Bad Project Manager, Good Project Manager. Which One are You?
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Make a survey and ask 100 respondents, all experienced project managers, to grade themselves as professionals on a scale from 1 to 10. You’ll probably not find a single one who’d give himself a score lower than 9. Okay, maybe 8, but not 7, not 6, and definitely, not an average. Let’s face it, we all love to say only good things about ourselves, especially when it comes to work. Yet statistics remains a powerful tool, and considering the number of projects that failed, it proves that bad project managers also exist. Maybe even in your company, your team… wait a minute, could this be you, a bad manager? Take a deep breath, we’re about to find that out. How to distinguish good project manager from a bad one? The thing is, all project managers are expected to manage and carry full responsibility for the planning, control and monitoring activities of specific project, within defined time frame and budget. Yet, some do it better than others. In order to be effective at what you do, you should learn the following truths:
1. Good Project Manager Sets Goals Wisely and Reaches Them Effectively
Good project manager knows how to define the objectives correctly. The whole process and outcome depend on your skills! A good project manager always takes into account the input that company’s stakeholders make. It prevents many problems that may arise during the project implementation, so make sure that every individual involved in it understands what the goals and objectives are and how he/she can contribute to reach those.
2. Good Project Manager Always Plots the Risks against Profitability
Every project carries a certain amount of risk with it. This is something unavoidable; therefore, learn to deal with it, or find another job. There is no universal method to manage the risks, as each case is unique. You can develop your own mechanisms and modify them based on specific situation. Talk to your project team to get as much input as possible, try to predict what impact it would have on your company, develop a strategy and bring it to life, while continuously monitoring the process. That’s the way to minimize the risks and all the possible negative effects associated with it.
