How to Be a Project Management Expert

HOW TO BE A PROJECT

MANAGEMENT EXPERT

Table of Contents

3

Introduction

5

Differentiate a “Great” project manager from “Good” project manager

9

Skills of a great project manager

16 Conclusion

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INTRODUCTION

‘’Operation keeps the lights on, Strategy provides a light at

the end of the tunnel, but Project Management is like a

train engine that moves the Organization forward.”

- Jay Gumz

It’s difficult to define what makes a “good” project manager. Every organization defines the role and its responsibilities differently.

Nevertheless, project managers are an intrinsic part of all industries; just what an anchor is to a ship.

They say good project managers are hard enough to find, and great project managers are a rare breed. Not surprisingly, great project management requires a lot more than just the ability to complete tasks in a timely manner.

As a PM, you might work on small or large projects with responsibilities that range from budget and timeline management only to every aspect of the project – strategy, planning, execution, P&L management, team management, customer management and the list goes on.

Project managers must exhibit a broad range of talents to bring teams together and help organizations achieve goals. They must be great articulators, collaborators and the know it all guy at the same time.

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Also, you don’t always need to be backed by years of experience in order to deliver successfully every time. You can drastically improve chances of your project being a success by being mindful of the key actions and continuous upskilling as required.

Project Managers are the master glue that hold the entire project and all its elements together. Believe it or not, it is the PM who is the first person to take a hit for anything gone bad and the last one to be rewarded when all ends well.

“Project managers are the most creative pros in the world; we have to figure out everything that could go wrong, before it does.”

Fredrick Heren

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DIFFERENTIATE A “BEST” PROJECT MANAGER

FROM “GOOD” PROJECT MANAGER

Image Curtesy: tomtunguz.com

Having established the importance of being a project manager and the varied skills they must possess, let us explore what is a true hallmark of a Project Management Pro. All project managers have their own methodologies to manage projects to bring out productive outcomes.

Truly outstanding project managers exhibit collaborative leadership skills like negotiation, evaluation, agility and strategy every day. They know how to keep the project moving and team morale high; they know where they want to go, are aligned with their customer’s strategic vision, and are committed to moving their team forward collaboratively to a successful outcome.

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Here is how you can differentiate between Good and Great Project Managers:

#1 Good project managers take care of scheduling, production and communication. Great project managers are deeply involved in building team skills and tactical execution of strategic vision.

"Collaboration is the best way to work. It's only way to work, really. Everyone's there because they have a set of skills to offer across the board."

- Antony Starr

The basic difference between a group and team is the goal or the aim they aspire for. Group is one where individuals work together to achieve their self-goals. Each member in a group aims for self-growth.

While each individual in a team works to achieve a single goal. A team member not only aims his self-growth but also works to improve skills of his team.

Groups are managed by your average project manager but teams are managed by great project managers. A great project manager has the ability to get the team channel their efforts on a shared goal with absolute transparency.

Also, Great PMs are capable of maintaining their calm in the midst of a storm and act collaboratively and decisively, knowing that nothing is constant but change.

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These days, you also want to be the kind of agile project manager who’s flexible enough for fast iterations while making sure incremental progress is measured and achieved.

#2

Good project managers stay on track. Great project managers

know that the track will have some unexpected curves and can create real-time solutions.

Savvy project managers know that a project’s top priority is to help customers and products succeed and that the definition of such success might look different over time. Great PMs know that the administrative details of their projects have a higher purpose—and they take the time to look up from their plans and schedulers to contemplate the long-range, strategic view.

#3

Good project managers worry

about how they’ll get everything done. Great project managers know that collaboration, negotiation and problem solving are the keys to a successful outcome.

Good project manager just plan things right. But great project manager plans for the right purpose. A project manager can be marked as a success when it actually brings out a wholesome customer satisfaction. It is not important to build in time but it is also important to build right.

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The best PMs have solid bargaining skills, and know how to effectively collaborate and negotiate to achieve their organization’s goals.

They’re also expert practitioners in the four phases of negotiation: ü Preparation (gathering docs, data and facts to present the case) ü Maintain Transparency (sharing information with all relevant and involved parties) ü Bring Options to the table (focusing on common interests and objectives) ü Create win-win (making sure all stakeholders are truly on board)

#4

Good project managers fret over outcomes. The best project

managers are highly skilled at problem solving, and know the steps to take to achieve a solution.

Great PMs are specific about the exact nature of project challenges.

They know how to assess fork-in-the-road situations and ask the right questions, such as: Is a new vendor needed or will the current one work if he’s managed differently? Will the customer be happier if we narrow the scope of this project or change delivery dates? Exceptional project managers generate alternatives; they evaluate and collaborate to select the best options without drama or second guessing.

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SKILLS OF A GREAT PROJECT MANAGER

To move from good to great, it is important to be capable of adapting and adopting whatever is necessary – skills, customer demands, organizational goals and the business landscape.

Great project managers are normal project managers who have successfully overcome the flaws in their armour and are adept in managing change.

