What Makes a Great Project Manager? Understanding What it takes to Achieve Success as a PM

The Quest for Perfection

Everyone knows that employee who is eager to understand the expectations of the next level in their career and will go above and beyond to prove they can fulfill those requirements, aiming for a sure promotion.

When we are young and in school, we learn that studying hard, gaining knowledge, and demonstrating our ability to execute it means rapid progression to the next level. Unfortunately, most careers aren't as straightforward, and the grading system is much more... subjective.

At the time of this article, I have been working in Project Management for about 14 years. For the first 10 years of my career, I had one goal: to be the best, or if possible, the perfect project manager. However, as you progress in a PM career, you'll eventually realize that the title does not exist.

You'll Never Make Everybody Happy

As frustrating as it might be for young Project Managers, there are no simple boxes to tick to earn your next promotion. You need a combination of different project experiences and problems to solve, enabling you to anticipate risk and gauge what a team needs to succeed. Let me share a simple lesson I learned early in my career:

I had just wrapped up a retrospective for a large project. One piece of feedback I received was that there were too many meetings for status updates from team members, which could have been collected asynchronously via chat or a ticketing system.

The following week, I began a project with the same team, being very intentional about meeting schedules. I limited them to the essential ones only and tried to communicate as much as possible via chat. I was proud of being receptive to feedback and implementing change.

However, less than a week into the project, a lead asked, "Couldn't you just schedule a call to review the status updates on these tickets?" I explained that I was minimizing meetings to give the team more time. They then complained to my manager, claiming I was wasting time on my project instead of "just getting everyone on a call." I was mortified. I thought I was helping the team based on the same team’s previous feedback, and now I was in trouble for doing just that.

You see, the job description for a project manager might include “managing team communication, scheduling meetings, keeping updated status,” etc. Would I have checked a box saying I could do that? Absolutely. Did my manager just receive feedback that I was failing at it? Also yes.

Later in your career, you'll learn to navigate the politics and nuances of managing a team, but you'll become acutely aware:

“It’s impossible to cater to every person’s communication preferences, tools, and general likes and dislikes. The larger the team and project, the more likely you are to have unhappy team members.”

You Can't Control Everything

Another challenging reality for PMs to accept is that it's not always possible to keep a project on track. In a meeting with over 20 PMs, our group manager asked, "Who has a project off track?" The call fell silent, as if admitting this would bring shame. I promptly raised my hand and admitted, "Me! My project is 70K over budget!" I was comfortable sharing this for the following reason:

“Even the best project managers can have projects go over budget and past the timeline.”

This doesn’t indicate a bad project manager. What defines a good project manager is how and when you identify these risks and what you do to mitigate them.

Estimating projects is tricky business. Teams often do their best with the information they have, but unexpected challenges can arise mid-project. For example, a task might take several days longer than expected. You can't shorten the task's duration, but what you CAN do is explore ways to mitigate this issue. When you hear a task isn't on track, your job as a PM isn't to magically speed up the work, but to consider questions like:

• Is there any scope that can be removed from the task?

• Can anyone else assist with the work? Would that be more beneficial or problematic?

• If it's not completed on time, how will it impact the timeline and budget?

• What internal escalations need to be triggered? Who needs to be aligned on how and when this information will be communicated to the client?

• Are there other parts of the project, or is there other scope that can be removed as a trade-off?

• Could similar tasks have been underestimated? What can you do to ensure the accuracy of other tasks before this issue recurs?

Traits of a great PM

As you can see, the perfect Project Manager doesn’t exist but great PMs do have similar qualities and focus on the same things. Here are some of the traits and key abilities you can look for from a great project manager.

1. Proactivity: Great project managers don't wait for issues to arise; they actively seek out potential problems and address them before they escalate. This means regularly reviewing project progress, being aware of team dynamics, and staying ahead of deadlines.

2. Ability to Anticipate Risk: Risk management is a crucial skill. A great PM can identify potential risks early on and develop contingency plans. This involves understanding the project's scope, the team's capabilities, and external factors that could impact the project.

3. Adaptability: Flexibility and the ability to pivot are key in project management. Projects rarely go exactly as planned, so a great PM must be able to adjust strategies, timelines, and resources as needed, while keeping the project on track.

4. Good Communication & Soft Skills: Effective communication is vital. This includes not just conveying information clearly but also listening to team members, stakeholders, and clients. Reading the room, understanding non-verbal cues, and fostering a collaborative environment are also important.

5. Leadership & Empathy: A great PM leads by example and inspires their team. They understand the strengths and weaknesses of their team members and can motivate them accordingly. Empathy helps in understanding the team's challenges and providing support where needed.

By focusing on these qualities, aspiring and seasoned project managers alike can enhance their effectiveness and contribute significantly to the success of their projects.