Cultivating expertise and leadership
Melinda Makkos works as a project manager and has been with Aleido Hungary since 2019. She studied in London but returned to Hungary to become a technical writer and later on project manager.
I grew up in Budapest and even though I now live in a neighbouring town, the city will always have a special place in my heart with its beautiful architecture and distinctive character. I studied English Literature and Language Teaching at a London college, where I also got the chance to stay in a teaching position once I’d completed my studies.
By nature, I am very curious and fascinated by the wonders of nature and the human mind. One of my main goals in life is to experience and learn about these wonders as much as possible. How does technical writing fit into this? It does fit in very well, as technology is the product of the human mind and I get to learn about some of the most advanced technologies of our time every day. With many years of teaching and technical writing experience, getting involved in project management seemed like an obvious next step in my career both to my managers and me, as I had the right set of hard and soft skills for the role.
Utilising a vast array of skills
Managing a team of 11 people, it is my responsibility to support their professional development. Apart from mentoring and coaching, I also try to ensure that everyone is working on tasks that are motivating for them and provide plenty of learning opportunities. We discuss their personal development plans in our Contribution & Development Dialogues twice a year. In between these dialogues, we also have monthly check-ins where we can assess whether everything is going according to plan. Another part of my responsibilities is to be involved in developing and improving the tools and processes we use. In this role, I work closely together with other Project Managers in our assignment.
I have learnt that project management requires a vast array of skills. When it comes to decision-making, I need to know the ins-and-outs of our processes, our product, and our customers’ needs to ensure that the project runs smoothly. Strong interpersonal skills, such as active listening, empathy, and conflict resolution are also essential in this role. My main ambition is to contribute to creating a work environment in which everyone can thrive, both as individuals and as a part of a team.
"What I like most about my job is that even though I work with something as highly technical as telecom software, the focus is always on human interaction. There is interaction between our customers and my team, between our product and its end-users, and, of course, between my teammates and me."
Collaboration and mutual expectations
I consider teambuilding the most important part of my job. Respect, camaraderie, and solid relationships within a team create an environment where ideas and resources are shared freely. When the sense of judgement is eliminated, replaced with a sense of belonging, team members can use their strengths to work together towards a common goal, achieving peak performance.
Putting together a Team Working Agreement has proven to be a great way for us to foster a harmonious work environment. A team agreement is created collaboratively and is agreed upon by all team members. It describes how the team wants to work together by making social and professional standards explicit and by clarifying mutual expectations. If your team doesn’t have a working agreement yet, I highly recommend you creating one together.
Learning and development first
With my team, we develop product information for telecommunications software in an Agile environment. What I like most about my job is that even though I work with something as highly technical as telecom software, the focus is always on human interaction. There is interaction between our customers and my team, between our product and its end-users, and, of course, between my teammates and me.
Learning is a continuous process at Aleido. As telecommunications is an extremely complex subject matter, we deepen our understanding of it with each and every item we deliver. Apart from learning on the job, we also organise knowledge-sharing sessions frequently. As for soft skills, we can attend a wide variety of courses organised by the company, for example, Assertive Communication, Conflict Management, or Resilience.
How would I describe our learning culture? Learning and self-development is very much encouraged. We often say that there are no stupid questions. Anything that we are unsure of or would like to learn about is worth raising – there will always be someone who is happy to help and provide the answers.
FACTS
Name: Melinda Makkos
Title: Project Manager
Education: College
Worked at Aleido since: 2019
What kind of possibilitarian are you: Empowering
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