Project Managers

With the rapid advances currently universe do in information technology there has now become an increase privation for Project Managers. The scale and number of draw and quarter winds has increased thereby change magnitude the venture associated with these redacts. With this in mind the choosing of regard animal trainers with the required skills to ensure the flourishing completion of wanders has become critical and institutions father recognized that the choosing of the right single to lead a go through john deem a epochal bearing on the success of the organization.There are countless bewilder management certifications, methodologies and text books that give their own interpretation of what us con boldnessred a better(p) practice and every methodology dissolve bring think of if applied enamorly.Methodologies are better viewed as valuable frame effects or in standardized mannerlkits from which a skilled and experienced Project Manager can select the applica ble comp angiotensin-converting enzyments, probably different components for different juttings, and apply them where appropriate, not just for the interest of it or because it says so in the manual. So, if the methodologies and certifications whole make up a part of the profile of a in force(p) project motorbus, what the other attributes and traits do we consider to be close to important in a project manager?Adapt major powerAn often-used word, but project managers need to be able to fight to change. They need to be dynamic, flexible and adaptable. Of course, setting out a door-to-door plan, with clear dependencies, milestones and completion dates is a find out part of project cooking but if all that was required to be a successful project manager was to set out a plan at the outgrowth and then sit at the tiller and gently steer the project team through the plan, everybody would be doing it.When the inevitable happens and the risk becomes an issue, or the node changes t heir requirement, or a key engineer resigns, this is when intimately project managers real come into their own. The ability to react quickly, to have an answer before most people have even realized what the question is and to have a contingency plan, a Plan B and a Plan C sets dear(p) project managers apart.PragmatismThe Project Manager who constantly falls choke off on, or slightly might say hides behind, process is unlikely to thrive in the real world. Wed all like to deliver our projects to the letter of a recognized methodology, but if it was as simple as just obtaining a PRINCE2 or Agile certification and then carrying the manual near with you, good project managers wouldnt command the salaries they do.A successful project manager allow balance the essential process and rigor with the need to be practical(a) at beats and to bend the rules occasionally. Theres no room for mavericks when delivering large initiative projects, and wed recommend that doing things outside of process number one receives the endorsement of nighbody with appropriate authority, but when rigidly adhering to process means that you miss a node delivery deadline that you would otherwise have hit, possibly with financial or paperal implications, thats the era when an experienced and aware project manager allow propose the matter-of-fact approach.Logical Mind-setThe ability to look ahead and logically fit together the slashs of a labyrinthian implementation is of great value to a project manager. A bigger picture view and understanding of dependencies and why certain activities need to be sequential makes project planning a circulate easier and significantly increases the likelihood that a plan is accurate and effective.Some of the trump proficient and innovative minds, the types of individual that are key to delivering technology, are hopelessly indigent of organization and methodical thinking. The project manager has to bring the logical scene that pulls it al l together, and a strong project manager will have the assurance to challenge the thinking of the most brilliant engineer if he or she is failing to look beyond their own small subject field of the overall implementation.CommunicationNo surprises here. Most project managers would hear communication as one of the most important aspects of project management. Indeed, most project management methodologies turn over specific coverage to communication and the Comms Plan. How and to whom a project manager communicates is vitally important. All projects should set out at the outset how they will formally report progress, risk issues, exceptions and escalations. This is the formal part. In addition to this, a good project manager will make sure that key stakeholders eternally have just enough information but not too much and are never caught in a position where the first they know of an issue or problem is when the customer escalates it to them. Different stakeholders like different a pproaches and the project manager needs to quickly establish how best to communicate informally with stakeholders, be it email, phone, walking over to their desk, or a chat at the coffee machine. An important point made verbally is always best followed up in writing.RelationshipsGood relationships go a grand way when testing to achieve project success. The project manager who invests time into building relationships with key players will find themselves well positioned when the pressure is on and its necessary to ask more of the project team, or when relationships with clients become reach callable to delivery challenges.Ten minutes invested in providing counsel to a frustrated engineer, showing some empathy and letting him get a some gripes off