Being Project Manager

As a project manager, you will be the central hub around which your project team is formed. Much of your success will depend on your ability to make the project something others want to be involved in or, at the very least, do not want to oppose.

Owning the project

Whether you have been delegated the role of project manager, or you sold an idea upward to someone capable of sponsoring it, you are likely to have demonstrated personal and managerial competence and commitment to the change under consideration.

“Competence” and “commitment” are the sorts of solid but colorless words often found in management books; however, the last thing a project manager can afford to be is colorless. Indeed, the very best project managers are a paradoxical combination of “larger than life”—self-confident, decisive, creative, and engaging—and self-effacing—down-to-earth, hands-on, and eager to learn from other members of their team and promote their contributions.

Selling the idea

To be fully convincing as a project manager, you must first be convinced of the value of the initiative under consideration yourself. If you do not believe the results are attainable, or are lukewarm about their value, you are unlikely to make the sacrifices or identify the creative solutions required when the going gets tough—as it almost invariably will at some point. Furthermore, you must be able to communicate your enthusiasm to others and have the confidence to stand up to opposition both inside and outside the project team. Conversely, you must be a good listener—able to sift through the opinions of others and take on their ideas whenever they improve the quality of outcome or the likelihood of success.

Am I ready to manage this project?

• Do I have a clear idea of who the end users are in my project and what the world looks like through their eyes?

• Do I understand what is required of this project and why?

• Do I care about the outcome enough to make personal sacrifices to achieve it?

• Am I confident I can deliver it given the constraints of cost and time?

• Am I prepared to take risks and back my own judgment where necessary?

Taking on responsibility

To be an effective project manager, you must have a balance of task- and people-related skills. While your ultimate goal is to deliver a result, success comes from building diverse individuals into a strong team and motivating them to produce quality results within the requisite timeframes. Often you will achieve this through personal determination, creativity, and powers of persuasion. At a deeper level, you also need the moral courage and integrity to treat every member of the team the same, irrespective of their seniority and personality. You also need excellent time management and personal organization, so that you can think beyond immediate distractions or crises to provide proactive leadership to other members of the team. While it is important to have at least some understanding of the technical aspects of the project, your management role is to provide the decision-making, planning, and leadership skills outlined in this book.