How to become a great Project Manager?

Below is the list of skills required for you to be the best manager in your career:

People Management Skills: Project Management can be defined as a set of activities performed in all phases including initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, closing to ensure the project is completed on time and under budget. Most of the activities defined in Project Management are performed by people. Manager’s most important, and most difficult job is managing people. They need to hire, train, lead, motivate, and inspire them. Project success is all about people success. Projects don’t fail. People do. Hence, the first prerequisite is to have a solid understanding of people management if managers want to successfully manage a project.

Communication Skills: Managers need to request information; discuss problems; give instructions; interact with stakeholders both internal and external customers to complete their project. Also, they have to communicate on all levels in order to inform about the project status when managing a project. Hence communication skill is very important for a project manager. Furthermore, as the work place become more global, it is important for them to have good presentation skills are part of communication skills.

Project Management Skills: Generally, project managers typically involve from inception to all the way to closing phase. Hence, basic project management skills needed for them to get things done quickly. Also it would help them to make the most efficient use of resources and make them more organized and details.

Problem Solving & Decision making skills: Both skills are closely linked. Managers make many decisions to make the project successful. Most of the time, they gather more information about problems & issues; analyze; list out possible solution; pick up the best solution; implement and verify the solution to manage projects. Hence I would consider this skill also a required skill for them to successfully manage a project.

Listening skills: This is another area a manager needs to concentrate. This skill helps him to understand the teams’ problems which are very important to manage people. If managers improve their listening skills, they can greatly improve their people management skills.

Self-confidence: This skill inspires confidence in others. In order to work at highest potential, managers need to have a mindset that they are capable enough and have the ability to manage even stressful situation. Staying in comfort zone; fearing failures and to avoid to the extra mile to achieve better things would make bring their confidence level down.

Team player: In an organization (or in a team), everybody is a piece of puzzle that should be connected to get the whole picture. It was proven that two minds are better than one. Hence this skill also helps a manager to become a best manager in their career.

Professionalism: Corporate scandals & unethical activates are rising in today organizations. Even PMI has updated PMBOK latest version to make ethics as one of the important factor in PMP and CAPM exams. Managers should abide by the code of ethics designed by their organization, avoid unprofessional activities such as stealing company secrets, discrimination, harassment, bribery etc, and guide their team to do the same to improve their company’s reputation. 

To summarize, project managers are unique and multi skilled, in that they should be able to function in almost any environment. Some managers are very successful in their career, and others feel that they are not able to manage things well. Sometime, even a manager who has a MBA from a world class University fails to manage a project. The skills highlighted here can help you to become a best manager in your career. These skills can be learnable through training, education, experience and practice. Hence prepare a plan now. If you put out a two year plan today to improve your skills, you will be marked as a best manager by your employer in 2012.