  But, when I left Michigan in 2000, I didn't want a job, I wanted a career, and I didn't want to settle.  I felt like that was all that I had been doing, settling.  I thought that I could do more.  I wanted to make a difference. 

In January 2003, Keith was decided that instead of just writing about the processes and procedures that our Test Environment Project Managers had to follow to assist projects in making it through the test environments and into production; I would actually run a project.  That way I could see what types of issues the project managers came across while trying to help projects make their deadline dates.  We had not been making most of our deadlines.  The projects were blaming the Testing for not having the Test Environments prepared and the Test Environments were blaming the projects for not being ready for testing.  By working as a Test Environment PM, I could see what was really happening and I could change our processes and procedures to match what they actually did, and, we could pass our Federal Audit (another small issue).  The first project I received was Advanced Child Tax Credit (ACTC).  It was a small project and its technology was dependent on what people know as the “Where is my Refund?” site on the IRS web.  I remember going to the Testing Kick off meeting, the application had passed the first phase of development and now it was ready for testing.  A project schedule had already been drafted and the first phase was getting the workstations in the test lab and making sure that they had all of the software needed for testing.  One of the other Testing Environment PMs, Bob, was asked to attend the meeting to help me, since this was my first project.  However, it didn't turn out like I had expected.  Every time I was asked a question, the other PM would stop me and tell me to say that I would get back to my manager and I would have a response later.  It didn't matter how simple the question was or even whether or not I knew the answer.  I was to give the same response.  So, although Keith had given me this assignment, Jacob, the lead Test Environment Project Manager had no plans of actually letting me manage a project.  Well, I did something in that meeting that Sara Palin later became famous for, I went rogue.  The next time I was asked a question during that meeting, I started to respond and the other Bob started whispering in my ear, to give the same response.  I looked at him and told him not to interrupt me while I was speaking.  (I don’t know where that came from.)  But after I did that, I knew exactly what I had done.  Because, after that, Bob got up and left the meeting and told me I was on my own.  And, for the rest of the project, I was on my own.  I had no help from my new peers.  And I only had a little help from the System Administrators who managed the test labs.  I had to prepare up some of the workstations for testing myself. They sat and waited for me to fail.  However, they did not understand that I wanted to manage the project and I sincerely wanted them make production on schedule, so people could receive their checks in July, as the government promised.  Also, I wanted to I update the processes and procedures that the PMs had to follow to guide the projects through the test environment; I needed to truly understand their job.  They didn't get that.  For the lead PM and my new peers, it was all about ego.  The words “Who does she think she is?” was said about me a lot.  And, I knew it.  But I believed that I was fighting the good fight, so every morning, I prepared myself for battle by praying and I put on my Spiritual Armor.  Well, my project went smoothly and to production on time.  People started receiving their checks when promised.  When we had our Lessons Learned meeting at the end of the project, the client actually got up and hugged me and thanked me for all of my help.  I had not received that kind of reception since I had worked in the corporate environment.  CGTN had their internal meeting because the project was a success.  The Deputy Director, Bob gave the Jacob a certificate and shook his had for getting the project done on time.  And, as he shook his had, they looked directly at me.  And as they looked at me, I thought about what my grandmother said, “They can take everything away from you, but they can’t take what you have learned and what you know.  That will always be yours.”  So, I looked back at them in that moment and I smiled.

#LessonsLearned

#MakingaDifference

#SpiritualArmor