The duties of an average project manager (PM) are always in flux. While you have to know how to identify your team’s pain points and delegate tasks, you also need to know how to pitch in when going gets tough.
7 Actionable Tips for Project Managers
Project management is the art of turning raw resources and manpower into worthwhile products, services, and content for your clients. It is deceptively easy to fall prey to mismanagement if you don’t pay close attention to how your team is handling the workflow you’ve assigned to them. Let’s discuss some practical, actionable tips for PMs looking for ways NOT to fail their projects.
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Outline your End-Product
Knowing what your final product is supposed to look like will make guiding your team toward that goal easier. Leading a project without a clear idea of what it is you’re supposed to develop won’t end well. While this can be a great way to exercise and build your team’s cohesion, it is a bad way to start working on a project. Consult your investors, managers, and any other stakeholders on the end product and communicate that goal to your team. Everyone should be on the same page with your deliverables so that the final product’s quality doesn’t suffer.
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Break Down your Project into Milestones
Managing multi-year projects can be very stressful if you don’t see the goal in immediate sight. That is why breaking down large projects into more manageable milestones is a better idea. You can create milestones for your team to pursue monthly to give them a sense of progress and forward momentum. This will keep everyone motivated in knowing that their work is paying off and leading someplace great.
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Don’t Be a Micro-Manager
Your project will only be as successful if the people you lead are happy with your management. Whether you’re leading a team of senior developers or junior interns, it’s important to show some autonomy. Don’t be a micro-manager and let your team members have some freedom in how they approach their tasks. As long as everyone stays within their lane (job description), there is no need for you to intervene. Keep your intervention limited to team meetings and only pitch in when you’re explicitly asked to. This will earn your team’s trust and loyalty.
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Provide your Team with the Right Toolset
Being a project manager means that you’ll also need to manage which tools and services your team uses to collaborate. Luckily, there are plenty of amazing project management platforms out there to choose from. You can choose one of the following tools based on your team’s scale and the project you’re working on:
- Trello
- Asana
- Monday
- Slack
- Zoho Projects
Consult your team members on whether or not they’ve used some of these tools before to make the onboarding process easier. Centralize your workflow and teamwork on one of these tools to keep things focused and on track instead of relying on instant messaging apps or email.
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Adopt Different PM Styles Based on Project Needs
Depending on the project you’re working on, you’ll have to adjust your approach to how you manage your team and workflow. Some projects will be more technical than others, have shorter deadlines, or have stricter budgets. Your judgment as a PM will help you determine which of the following leadership styles to assume at any given moment:
- Scrum
- Kanban
- Agile
- Waterfall
- Lean
Again, it’s best to take your team’s thoughts and feedback into consideration on this. Experienced team members will have worked under PMs who’ve used some of these leadership styles. Find the best one suited to your current project, team, and workload and you’ll have no problems achieving your goals.
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Look for Online Courses on PM to Expand your Skillset
There is always something more you can do for your skillset and expertise as a project manager. There are countless ways for you to expand your knowledge on how to manage your team and lead others to success. Check these platforms out whenever you have some time to spare:
- LinkedIn Learning
- Udemy
- Coursera
- Alison
These platforms can help you acquire Project Management Professional (PMP) certification later on. Make sure to constantly learn about project management so that you can provide your team and clients with additional value.
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Share in your Project’s Success – Don’t Take All the Credit
The best way to become a project manager your team will gladly work with again is to share in their success. Whenever your team succeeds at delivering great products or content, you should tell your managers and clients about them. Their success isn’t your success and vice versa. Projects are team efforts, and everyone involved in one has a stake in its final form. Don’t take away their thunder and don’t blame them for failures. Try to be objective and professional whenever you work with others and they’ll happily work with you again in the future.
To Summarize
As a PM, the proverbial buck stops with you. You alone are in charge of making sure that the project you’re assigned gets done on time and within budget norms. The best way to do that is to avoid making beginner mistakes and provide your team with actionable, objective jobs to take care of.
Whether you’re a seasoned project manager or a junior PM, these tips will surely improve your next project. Use them as a reference at any point during project development, or when you feel like you need some insight into what could be wrong with your current planning methods.