What does it take to transcend from being a good project manager to a great and outstanding one? The answer isn’t simple.
Today’s professional world requires project managers to wear many hats, shifting between the everyday functions of managing a team to planning and defining the scope of every project. Because of this, the project management role has become critical to the success of any organization and the demand for project managers is on the rise globally.
But this raises the question: How do you become a great project manager? In this article, we’ll share the 5 golden tips that can help rev up your project management skills.
In project management, changes are imminent.
Project plans will change. The scope will increase. Deadlines will be missed. But communication must stay consistent. Failure to communicate effectively can deter progress and in some cases even lead to losses and cancellation of projects.
It is the project manager’s duty to facilitate communication among the team members at all times. Be it through conferencing, emails, or meetings, timely communication is essential for the success of any project.
Successful project managers utilize supplemental communication tools such as Trello to manage projects and streamline communication. As a project manager, you should identify the best communication tools/channels that will enhance collaboration and promote teamwork.
Also, good project managers know the importance of their personal image for efficient communication. The way people see you at job (even at remote one) impacts the way they interact with you. Thus, the next time you write an email to your employee, make sure your email signature is professional. Always check your emails for grammatical mistakes (you can use Grammarly free extension for this). You are a project manager, you are a person who is handling all of the things in order. And you should look like a person whom people would like to follow in a professional way.
To be a great project manager, soft skills are a must have. You need to be able to coax the best performance out of every team member.
Moreover, you may need to function as a coach and a leader—helping every team member understand and appreciate their roles. At times, you’ll have tough conversations with your team members and stakeholders. All that requires impeccable soft skills.
The best project managers are adept in both soft and technical skills. In a move to achieve specific skill balance, more and more project managers are opting to pursue relevant education, and the PMP certification is a top option. Luckily, there are many tested and proven PMP exam prep courses that can help you pass the PMP exam on your first try and become a project management professional.
At times, project managers tend to be extremely observant and “bossy” when a project is assigned to the team. This might result from irrational deadlines, time constraints, and a lack of trust in their teams’ integrity and capabilities.
This often leads to micromanagement where project managers constantly nag and monitor their employees, breathing down their shoulders throughout the project duration until the work is completed.
While this ensures work is completed on time, it’s counterproductive and negatively impacts employees’ morale.
Great project managers understand that every employee is human enough to figure out how much they can deliver and at what speed. To that end, they give their team members time and space to figure it out on their own and express their true capabilities.
The success of any project work depends greatly on team efforts.
Giving your team an opportunity to air their views, suggestions, and opinions make them appreciate their role and know they are a part of something big. Moreover, employees will love it more working for a project they have built and believe in.
If you considerably have a know-it-all attitude, the role of a project manager might not be the best for you, even if you have all the required project management skills.
The key lies in listening to your team’s opinions and feedback. If you can accommodate their views and discuss every project detail with them, you’ll have won their support. Failure to do that will only create boundaries that lead to a toxic work environment.
We hope these tips will help you become a better project manager. Practice makes perfect!
