The Positive PM Attitude

Kenneth has 14 years of healthcare experience in government and private industry. Over eight years of experience managing healthcare IT projects, operations, contracts, and personnel. His work experience includes project management, contracts and procurements, data analysis, claims adjudication, business writing, and business process modeling. Kenneth was certified in 2006 as a Project Management Professional.

  Career Development   Communications Management  

The project manager is expected to lead the team, and this often goes beyond telling everyone what to do. It involves inspiring people and keeping their spirits raised when everything is not going well. What is the project manager supposed to do when they just feel like crawling under a rock and hiding from the needy stakeholders and the constantly complaining project team? The project manager’s personal attitude will have an impact on the team, but sometimes the project manager feels like they have to fake it in order to stay positive.

The project manager should be leading in more ways than just driving through the gantt chart. It is important for a project manager to be the driving force behind the enthusiasm and morale of the team as well. While this may be difficult on a day-to-day basis when issues and deadlines take up all the time, it is vital for the long-range success of the project team. Listed below are a few ideas for keeping a level head at the top of the project in order for the entire team to stay positive.

Focus on What You Can Do
Instead of focusing on problems or issues affecting the team, focus on the things that you and the team have control over. There might be issues or problems with part of the system and the team is waiting on decisions from a client or stakeholder. Instead of leaving the focus on the problem, make sure the team is …

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