The Art of Project Management: The sentiments of a “true” PM.

Slight touch of history.

In the earlier stages of project management, being a project manager was known as an “Accidental Profession.” It was a team member who just knew to take the lead and bring the team to a successful project completion. However, as the profession evolved, it was understood that this was a standalone role. Project management is a methodology and science used to bring organization, process, unity, and profitability to an establishment. However, it seems like its role has been overlooked, underestimated, and unrecognized. To the fault of no one, it’s a perception that will change over time and can only be changed by a remarkable PM, corporate leadership and the individual project team(s).

The naysayers.

When you talk to some traditional advertising experts, they would say Project Management derived from traffic management when in fact they are two separate disciplines.* Moreover, “traffic” is a function that the entire team partakes in to complete a project. It is not a project managers’ job to “babysit” a stakeholder to move the task along to the next stakeholder.* Stakeholders, believe it or not, are responsible for completing their task and passing it along to the next stakeholder.* A project manager’s purpose is to be the gatekeeper of all project information, check and balance all tasks and milestones to keep the project afloat. Project Management is an art, one that takes a special type of person to perform exceptionally.

An artistic leader.

An artistically talented project manager knows the status of his or her project at any given point. They have the ability to mitigate risks as it occurs, solve challenges that come along the way, and ensure that the project progresses in its best quality within a set timeframe. This individual has superb multi-tasking skills, ability to reset when risk occur, motivate the team through project setbacks and be the most graceful person under pressure. Based on some of the qualities listed above, we need to give these project managers some major credit. This is no easy job, and it takes a special individual with a strong personality to take the team to a successful project completion. The art of project management is NOT for everyone. NOT everyone has what it takes to be the true leader of the team. A team leader can see the big picture from various perspectives and identify the key factors that take the team to the finish line. For example, they take notice of the team’s behavior that may cause project delay, identify faults in the process that may alter quality, and they mediate team confrontation, all while making sure the team works within a set scope, time, and budget.

To move in silence, speaks a thousand words.

As if that wasn’t enough for one person’s plate, a project manager also can move like a “silent crawler.” Silent Crawler, you ask? This is because the small yet most needed tasks are sometimes overlooked. When in fact, a PM puts the very pieces lost in a puzzle together. They set up meetings as needed, (not for the team’s pleasure) to ensure decisions are made to move the project forward, and to make certain every stakeholder leaves with action items and next steps. To some, it might seem to be a simple task however it’s not always easy bringing a team of various personalities and work ethics together to come to an agreement. PMs are silent crawlers by their ability to change the perception of the project. When team member(s) think the project is going down the wrong path, the PM is right there to reassure the team member(s) that a critical path was pre-planned (mediated) for this very situation and the team is on track towards strong project’s completion.

You may sometimes ask yourself when others are performing a task to keep this project moving, what is your PM doing in the interim? Your project manager is checking in with the team to ensure progression. They are managing the budget and making certain that the appropriate hours and resources are allocated accordingly. They are pressure testing their resources potential. (Are we where we need to be against the project’s budget?) They are forecasting for future projects. They are putting together change orders for projects that are out of scope and figuring new ways to improve processes. All round, they are streamlining “matters” that go unnoticed.

A job well done.

When the project reaches a successful project completion, the team glorifies over a job well done, thank specific team members for their contributions and move on to the next project. All the while, the project manager is secretly rejoicing over the fact that, over the past 93 days, they were able to bring Tom and Sara together to make “that” decision to move forward. Negotiate with Phil and Bob to stay a little later than usual that one Friday afternoon. And push Nicole to stand up to the client to protect the creativity and integrity of the team. That’s a project well done.

Cheers to your favorite, most loyal, passionate PM.

* Perspectives from an ad agency PM.