So what is a Project Manager?

Put simply a Project Manager is the person responsible for bringing a project to a controlled conclusion.

This covers a multitude of sins as the project doesn’t have to meet all, or in fact any, of its goals. You can blow the budget, over-run the schedule, fail to meet the expected quality, but as long as it’s controlled whilst everything is going wrong it has been “project managed”.

Of course a Project Manager will strive to make sure few or none of the things that can go wrong do go wrong, but at the end of the day no project is ever perfect.

So what type of person makes a good Project Manager?

First and foremost a good communicator. Most of the important parts of the job involve the imparting and sharing of knowledge about what’s going on. That often means not only delivering good news but also coaxing the bad news out of your team members and then passing that along in a way others can appreciate and move on with.

The next most important trait is to be a problem solver. Bad news is a lot easier to deal with if it comes with a way to avoid or lessen the impact of the problem. As Mary Poppins says, “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”.

Now you may not know yourself how to solve the problem but as a Project Manager you should be able to identify where and how you can find a solution, and, if you’re lucky, who can give you that solution.

It’s also ideal of you know how to make lists. This basic organisational method is often overlooked as a core skill for a Project Manager but it lies at the heart of everything that controls a project, from the names and contact details of the team members, through to the tasks that have to be performed throughout the life of the project.

Oh it’ll be good to know how to use tools like Microsoft Project and to have formal training or even a qualification like PRINCE2 or PMP, but at the final reckoning they’re the icing on the cake; without the base ingredients there won’t even be a cake.

One last note: you probably already are a Project Manager. If you’re organise a house move, put together a birthday party you’ll have had to use these core skills, even if you ended up doing all of the work yourself too.

Welcome, fellow Project Manager

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