10 Things That Make a Good Project Manager Great
By Christopher Scordo PMP, ITIL
When it comes to being a leader, it takes a special set of skills to take charge
and manage a group of people. Leaders need to get the best out of their team, no
matter how grouchy, difficult or different they all are from each other. The same
concept applies to project management.
As project managers, there are characteristics which make good project managers
great. In fact, the Employment Status Indicator (ESI) of the United Kingdom managed
to compile a list of responses from different sources to establish a rough list
of attributes that make for a great project manager; and below are the top 10.
1. Great Project Managers Inspire a Shared Team Vision While it
may be common sense to most - for a project to work, everybody needs to have the
same vision for where exactly the project is going. Great project managers help
all team members feel like they have an equal stake in a project, and empower everyone
to share and experience the group's vision. Warren Bennis, the pioneer of Leadership
studies, said about this type of visionary leader: "They offer people opportunities
to create their own vision, to explore what the vision will mean to their jobs and
lives, and to envision their future as part of the vision for the organization."
While this might be heavy for your average corporate project, the foundation is
solid: when team members share a similar vision, they feel vested to deliver their
best.
2. Great Project Managers have Great Communication Skills As a
project manager, communicating with different types of stakeholders can be tricky
at times. When it comes to communicating with clients versus team members versus
corporate leadership, it can become downright difficult. Project managers need to
clearly communicate goals, performance, and expectations; and they need to manage
feedback coming at them from all directions. Being accessible, open, and direct
is critical for being a good communicator. Further, having the ability to persuade
team members to do certain tasks a bit differently, or work overtime when necessary,
is equally as important. Overall, a project manager’s overall effectiveness is often
realized by the ability to communicate effectively.
3. Great Project Managers have Integrity A project manager's actions
set the modus operandi for the team. Good leadership requires commitment and adherence
to ethical practices. Yes, projects must be profitable; and yes, there are many
ways to ensure project managers take their corporate interests into account while
serving the client. However, great project managers abide by ethical standards and
rewarding those team members who follow suit is part of the responsibility of the
job. Project management should never be motivated by self-interest; rather it is
the interest of the project’s success that matters most.
4. Great Project Managers are Enthusiastic Negative leaders can
be a real pitfall to the success of a project and the overall effectiveness of a
team. Great project managers have a bounce in their step and a can-do attitude that
sets the pace for their entire team. Having good energy (without being annoying)
is critical to setting a positive example and demeanor for the team. Project managers
who are positively committed to goals - even when things go wrong - will help inspire
others to not become negative when the project hits a delay or snag.
5. Great Project Managers show Empathy, Not Sympathy Empathy and
sympathy are two different things. Sympathy is usually projected, while empathy
means truly understanding how the other person feels, especially when it comes to
things which involves a life outside of work. Sometimes empathy needs to be shown
towards team members who are struggling to cope because of whatever outside influences
might be affecting their work. As such, a strong project manager will empathize
with the team member’s issues without showing remorse (where appropriate). Doing
so ensures team members can remain productive on the project, without exacerbating
any personal issues they may be going through.
6. Great Project Managers are viewed as Competent in the Subject Matter of the
Project Team members need to feel like their project manager has some
degree of expertise in the project’s subject matter. As such, project leaders should
have the ability to lead their team with technical expertise if the project so requires
it. This does not necessarily mean a project manager on a software development project
needs the ability to open Visual Studio and begin coding in C-Sharp; however it
does mean that the project manager understands the implications of different technical
challenges and opportunities. Leaders who are seen as competent by their peers have
the ability to inspire, enable and encourage.
7. Great Project Managers are Great at Delegating Tasks Trust is
a huge part of effective project management; and how much project managers trust
their team is often shown through how much responsibility they are willing to delegate.
Great project managers understand the degree of oversight each team member requires
for a given set of tasks. Assigning the right tasks to the right people and trusting
them to leverage the best of their abilities is a key characteristic of a great
project manager. Assigning the right amount of tasks so that team members are not
overwhelmed is equally important.
8. Great Project Managers Stay Cool Under Pressure In a perfect
world, every project would complete on time, on budget, and on scope. Sadly, we
don’t live in a perfect world. When the going gets tough, good project managers
get going on keeping things calm. Warrant Bennis (mentioned earlier) stated: "Out
of the uncertainty and chaos of change, leaders rise up and articulate a new image
of the future that pulls the project together." In short, the more the project managers
visibly “stress out”, the more the team and client will stress out as well. Great
project managers stay cool under pressure.
9. Great Project Managers Promote Team Building For a team to move
forward from a group of strangers to a well-oiled unit, a project manager must understand
process dynamics. He or she must go through each phase of team development - even
when conflict crops up - and get the team to put differences aside and focus on
the common goal. Let’s face it: most of the people on your team did not choose to
work together, and would probably not voluntarily spend time with each other outside
of work. Great project managers foster a sense of unity on the team, across personal
dynamics.
10. Great Project Managers Know How to Solve Problems Great project
managers solve problems by sharing the responsibility with the experts on their
team. Similar to item #6 above regarding competence, even a great project manager
will not have the solution to every issue that arises; it’s just not possible. However,
great project managers will understand how to set a path towards the solution. This
means leveraging the knowledge of those team members and stakeholders who have the
expert knowledge to assist; and setting a plan to solve tough problems by harnessing
that team experience.
Being a great project manager is not easy – it takes a very special person to navigate
the complex tapestry that goes with managing a project, and making a success of
it. Most of the above-mentioned characteristics tie in with each other; and if good
project manager displays one or two of these attributes then chances are they can
work towards being great.