Here is a glimpse of what a project manager must possess and implement:

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#1 Know Your Team The most effective and successful project managers know the capabilities of their team members. This means that they can allocate the right work to the right people.

The success or failure of a project doesn’t fall on the shoulders of one person. A project leader’s effectiveness is strongly impacted by the contributions of others on the team. Highly effective project managers share credit for work well done and encourage all members to participate and contribute at their highest levels.

They know the cost of trying to be a jack of all trades and would rather leverage the skill and experience already available at hand.

#2 Respect and Motivate Stakeholders Great project managers don’t just go through the motions. They care about communication and the opinions of the parties involved. They are also sufficiently self-aware to know how their communication is received by those stakeholders.

A project manager’s ability to communicate with and influence a variety of stakeholders is paramount to project success. After all, you need to find ways to motivate workers over whom you have no direct influence yet who can make or break a project. Instilling confidence in the minds of stakeholders and sponsors is necessary, particularly if and when there is a need to approach them with changes in the scope of the project.

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#3 Manage the Schedule Project schedules shouldn’t be left to chance and the most successful project managers will make it a habit to regularly check their schedules for accuracy and update them.

There are lots of ways to track your project’s progress but the most important thing is that you do it! You must carve out time from your calendar to take stock of everything that is going around. You need to be able to look at all the project elements as an outsider to identify any cracks and slippage. And this should be a regular ritual without any misses.

This will help you to review where you are and where you need to be. And thereby decide on the necessary amendments, share them with the team and implement them.

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#4 Risk Management Knowing what to include in your risk register is one thing, but habitually reviewing it and acting on the risks raised is something different.

It’s not enough to use the beginning of your project to identify risks and then not think about them again. Risk management needs to be part of your project habits because without it you’ll find that risks turn into issues and create problems for you.

Most importantly, make sure all stakeholders are informed of all identified and perceived risks at all times. Any surprises here would significantly hamper your project may lead to erosion of the hard earned trust.

Make it a habit to review your risks with the team, close any that are no longer a threat and plan actions for those that you want to mitigate.

#5

Be a Strategic Business

Partner Project managers who can offer higher-level strategic leadership skills and provide significant advantages for organizations of all sizes. These days, there are far more factors, both internal and external, that can negatively impact projects of all types.

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Such factors include triple bottom line (economic, ecological and social outcomes), legal and regulatory restrictions, remote project issues and international and cultural factors, among others. These factors create additional complexities that a project manager must contend with.

This also means that as a PM you must be well versed with the company’s culture as well as the cultural aspects of the project surroundings (location, diverse team members etc.).

And if you don’t have a strong understanding of how your project fits within the overall company-wide strategic goals, you greatly hamper your chances of delivering effective outcomes.

#6 Subject Matter Expertize The best PMs are the ones who thoroughly know their project domain and the team inside out. Of course, not everyone is an absolute expert as soon as they start a project, but the best take the time to learn during the initiation and planning phases.

Many people say that often, the planning is more important than the plan. Schmidt said - "But this can only be effective if the project manager learns the ins and outs during the planning well enough that he can pivot and shift when the time comes�.

You must always invest time and efforts to build up as much knowledge possible of any project outside of your primary domain.

Being agile and nimble in adopting new skills and ability unlearn and learn will go a long way in easing out this transition.

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#7 Tech Savvy It’s not just that they have generic project management skills; they have a deep familiarity with one or multiple fields that gives them a natural authority and a solid strategic insight.

A project manager should also serve as an effective conduit between tech and non-tech team members, and is able to communicate effectively between these departments to work rapidly toward bringing the various components of a project to completion.

And given their role they are always surrounded by a tech influx. They shuffle between projects that are entirely different and need specific domain knowledge.

For e.g. working different project management jobs in the tech sector can help maintain pace with the rapidly changing technology landscape However, it's not always essential to work in tech to become a strong project manager.

Strong project managers must be interested in continuously learning, staying up to date with the latest software and other technologies that will keep their teams on the cutting edge.

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#8 Manage Project Costs It is highly likely that your project is going to incur costs, even if you don’t have full control over the purse strings yourself. Being able to manage the financial elements in your control has to be a habit because if you don’t approach it regularly and routinely you’ll find it difficult to manage and justify any cost over-runs.

Fantastic project managers stay on top of the expenses with filing systems that work for invoices, quotes and estimates. Get into the habit of using your budgeting software (even if that is just a spreadsheet).

You can’t manage your project costs until you have a plan of what you are going to spend.

Moreover, you should be capable of deciding when to spend and on what to spend and on what to spend rather than exhaust the available money pool. Be always on the lookout to minimize project expenses without cutting corners.

And always remember the common finance guideline – save for the rainy day!

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CONCLUSION We explored the few relevant attributes of being a project management pro. But in essence it is not just about project management. It is more about one’s attitude towards life, one’s approach in dealing the tasks at hand and the results that follow.

The fact of the matter is how result driven are we and how clear are we of the desired or expected results. We all know actions have consequences! And the art of striking the right balance between the consequences (desired outcomes) and required actions is what best describes a Project Management Expert!

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