24.Inside the Journey: Becoming a Project Leader Through Power Skills

Ever felt like you're doing everything right in your role, but still getting overlooked?
In this special episode, host Brittany Wilkins shares the raw, behind-the-scenes journey of how she went from feeling invisible in the workplace to becoming a respected project leader—without a title change.

You’ll hear:
✔️ The sink-or-swim moment that changed everything
✔️ How she led global teams without authority
✔️ The 4 Power Skills that transformed her confidence and career
✔️ Why project success starts within, not in a Gantt chart

If you are ready to strengthen the skills that separate project managers from project leaders, explore the Power Skills Accelerator, a course designed to help professionals master the leadership capabilities needed to thrive in complex project environments.

Enroll in the Power Skills Accelerator
https://www.developpowerskills.com/sales-page

If you want to assess where execution may be breaking down in your current projects, take the Execution Intelligence Diagnostic to identify gaps across leadership, decision making, and team alignment.

Start the diagnostic
https://executionintelligence.scoreapp.com/

Join the waitlist for Brittany Wilkins’ upcoming book, Execution Intelligence, focused on the mindset, systems, and discipline required to turn strategy into measurable results.

Join the book waitlist
https://makowayconsulting.scoreapp.com

To learn more about how organizations eliminate execution friction and turn strategy into measurable results, visit Makoway Consulting.

https://www.makowayconsulting.com

Transcript

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At some point in your career, you’ve probably asked yourself—Am I really being seen for the leader I am?

You show up. You deliver. You meet deadlines.
But deep down, you know you’re capable of leading—not just managing.

If that resonates with you, this episode is for you.

Today, I want to take you inside the journey that transformed me from project manager to project leader.
I had to really look within myself and ask:
What am I missing?
Why don’t they believe in me yet?
How can I lead people who don’t want to be led?

The answers came when I stopped relying solely on technical knowledge and began to develop what I now call power skills—like emotional intelligence, collaborative leadership, communication, and strategic thinking.

So as you listen to my journey, I want you to reflect on your own:
Where are you now?
And who do you want to become as a leader?

Now let’s start at the beginning.

There was a time in my career when I felt invisible—working in the shadow of my mentor.
I had ideas and ambition, but no room to grow.
That changed when I was finally given my own project to lead.
It was exciting, but also terrifying.
Because for the first time, I was seen—but not heard.
I had no authority. I couldn’t get my colleagues to do their jobs.
And I used to think project success was about the plan, the process, the tools.

But no certification, no Gantt chart, no methodology was going to move me forward…
Until I started developing the skills from within.

I never aspired to be a project manager. I’m an industrial and systems engineer by trade.
I began my career in the automotive industry, working as an advanced development process engineer under a mentor.
Our job was to optimize factory processes, cut costs, and improve efficiency.

One day, my boss called me into his office and said, “I need to get my money’s worth.”
He told me I would no longer be working under Dave.
He was assigning me as the project manager for the GM Chevy Volt—one of the company’s first hybrid EV development projects.

I asked, “What are my other options?”
He said, “You don’t have any. This is your project. And your performance will be evaluated based on this.”

That moment forced me to ask not just what is a project, but what exactly am I being asked to lead?

I went back to the basics: A project is a temporary endeavor with a beginning and an end, created to deliver a unique product, service, or result.
But I quickly realized that project management is just one layer.

At the foundation is something called Organizational Project Management—a strategic system that connects projects, programs, and portfolios to broader business goals.

It’s like a house:

• The foundation is strategy.
• The first story is the project itself.
• The second story is the program it’s part of.
• And the roof is the portfolio—the full set of prioritized initiatives.

Back then, I didn’t see all that.
I was just trying to survive.

I dove into the 7 Core Areas of Project Management.
I excelled in planning and organizing.
But where I struggled was motivating people, getting buy-in, and communicating clearly.
This was my sink-or-swim moment.

I was leading a global team—across North America and Juarez, Mexico.
Most of them had far more experience than me.
And I was drowning.

In meetings, I read straight from my slides.
I couldn’t facilitate discussion. I didn’t follow up. I felt unheard, so I stopped trying.
My boss told me I was ineffective.
One senior engineer said I was timid and needed to be more authoritative.

But I didn’t understand the concept of influence.
I thought leadership came from a title.
What I didn’t realize was that real leadership is built on emotional intelligence and communication.

I stopped showing up to meetings with a blank canvas.
Instead, I brought an open-issue tracker and used it to work with the team in real time—assigning owners, discussing blockers, and tracking progress.
That became our language.

And when I had to work with a colleague, Manuel, who didn’t speak English—and I didn’t speak Spanish—I learned a major lesson:
The art of communication is meeting people where they are.

I used PowerPoint to create process visuals that we could build together.
I slowed down my speech. I simplified my language.
And I made sure every meeting told a story people could follow.

I also led two operators at our prototype station—guiding hands-on work while still managing the project at a higher level.
That’s where I learned servant leadership and strategic thinking: how to meet expectations with the resources I had, not the resources I wished for.

And finally… came performance review.

This was the moment of truth.

To my surprise, my boss looked at me and said,
“You’ve found your gift.”

I received the highest performance score in our entire group.
And as the only woman on that team, that meant everything.
He gave me a bonus—and a handwritten card to recognize my growth.

That transformation didn’t happen because I followed a template.
It happened because I mastered the Power Skills that helped me:

• Regulate emotions
• Influence without authority
• Communicate clearly
• And think strategically under pressure

These are the same skills that allowed me to go beyond automotive and lead corporate initiatives in sustainability, product vitality, and modularization.

So if you’re ready to go from just managing projects…
To truly leading them...

Then your next step is clear.

🎯 Watch the Free Masterclass
You’ll get both audio and visuals as I guide you through the full roadmap to simplify your path to project success.
👉 https://www.developpowerskills.com/pl/2148679648