What Kind Of Project Manager Are You? How To Be A Great One.

Recently, I looked through some project management courses and found out they are quite expensive. As always, if you fail to nail your papers, all you get is “Thanks for trying, you can do better next time”.

Literally, this consoling statement simply means “You suck at this! You’re not getting your 256k back, and if you want to try again, you have to pay another 256k”. This is such a bummer!

There are actually great project managers who didn’t go through any of these courses, it’s more like a talent for them.

On the other hand, the most professional project managers go through PMP and PRINCE2. These courses, though tedious, they are the best as far as project management is concerned.

Project managers are agents of change: they personalize project goals and use their skills and expertise to prompt a sense of shared purpose within the project team.

What gives a project manager joy is the organized adrenaline of new challenges and the responsibility of driving positive business results among individuals.

Every project manager is built to work well under pressure, comfortable with change and complications in dynamic environments.

Also, they cultivate specific people skills needed to build trust and communication among all stakeholders of a project. This includes sponsors, project team members, those making use of project results and those handling the resources needed.

Let’s not forget, every project manager has a broad and flexible toolkit of proficiency and resolving complex. They structure their approach to the context and restraint of each project, knowing that one size can’t fit all the variety of projects.

So as a project manager, if you lack all of these attributes and don’t have plans to take project management courses, you probably should change your mind about being a project manager.

Although not comprehensive as the high-end courses, (this is free) here are few tips on how to be a great project manager:

Great Project Managers Are Concentrated On Building Team Skills

This is encompassing, daily communication with your team members helps keep misunderstandings away. As the project goes on, keeping your team informed at every step of the project is essential to project management success.

Also, great project managers understand that every individual has a unique strength. You should know how to utilize each team member’s skills the right way and at the right time.

Expect Project Setback

Unfortunately, even the most “perfectly planned plans” end up getting complicated. Not every complication can be avoided and sometimes salvaging the situation can prove abortive. This is where crisis management skills come into play, they help you deal with the unexpected. As a project manager, you need to be pragmatic and pliable and make quick decisions every single time.

Keys To A Successful Project Outcome – Collaboration, Negotiation & Problem-Solving Skills

The most admirable project managers have a solid bargaining background, they are really good at negotiating as long as the goal is achieved. This involves effective preparation as well as making all stakeholders stay informed of every project progress.

Every project comes with specific challenges, and a project manager should always generate alternatives to solving specific problems. Along with your team, you should be able to collaborate and evaluate to select the best option without prolonged deliberations. Permutation, in this case, is key.

Don’t Overwork Your Brain – We All Have Limitations

 “I am a boss and I can always deliver before deadlines” but if you take in so many projects and your delivery keeps jerking backwards, you’re on your way to no-job land. The truth is, accumulated projects are doomed to fail from the beginning because of unrealistic expectations. Once you understand the strength of your team members, you would know how much projects you can handle at a time.

I mentioned earlier that setbacks are sometimes inevitable. How do you handle this when you already have more than enough at hand? Hence, do not set impossible deadlines or assign so much work to your colleagues. It keeps you on a safer side.

Always Stay On Track – Be Focused On Details

What are your project requirements? What are your organization’s objectives? You need to know what these are and make sure they’re in sync. As a project manager, all you have to do is create a kick-ass grand strategy for the project at hand. Then, you make sure it leads to the overall success of your organization.

Asides all of these, be very accessible, listen to everyone’s opinion (probably reject them later if they can’t work). Also, question their ideas to make them produce something better, make them trust you, you don’t know everything so don’t kill your team with overconfidence.

All these tips are necessary but you shouldn’t forget to lead by example and celebrate every successful project too.