Good project managers are really rare and hard to find. A successful project manager is not necessarily a great project manager as it requires a lot more than the ability to move a milestone.
Some tips to be a great Project Manager
- Always ask good questions and try to be a good listener : Great project managers give maximum weightage to communication and the opinions of the parties involved. They care about their stakeholders’ feedback and at times are self-aware of how their communication is received by them.
- Use the information wisely, do not use it as a weapon : Be honest and transparent while communicating, try to be clear and concise. In case the information is confidential then share it with the relevant stakeholders only and share the real information without fear. Don’t share partial information as it may lead to confusion and you might lose the trust of your stakeholders.
- Be a Problem Solver : In an ideal world, even with efficient planning at the start and a clearly defined goal, problems and issues crops up along the way. One must be prepared to accept and manage or solve them in order to move forward on a project without unnecessary delays. It is not necessary that the project manager always comes up with the right solution to any given problem, but one should always be ready with a plan B, in case the problem requires any expertise which their company lack or which is crossing their current budget. Ultimately, the project manager should be resourceful and creative when faced with problems and focus on identifying the fastest and most effective way to resolve them.
- Clearly set the project priorities and keep evaluating them frequently : Proper time management and planning your work in an organized manner are the primary keys to success. Continue analyzing your priorities and keep changing them basis the current scenarios and project’s progress.
- Try to meet all the deadlines or update your stakeholders well in advance : In case there is a delay in reaching any milestone of the project, inform all the relevant stakeholders well in advance, because any last minute surprise would not be taken up in the right spirit even in case of strong justification against it.
- Possess domain expertise : At times it is not possible for the project manager to be a subject matter expert of the project, but it is recommended that one should spend extra time to go through all the documents and try to gain as much information as one can to have a better grip of the project.
- Control your emotions and try to remain cool and calm : Project managers must be able to control their emotions both positive and negative when dealing with the issues and obstacles. In case of occurrence of major risk like missing internal deadline or budget overruns, or the most of resources not performing well, a leader must remain cool and controlled in public. Else it might demotivate the entire team, he should ideally hide all the signs of tension or pressure. Look for the right time, wait for the project to get complete and then call for a team meeting for lesson learned session.
A great leader is a very good coach. He like to mentor to stay true to foundation behaviors that supports focus, teamwork, discipline, innovation, and positive energy. By matching leadership style to office culture and balancing the Project management approach cautiously between relationship management and production management one can definitely become a great leader.
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