Written by Natalie Berkiw-Scenna, PMP
Founding Lead, Project Management Life (PML)
July 17, 2025
Finding Your Ikigai
For many project managers, project management isn’t just a job — it’s a calling.
Maybe you stumbled into this profession or perhaps you sought this out as a career option intentionally. Either way, we each bring our own unique path and journey into project management.
Finding your life’s purpose and aligning your career with your passions and strengths is at the heart of the Japanese concept of ikigai—your “reason for being”.
Four Key Elements of Ikigai
Ikigai is located at the intersection of the following four key elements:
- Passion – What you love – The work that excites and motivates you each day.
- Vocation – What you’re good at – This is your strengths including your project management and interpersonal skills that help you succeed.
- Mission – What the world needs – This is how your work contributes to a greater good, and the impact on your teams, organization, and the world.
- Profession – What you can be paid for – Project management can be financially rewarding, especially as you gain experience over time and move into more senior-level project and program management roles.
When these four areas of Ikigai align, you know you’ve found a fulfilling and meaningful career path.
How to Find Your Ikigai
Reflect on Your Passions
What aspects of project management light up and excite you the most? Is it collaborating with project teams? Coordinating efforts to drive projects forward? Breaking down complex problems into step-by-step workplans?
Identify the work you love doing and where you find the most energy, fulfillment and joy.
Identify Your Strengths
What are your core strengths as a project manager? Your ability to lead, communicate, organize, or adapt can guide you toward job roles that naturally align with your strengths. Recognizing these can help you find a career that you love each day.
Define Your Impact
Think about how your work contributes to a larger purpose, either within your organization, your community, or beyond! Seeing the bigger picture brings greater meaning to your daily work and helps you sustain your ongoing personal motivation and commitment.
Ensure Financial Sustainability
We all know that financial sustainability matters. Passion alone isn’t enough. Consider your career path in project management and how you can grow professionally to provide greater financial security as time goes on. Pursue opportunities that support your long-term goals and sustainability.
Embrace Your Ikigai – Know “Your Reason for Being”
- Seek project management roles and industries that align with your personal passions and strengths.
- Invest in continuous learning opportunities.
- Advocate for projects that align with your values and interests.
- And always balance your career ambitions with your life goals and personal well-being.
Shared by Project Management Life (PML)
How to Find Your Ikigai and Understand Your Life’s Purpose, by PML Founding Lead, Natalie Berkiw-Scenna, PMP
Project Management Life (PML) is a growing online community of amazing project managers focused on celebrating the incredible work we do and supporting you to live your best life.
We share exclusive content around project management, career and personal branding, health and well-being, self-care, and so much more.
PML was founded on the idea that we can inspire each other with stories of successes and valuable lessons learned, empower each other with advice and resources to thrive both personally and professionally, and support each other to achieve a fulfilling work-life balance.
Sign up for our jam-packed PML Community Newsletter, join a live, virtual PML Event, read our PML Blog, and wear your project management pride with official PML Gear!
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Founding Lead, Project Management Life (PML)
Natalie Berkiw-Scenna, PMP is the founding lead behind Project Management Life (PML) – an inspiring online community of passionate project managers and dedicated volunteers. PML is committed to celebrating the profession of project management and actively sharing knowledge, wisdom, and practical insights on how project managers can thrive and live their best life.
With well over 20 exciting years of project management experience, Natalie Berkiw-Scenna brings her passion and guidance to support other project managers to grow their careers through mentorship, coaching and education.
She brings her wealth of knowledge and expertise from her PMP and Lean designations, and years of leading complex, strategic projects. Her book, Unleash Your Meeting Potential™, can be found in retailers around the world. She also launched this material as an online course after teaching this valuable content to several MBA programs and at various educational events and symposiums including IIL’s 2021 International Project Management Day.
Natalie has international project experience in both Canada and the United States, and has worked primarily in the healthcare and non-profit sectors. She currently provides her expertise to Beaumont Health in Michigan. In her spare time, she focuses on training and coaching others to build their confidence and credibility to take their careers to the next level.
You can connect with Natalie through the following:
Website: www.NatalieScenna.com/learn
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalieberkiwscenna/
Email: NatalieScenna@gmail.com