his chest, can pay dividends when you need that same engineer to work late on a Friday night to get an installation finished. Its not just relationships with key contributors in the project team that are important.Forming a strong relat ionship with a delivery counterpart within the clients organization is also important. When youre both in front of the customers programme sponsor at the monthly steering board and the meeting isnt difference well due to challenges or delays on the project, youd rather be side by side and aligned with your client counterpart, who reports into that programme sponsor, than be the individual who gets hung out to try and made a scapegoat.Political AwarenessM some(prenominal) a talented project manager has fall down or been made the scapegoat for project failure because they didnt get to grips with the politics of either their own organization or that of the customer. A good understanding of when to speak, when to just keep your head down and listen, who to trust, who to be cautious of, who you must keep on the right side of and where the real situation and authority resides will all increase a project managers opportunity of success.Lets be completely honest, sometimes a project is just going to fail, regardless of who the project manager is. A project manager who can navigate the political landscape (as well as having a lot of the other traits we list here) will emerge from a challenged project with their reputation intact, possibly even enhanced.A project manager who neglects this area runs the risk of macrocosm made the fall-guy and going down with the sinking ship. Some of this only comes with experience, and there are very few project and programme managers who would honestly tell you that they hadnt been burnt by organizational politics at some stage in their career.AuthoritativeAnother area that sometimes only comes with experience, but being authoritative, or at least giving the impression of being composure and in control, even when you havent got all of the answers, will inspire calm and confidence in stakeholders and project team members. nonhing erodes customer confidence or encourages an angry client to go for the jugular like a project manager who mutters his way through an update or shows uncertainty and irresolution when answering a difficult question.Inclination to question and challengeThe project manager who takes everyone and everything at face value runs the risk of having the wool pulled over their eyes. Of course, delegation is a key aspect of project management and whilst having overall accountability, the project manager cannot take responsibility for everything.But as a project manager, the ability to quickly identify the right questions to ask, who and when to challenge, and who and when you can trust is another key trait. As a Project Manager, you never want to be in a position where your senior stakeholder or customer is asking the questions that you should have asked yourself or is asking you questions that you cant answer because you havent asked the right questions of your team.Delegate but keep controlThere is a place, on small, simple, projects for the player manager to use sporting parlance, the ind ividual who does some basic project management as well as being responsible for actually carrying out some of the actions. Similarly, its sometimes valuable when a project finds itself in all hands-on deck mode if the project manager can roll up his sleeve and start move under desks to trace cables, deploy handsets or drive a piece of kit from one site to another.However, typically a project manager cant afford to be in the detail of configuring equipment, taking part in the physical installations or touching kit. A project manager incapable of staying out of the weeds will eventually fall foul of this because they will neglect the true project management responsibilities and tasks that they should be carrying out. A project manager needs to establish the governance and rules with project team members in terms of what they need to be made aware of and what they are adroit to delegate and generate in the hands of the project resource who owns the action.ExperienceUnfortunately fo r any new project managers on the block, the reality is that the big jobs normally go to project managers who have been around the block a few times. Not what you want to hear when youre trying to break into project management but, arguably more so than in a lot of other disciplines, the best project managers have normally been doing it for a while.An installation technician can leave the training lab knowing all they need to know slightly how to physically rack and stack kit and connect it to the network. An engineer can attend a training course on how to configure a switch or router. Individuals with the appropriate training can be presently effective in these types or roles, even if they have little or no real-world experience.Clearly there are enough project managers around to demonstrate that a lack of experience isnt an absolute barrier to meekness but if were talking about the best project managers, those who are entrusted with the complex projects and the high-profile cli ents, experience plays a major part. With experience, all of the other traits on this list are likely to be developed and enhanced to a high level.When a challenge arises, the experienced project manager who has seen the same or similar situations before is more likely to have learned the lessons and gained first-hand intimacy of what will work and what wont work. Sadly, for those looking to enter project management and go straight to the top of the pile, you cant teach experience.