Palo Alto Networks

Senior Project Manager

Project Success Academy℠

Course Instructor

Velvet Vision

Founder

Raytheon Technologies

IT Project Manager

Fulcrum Technology Solutions

IT Project Coordinator

University of Houston

Program Manager

Project Manager | Helping Women Land Tech PM Roles | your PM bff

In 2024, I noticed something: most mid-career project managers weren’t underqualified. They were under-positioned. They had the skills, experience, and drive, but weren’t landing six-figure project management roles because hiring managers couldn’t see their value.

That realization led me to build the Velvet Vision framework. It helps project professionals position themselves as the obvious hire before they ever apply.

This isn’t resume tweaking or chasing certifications. It’s about clarity, strategy, and execution. My clients stop blending in, start leading with confidence, and step into roles that pay them what they’re worth.

Who I Work Best With:
I work with project managers in the U.S. and Canada who:
• Have at least 3 years of project management experience
• Are ready to step into $100K+ roles
• Want to be seen as leaders, not task managers
• Value clarity, execution, and accountability

This program is not for people who are brand new to project management, unwilling to take ownership of their growth, or looking for a quick fix.

Results so far:
• Clients have collectively secured $313K in salary increases with an average uplift of $44K per person
• On average, clients land offers in 3.3 months (fastest in 68 days)
• ROI consistently exceeds 800%, with some clients covering their investment in the first paycheck

If you’re a project manager in the U.S. or Canada ready to earn more, lead more, and finally get seen, you don’t need luck or endless hustle. You need positioning.

No fluff. No guessing. Just strategy that gets results.

👉 Apply to work with me: https://calendly.com/d/cm7j-vb9-kvr

Yonelly G.

I walked into the interview knowing I didn’t meet half the requirements.

And I could feel the room had already met candidates who "looked better" on paper.

For a moment, I wondered if I was wasting everyone’s time 
(including my own)

So I redirected the conversation.

Instead of defending my gaps, I told them how I lead when things get messy.

And that’s when the interviewer leaned in.

She wanted someone who could steady the work when the plan stopped matching reality.

It became really obvious when I stepped into the role.

The biggest problems were alignment issues and broken communication loops.

Most people lose confidence when they see a job spec they can’t fully match.

But at senior levels, you’re rarely hired for a checklist.

You’re hired for your ability to lead through uncertainty and make progress visible again.

--
If we haven’t met — I’m Yonelly Gutierrez.
I talk about the moments, setbacks, and wins that shaped my career, so you can grow with more confidence in yours.

Yonelly Gutierrez

Senior Program Manager | Helping Founders Stabilize Delivery Without Adding Headcount

Most leadership challenges happen with people who don’t report to you.

But few people are ever taught how to lead without authority.

“Can you get everyone aligned?” becomes the real test of leadership.

And many feel stuck because they’re relying on authority they don’t have.

I hear this concern from professionals across roles and seniority levels.

Here are 7 ways to lead without formal authority:

1. Lead with Clear Direction
 ↳ People follow clarity
 ↳ State the outcome before discussing tasks

2. Listen Longer Than You Speak
 ↳ Listening creates instant influence
 ↳ Ask: “What’s your view on this?” and give space

3. Remove Friction for the Team
 ↳ Support builds trust more than authority
 ↳ Spot blockers early and simplify the next step

4. Make Expectations Simple
 ↳ Confusion slows collaboration
 ↳ Keep instructions short and confirm understanding

5. Share Credit Generously
 ↳ Recognition motivates teams to work with you
 ↳ Highlight contributors in meetings and updates

6. Build Relationships Before You Need Them
 ↳ Influence grows through consistent touchpoints
 ↳ Check in without an agenda and offer help early

7. Stay Calm When Things Shift
 ↳ Composure reassures your team
 ↳ Take a breath, focus on solutions, and keep your tone steady

Leading without authority grows easiest when people trust your judgment and your consistency.

♻️ Repost to help your network
➕ Follow Yonelly Gutierrez for more leadership insights

7 Ways to Lead Without Authority

Strong PMs do not stay stuck because of skill.
They stay stuck because their system hides them.

Teams rely on delivery.
But they do not create visibility.

No shared framework.
No consistent feedback.
No common language for outcomes.

Strong PMs do the work.
Leaders never see the impact.

That is a system problem.
Not a talent problem.

When teams build visibility into how they work, everything changes.

Work becomes easier to read.
Communication becomes lighter.
Decisions become faster.

I build those systems.
If your PM team is strong but unseen, DM me.

The first call told me everything.
People talking over each other, frustration leaking through every answer, and a customer who’d clearly had enough.

I’ve walked into tough programs before, but this one felt heavy in a different way.

