10 Tips to Become a Highly-Effective Project Manager
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowProject Management is everywhere. Project management is global, in every industry, in every company, in every department. Behind every initiative you’ll find a project manager, whether by profession or chance, who must effectively lead. Here are 10 tips to help create a highly effective project manager.
1. Project Management is not software. Software does not manage projects – people do. Foundational project portfolio management processes should be created first and then mapped to features of project management software to automate and support excellent processes.
2. Balance art and science. While technical skills are crucial, an effective project manager must creatively lead, enable, inspire, collaborate, and communicate. Project managers must effectively communicate spontaneously, at every level and in any setting including 1:1, small groups, boardrooms, and publicly. Identify what inspires people. Know how to facilitate conflict resolution, master collaboration, obtain consensus, and build relationships.
3. Get opened, read, and responded to. Email is still the number one project management tool. Too much email in an inbox means only seconds to capture the reader’s attention and engage them.
Use short, captive, relevant, subject lines in a consistent format.
Lead with your point; then add supporting content.
Don’t write a letter. Use as few words and sentences as possible.
Use ordered bullet lists for emphasis.
If action is needed, assign it and request confirmation via reply.
Use more paragraphs than normal making reading easier and faster.
Balance communication cadence; don’t send too many emails, too often.
Include all stakeholders at all levels for truth and transparency.
Don’t write anything you don’t want forwarded publicly.
4. Get unambiguous commitments. When planning what needs to be done, use this mantra – “from A to B, by when?” Ask: Where are we? Where do we need to be? By when do we need to be there? Define what "done" is and the "acceptance criteria” of every task? Get a commitment for who is doing what? If anything changes, encourage the team to communicate immediately.
5. Assess and manage risk. Regardless of project size, methodology, or approach, a comprehensive risk assessment ceremony with the entire team is essential. Perform this up front to identify all potential risks, probability, impact, mitigation, contingency, and triggers. Continue this throughout the project. Continuously monitoring risks can prevent a project going from green to red overnight.
6. Fail fast and often. Failure will happen. Don’t fear it, prepare for it. It’s how you deal with failure that is key. Recognize it early, own it, communicate it, pivot quickly, and move forward with alternate plans.
7. Borrow and share. Get involved outside of work. Network and collaborate with other professionals to discover current trends and best practices. Join local groups, such as the Project Management Institute Central Indiana Chapter (www.pmicic.org). Leveraging the experience of other project management thought leaders provides perspective and exposure to diverse situations and organizations.
8. Sharpen your sword. Project management requires lifelong learning. Continuously study and practice various approaches, leadership techniques, and methodologies. Don’t stop at what you are currently practicing. Join online groups, blogs, newsletters, RSS feeds, research and submit articles, and more. Volunteering for local organizations is a great way to gain experience and practice new approaches in a safe environment.
9. Practice servant leadership. Discover what servant leadership truly is as opposed to a manager, leader, or project manager. The two terms have opposing definitions. How can one be a servant and a leader? Servant leaders put their teams far above themselves. They find balance between serving their team and organization. Focus more on improving individuals and enabling them to perform at their highest potential.
10. Diversify your skills. Stretch beyond traditional skills of a project manager. Stand out by creating a hybrid role for yourself by cross training in another practice area, such as business analysis. Diversifying your skill set provides you with knowledge that you can use in different situations, provides a greater appreciation of others’ work, and ultimately delivers more value.
Mike Fisher is a managing consultant and program manager at Allegient LLC.