Good project managers aren’t just adept at assigning tasks and managing their teams. Good project managers are technical leaders. They don’t let you notice it, but they’re slowly honing your skills so that you perform better. They’re helping you along with what you don’t understand. Most importantly, they’re helping you become the best version of yourself. Here’s how.
Vision
Excellent project managers not only have the skills and the temperament needed to handle employees, but they also have a vision. That vision may not be to reach for the stars, but it has to be something worth reaching for. It can’t be to improve the quarterly reports. It needs to be something of actual value that transcends beyond the mundane. It’s that kind of project manager that stands above the rest.
This vision can include building a team that can take on new and more difficult projects. It can be to take on innovative projects that bring change into an industry. It can even be to take the company to the next level. It just has to be something that gets them out of bed in the morning besides monetary gain.
Technical Expertise
Project managers need a lot of technical expertise to do their job right. They’re handling so many people at once that they need to be on top of everything. This includes helping someone who’s struggling. Hence, they need to know how to do their job well and guide their team members accordingly. This is something that only comes through experience. It can’t be bought and paid for. It needs to be honed and polished.
Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is infectious. However, the kind of fake enthusiasm that corporate bosses harbor doesn’t translate well to employees. Hence, project managers that can get their employees excited about certain prospects are essential. Not just because this way employees work harder, but this way they work smarter.
Fairness and Integrity
Corporate greed and the profit motive has made the world even more unfair than it was. Project managers that harbor fairness and integrity as essential traits are hard to find these days. However, effective project managers realize the value of being fair to their employees.
Fair managers give their employees only what they can handle, as well as chances to prove themselves. They give them chances to grow and to climb through the ranks. They also allow their employees to defend themselves when something goes wrong. That not only cultivates loyalty but respect among employees. That way, the employees don’t just put in the effort for the money.
Effective Delegation
While it’s pretty clichéd to list this among good project management skills, it’s also the truth. Delegation is half the job of a project manager. Every person on their team has a certain skill set, a tendency, and a certain capacity. All else being equal, not everyone has the same abilities.
A project manager knows this and delegates accordingly. People that can handle increased workloads and those that can work under pressure are always front and center for project managers. However, those that are very specific in their skill set are always favored for the more specialized projects. A great project manager can pick these people out of their employees when they’re needed.
Problem Solving Skills
There are always unforeseen problems and hidden variables that influence a project. No matter how much one plans, there are bound to be things that you haven’t considered. This is the instant that tests a project manager. Here, all the skills of a project manager are tested including delegation, expertise, leadership, etc. How smoothly and quickly a project manager can navigate out of the problem truly shows their expertise.
Reactive Risk Management
Reactive risk management can be seen as more of an instinct rather than a skill. It can be honed, but those few that are born with it are automatically great project managers. Reactive risk management is responding to changing parameters and risks during various scenarios. Perhaps the funding for a project can recede or a staffing issue can occur. Murphy’s Law suggests that anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
The best project manager’s resume contains various examples of this trait. It shows how they’ve learned to adapt to various situations. It shows that they know how to be flexible enough to respond to whatever is thrown at them.
Leadership
As outlined above, the best project managers tend to be the best leaders. They recognize which of their employees work together well, and which employees can work best on what project. They also recognize which employees have the greatest growth potential and which ones have the greatest ambition.
All these qualities allow project managers to not only employ the best people under them but cultivate their abilities too. This ultimately results in them having the best teams and thus the ability to deal with any project that comes their way.
The Knack to Make Good Decisions
Good decision-makers are rare to find. That’s why a good project manager learns to weigh the pros and cons of a major decision before making one. While quick decision-making is needed in some situations, it’s a skill that’s honed over time. Effective project managers make it a habit of weighing the pros and cons of every decision.
This skill is not only necessary, but it is also invaluable in good project managers. Reacting to the ever-changing landscape of business is a skill that very few have. Look at Warren Buffet, or Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs. Effective project managers that know how to make the hard decisions often end up in positions of power.
Clear Communication
Clear Communication is often cited as one of the major reasons why some companies succeed and others don’t. Effective project managers establish clear lines of communication with their subordinates. That way, the chances of confusion are reduced substantially. This way, employees don’t step on each other’s toes and handle their duties as best they can.
Project managers also make it a point to communicate how employees need to improve and focus on their duties. If someone isn’t doing well or neglecting their work, they’re quick to point it out. Good project managers realize the importance of getting across messages. Not doing so only creates roadblocks.
These qualities can’t be bought, but they can be learned and honed. They make good project managers – what they are – leaders.
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