What Does It Take To Be A Great Project Manager?

At first glance, it may seem like there is nothing very challenging about project management coaching. However, being a project manager requires a significant amount of knowledge, the right kind of people handling skills and a certain amount of wit.

If a project manager is unable to address an employee's needs or is at fault, the company will end up losing a valuable resource. While there are many good project managers out there, being a great project manager requires some effort. Here are some tips that can help:

How To Be a Great Project Manager

1. Steer Clear of Micromanagement

This is a very crucial aspect. A project manager has to be controlling and observant whenever their team is handling any project. Mismanaging time, irrational deadlines, or panicking about anything during the project can result in micromanagement. If you continuously monitor your employees and how they are working, it can impact their productivity and morale.

A great manager will always steer clear of micromanagement; it will only demotivate the employees. It puts them in a position where they do not feel that they can do anything unless they are monitored.

2. Reevaluate Priorities Periodically

When you are handling any project, there would be various stages to it. The dependencies are are always listed and mapped out at the outset; however, priorities can change along the way. You must revisit your priorities and reevaluate them periodically to alter your work deliveries as required. Only a great manager would be able to find shortcomings, fix them to deliver their projects on time.

3. Time Management is Crucial

Time management has to be in place for any project to stay on track. Maintaining the perfect balance in ensuring that employees are productive without being overburdened is crucial to the success of the project. Your resources would work very efficiently when you aren't pushing them around continually. With correct time management processes in place, you would be able to ensure that your employees are in line with their deliverables. To this end, you must layout targets and tasks for your employees every day and then allow them to complete those tasks.

4. Understand Psychology

A great manager will always understand their employees. They will have a good rapport with their team members, understand how much each of them can deliver, what their skill levels are and more. Being aware of your team members strengths and weaknesses and then delegating tasks,  is crucial if you want to keep your project on track.

5. Be a Good Communicator 

Communication is a key aspect of project management. Not only do you have to communicate with your team members to drive the project but also the stakeholders and keep them in the loop regularly. You need to be the bridge between clients, upper management, as well as your team members.

6. Problem Solver

Whenever you are handling a project assignment, there will be various issues or hurdles that crop up along the way. These issues can vary from misinterpreting requirements, emergencies or health issues which crop up during the time of delivery or midway through the project unexpectedly. Being able to solve those and ensure that your project stays on track is what makes you a great project manager.

In short, a project manager is one who can handle every aspect of a project, bring out the best in their team, and maintain deliverables while being an excellent leader to their team members. This job is challenging, but rewarding and you can feel a great sense of achievement when you and your team finally complete a project successfully.