7 Ways You Can Improve as a Project Manager
What Can Possibly Go Wrong?
In the last seven months, I’ve been working on an IT development project for one of the biggest plastics manufacturers here in the Philippines. It’s my first big experience of the corporate world, and over time, I learned that project management is no joke at all.
No, seriously.
It’s how we make the big visions inside our heads into something actually real. Although you can say that all of us do project management on a daily basis, actually putting methodologies and practices together is harrowing and rewarding at the same time.
Now here’s what I learned, and what you CAN maybe do:
1. Solve the Right Problem
Ever had a product pitch or business idea that you thought was genius, until you’ve discovered that nobody actually benefits from the follow-through?
Right off the bat, let me tell you that’s not good project management.
I’m gonna tell you to NOT make solutions until you’ve successfully determined the business pain points in relation to your client’s strategic goals. More than that, I’d also like to tell you to NOT lock in a solution without actually doing the numbers.
The question that we should be asking: “What’s gonna get you and your project to become the way you envisioned it efficiently and effectively?”
2. Apply Murphy’s Law when Planning
Now that you’ve got the people, the resources, the time, and the scope of your project down, how sure are we that nothing will go wrong?
Unless you have have perfect luck, anything that can go wrong, WILL go wrong (at some point in time). And even though we don’t like slighting anyone with that sort of negative thinking, project management actually works — no, thrives — in that mindset. Here’s a quote to think about:
What can possibly go wrong? (Timmy, Fairly Oddparents)
With this question, you’ll be able to find out what life and your clients can actually throw at you, and after it, you’ll be better prepared to deal with them. Now, don’t just start cooking up the wildest what-ifs, find out what’s the most likely going to happen, how you know it’s happening, and what you’re gonna do if it hits you and catches you off-guard.
3. Make the Right Way, the Easy Way
In executing your project, the question then becomes, “how will I create the workflow of the end product/service so that the people who will interact with it will be delighted?” Instead of just working to determine business goals like before, in this sense, you really have to step into the shoes of the users or the consumer.
Get to know what their day is like. Get to know the problems that they experience. What are their concerns with the sort of lifestyles they live? In regards to how you structure your final product or service, how does your final product or service enrich the lives of your target market or business function?
By knowing this, you get to learn how they’ll probably be like when they interact with your product, and therefore develop it better. This saves you time and effort, while also increasing your efficiency and effectiveness. To get there you just need one thing: EMPATHY.
Tip: Refresh your knowledge about User Experience and Marketing. I promise you its worth it.
4. Manage the Perceptions or Manage the Facts
With a solid plan and risk management, the question then is “how do you ensure your project is doing a great job?” Well, one good sign is that you’ve managed to keep in schedule, budget, and scope, but beyond it, project success boils down to to two things: (1) meeting your client’s perceived value in your project, and (2) showing your project’s success through facts and numbers.
To be successful in any sort of project, you really have to control the expectations of your clients , the facts, or both. By reaching and managing your client’s expectations for the project, you guarantee imminent success and happiness on the client’s part. A similar effect can be achieved with numbers. The only difference? Numbers don’t lie, assuming it comes from a trustworthy source.
Achieving both, however, is the dream.
5. Make NO EXCUSES
No matter what happens, own up to your mistakes, no matter what they are. As a project manager, you lead the team effort for your company and colleagues, and you are therefore responsible for whatever your team does. You are the vision. You know the mission. You are ultimately accountable for all the mistakes you encounter in your project. Now what is left is to just own up to your mistakes, learn from them, and bounce back from your slump.
6. Treat Your Teammates as Equals
One of the worst mistakes that you can probably ever make when it comes to managing your projects is to treat your team like a group. Unlike a group, a team works together to get to a common goal. You work together, never alone. Yes, you may be the project manager or the boss, but nothing beats, empowers, and motivates your team like treating them like your equals.
And by doing this, you facilitate their growth no matter what field they specialize in. Do not be afraid to talk to them about their dreams, their problems, and their overall daily lives. By finding out what motivates them, their ticks, and their best practices, you can find out how to work with them in the best manner possible.
7. Know Your VALUE
In any sort of venture, it is always to important to know the VALUE of what you do. Don’t forget to come back to the goals you set during planning, and compare them to what actually happened. Did you really manage to reach the vision that you set for your project? What good were you able to provide to the client and your customers? Knowing this, how much are you actually worth?
Let’s be honest. Evaluating our own work and selves can be a pain in the ass. But if you think about it, each opinion holds a grain of truth. Part of your job is to ensure that you and your team take in criticism objectively so that you can keep on moving forward.
Our work lies in making sure that we keep improving businesses and systems, keep improving people, keep improving ourselves.
The Main Guiding Principle
Now here’s the main question and context I have whenever I enter a big venture: “How can I begin to serve and give value to the people and organizations I believe in and work for?”
With a focus like this, along with proper workflow construction, risk management, and work ethic, success is bound to be in the horizon, no matter what the nature of your project is, be it an application, an event, or whatever your mighty mind can think of!
Never stop asking questions. Keep learning about people and systems. The greatness of a project manager therefore is not only limited to how he can keep his team’s effort on schedule, in budget, and on scope. It’s in his capability to understand, to EMPATHIZE, that he begins to balance and satisfy the demands of every stakeholder he meets.
A great project manager becomes the keystone that holds great ideas and people together for visionary change.