I stopped taking notes halfway through.
There was no point collecting “updates.”
The issues weren’t in the tasks.
They were in how people were working around each other.

After the call, I started checking in with folks one by one.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱? 
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬? 
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨?

It took about a day to see the pattern.
A bunch of small things pulling in different directions...

-Different definitions of done.
-Priorities that didn’t match.
-Risks everyone recognized but no one wanted to own because it would start another round of blame.

It was drift left alone too long.

I pulled the whole thing onto a single page.
Then I walked teams through it.
(to ensure we're talking about the same thing)

The customer communication needed the same reset.
The tension eased a bit once they knew what to expect from us.

The following weeks weren’t exciting.
Most of it was clearing out old decisions that never really got made.

You don’t notice progress at first.
Then suddenly the calls feel lighter.
People stop hedging.
You hear less contradiction and more “okay, that makes sense.”

Around day 41, the project finally stabilized.

Finally steady enough to move without bracing for the next hit.

Most “red” projects are teams trying to do good work inside a setup that no longer supports them.

Once you fix the setup, the work finds its rhythm.
People do too.

MONTEVISTA SOLUTIONS, INC.

Project management consultant and educator

Contracts include:

Developed software product documentation as a wiki as well as manual format. linux environment with open source tools to convert documentation in source repository to wiki pages.

Provided part-time consulting services for product development, project management, and marketing.

•	Evaluated company’s project management software product and recommended new features to satisfy project managers’ needs and gaps in the marketplace.
•	Redesigned product’s user interface and specified functional behavior.
•	Produced marketing materials and support documentation. Scripted and recorded how-to screencasts.
•	Developed processes and procedures to streamline development.

Project manager for client’s portion of a multi-vendor project for major telecommunication company that implemented a speech-enabled application for field technicians. Produced technical documentation for speech-enabled application development product.

•	Fostered cooperative working relationship with customer’s project management team and field technician representatives.
•	Coordinated integration of software component with other vendors’ contributions.
•	Evaluated and managed change requests and defect reports. Developed plans based on work estimates. Supervised acceptance process and negotiated issues.

Served as project manager and assistant to project engineer on power management system replacement project to coordinate and manage power generation along the Mid-Columbia River. Project included implementation of new power management software system, remodel of dispatcher data center, construction of backup data center, and upgrade of sensors and communication equipment in the field.

•	Assembled plan that incorporated all aspects of the project, including software implementation, construction, and field work.
•	Updated and revised plan base on status.
•	Assisted project engineer and team with software system evaluation and selection.

Project Manager and Technical Writer

27 published books and training courses including:
•	Your Project Management Coach, Wiley,2012
•	Project Management Fundamentals, Lynda.com, 2011
•	Successful Project Management, Microsoft Press, 2011 Society for Technical Communication Distinguished Award, 2011
•	Project 2013 Essential Training, Lynda.com
•	Microsoft Project 2013: The Missing Manual, O’Reilly (Apex Award of Excellence for the 2007 and 2010 editions)

•	QuickBooks: The Missing Manual, O’Reilly, Editions from 2005 through 2014 (Intuit's Official Guide to QuickBooks) Apex Award of Excellence, 2005, for QuickBooks: The Missing Manual
•	QuickBooks 2012 Essentials, Lynda.com, 2011
•	QuickBooks 2010 Essentials, Lynda.com, 2009
•	Quicken 2009: The Missing Manual, 2009

•	Better Investing Stock Selection Handbook, 2004, Society for Technical Communication Distinguished Award, 2004; Apex Grand Award, 2004

•	Personal finance articles for Interest.com and Bankrate.com
•	Better Investing Web Watch Column, August 2000 to Present

Published Author and Trainer

convergent group

Managed utility projects and programs. Managed technical support, technical documentation, and training resources.

consultant

McDonnell Douglas Telecommunications

Consultant

I like to think I was in the middle of the bell curve when I was at MIT -- but everyone there seemed so much smarter than me. Luckily, I’m keenly curious and love to learn how things work. Turns out my superpower is digesting complex topics and making them simple for others to understand.

My mission is to help people grow their careers by learning new skills and mastering software tools. Topics like project management, bookkeeping, and software tools can be quite dry, so I work to explain them clearly and with a dose of humor.

My workdays run the gamut from recording LinkedIn Learning courses to helping companies incorporate project management and Microsoft Project into their environments, to writing and speaking. No matter what the assignment, I maintain my high standards, solve problems with creativity, and – most of all – do what I say I’m going to do.

After a close call with becoming a workaholic, I have an eclectic collection of hobbies: improv and sketch comedy, travel, cycling, and aerial dance.

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Yonelly G.

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Yonelly G.'s LinkedIn Performance

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