You may be asking “So just where did this idea of a ‘Project Catalyst’ come from?” It is a title and position I was first inspired to envision by a man named Kevin Carroll.

Several years ago, I was participating in a course called “Do What You Love” and one component of the curriculum included interviews with successful dreamers with whom the course host, Beth Nicholls, was personally connected.  Each interview highlighted a single perspective and story of doing what one loves in life.  Kevin Carroll was one of those interviews.  He told us the story of his life and career: how he loved sports but wasn’t talented enough as a player to play professionally, how he began coaching, and how that eventually led him to an opportunity with Nike to name his own title and job description within their company.

The title he chose was “Katalyst” (the ‘K’ presumably for ‘Kevin’), and he described his work as an inter-departmental position that worked with teams and people to connect them with the resources they needed to make their work succeed.  The moment that I heard that description, it stuck with me because it seemed like an absolutely perfect (though unexpected) description for what I do best.  And in fact, that idea of a catalyst has had a real impact in how I define the kind of work I most enjoy, because a catalyst may not be the only – or even the most important – instigator of results, but a catalyst does make a significant contribution by accelerating and strengthening the results in a valuable way, specific to it’s own unique properties.

Thus, from those beginnings, my personal definition for a generalist and project catalyst has evolved into a set of qualifications that I believe every organization and project can benefit from…

What is a Project Catalyst?

• Someone with multi-disciplinary ability: a high level of versatile skills, experience, and competence.
• Someone with cross-disciplinary insight: who makes connections between concepts and resources which propel projects to new levels of excellence.
• Someone who learns constantly, efficiently, and expertly.
• Someone who is adaptable to many different roles within a project.
• Someone focused on facilitation through leadership and collaboration.

The clearer this role becomes in my own mind, the more I find myself promoting a place for it in all sorts of companies, businesses, and organizations.  I may become an evangelist of sorts, working to inspire and create more opportunities for this kind of role.  So please do take a moment to share your stories if any of you readers have a person or position in your organization who/which embodies such qualities.