What Qualities Do the Best Project Managers Have?
From the Voices on Project Management Blog
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Date
By Dave Wakeman
I caught myself listening to the 2Bobs podcast recently and the episode about the qualities of the best project managers. David C. Baker shared a list with his co-host, Blair Enns:
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Command authority naturally
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Quick sifting abilities
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Re-evaluate project priorities frequently
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Listen to stakeholders…really listen
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Predictable communication cadences
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Domain expertise in project management
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Consensus-building skills
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Informal networks
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Didn’t just happen into project management
What do you think of the list? Let me know in the comments below. What do I think of the list? Let me share a few thoughts.
First, the ability to get people’s attention and command authority to lead is key in any leadership position.
This one rings true. For us, I’d also like to point out that being commanding doesn’t mean being loud or outgoing. It means having presence and having people believe you’ll get them where they are going.
Second, sifting abilities and evaluation skills go together.
I write about business acumen here regularly. David’s list items would fit the idea of business acumen because you need to be able to consume data quickly, organize it, and take action within the context of your environment.
Third, being an effective communicator has been at the heart of this column for years. It is also the No. 1 reason I would put down if you asked me why project managers fail—they don’t do a good job of communicating up and down the chain of their project.
To me, this goes to the idea of consensus building as well. If you aren’t a good communicator, you aren’t going to be able to build consensus because you are going to miss important points.
Fourth, informal networks. I love this one because I’ve spent a long time building them. I have my newsletters, podcasts and community, all with people from a diverse section of industries, countries and backgrounds. I like to tell myself that this is one of the keys to my success.
The key point that David and Blair were making is that the wider those informal networks, the broader your frame of reference for your experiences. Having a broader experience base is going to help you, no matter what experience you might have.
Finally, project management as a practice and an area of expertise. I have found that some of the best project managers I’ve ever met wouldn’t necessarily call themselves by that title, but they’d agree that they get things done.
But getting things done is a special skill—one that you don’t just happen into, and can’t really wing. You might develop it outside of the normal project management practices (I developed mine in marketing, nightclubs, and sports business), but the key idea is that you develop expertise in project management with the same attention to your craft that any other respected professional would (even if you don’t call yourself a project manager).
Overall, I like David’s list. As a challenge to myself, I’m going to make next month’s post about my own list of attributes of “the best project managers.”
I’ll also be curious to see what attributes you think the best project managers have. You can leave those in the comments section (I’ll even try and use your ideas in an upcoming piece).
Posted
by
David Wakeman
on: March 13, 2024 07:53 PM |
Permalink
Comments (15)
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Bob Patrino
Consultant/Project Leader| Tamazari
Newport, KY, United States
Here are my thoughts about several of these items:
Command authority naturally.
Most project leaders don't have direct formal lines of authority over their teams, so the concept of 'commanding' anything is misleading. A more accurate statement might be, ' Uses influence naturally" A leadership presence also inspires confidence in your team.
Quick sifting abilities
Not sure what we are sifting? Maybe information? Inputs? I like "quick SHIFTING abilities"....being 'agile' (able to move in any direction quickly, not the methodology)
Consensus-building skills
I agree with this in concept, but there is another skill that goes with consensus building. The ability to turn consensus into quick action. Unless our agreements turn into results, they don't mean very much.
Kwiyuh Michael Wepngong
Community Champion
Financial Management Specialist | US Peace Corps
Yaounde, Centre, Cameroon
Thanks for this insightful work
It is a list outside the qualities found in any project management writing that makes me believe this career needs some natural talent that can be learned too, but the base needs to be there.
I'm going to add business maturity or organization knwoledge
Janelle E. Taylor
CEO | Synergy Strategist | Collaborator | Project Manager | Contract Manager| JTOA Corporation
Washington, DC , United States
Resilience is a key characteristic of a great PM. They remain calm and composed under pressure, persevering through challenges and setbacks to keep the project moving forward towards successful completion.
Janelle E. Taylor
CEO | Synergy Strategist | Collaborator | Project Manager | Contract Manager| JTOA Corporation
Washington, DC , United States
Resilience is a key characteristic of a great PM. They remain calm and composed under pressure, persevering through challenges and setbacks to keep the project moving forward towards successful completion.
Leadership Abilities: Having management competence and authority is key but a great PM also inspires and motivates team members, fosters collaboration, and provides clear direction to achieve project objectives.
Janelle E. Taylor
CEO | Synergy Strategist | Collaborator | Project Manager | Contract Manager| JTOA Corporation
Washington, DC , United States
Resilience is a key characteristic of a great PM. They remain calm and composed under pressure, persevering through challenges and setbacks to keep the project moving forward towards successful completion.
Leadership Abilities: Having management competence and authority is key but a great PM also inspires and motivates team members, fosters collaboration, and provides clear direction to achieve project objectives.
Chris Yeager
Systems Analyst - Public Safety| City of Murfreesboro
While several of those qualities are key to project management, and leadership in general, the most important quality is often not mentioned. Humility is critical to good project management and leadership. Not timidity, false modesty, or self-deprecation, but true humility. This means an honest and accurate perspective of ourselves and an unassuming perspective toward others. This quality will shape all other qualities to their best iteration.
Insighful work.
I would like to add Leadership skills.
The author gives us a related clear guidance that a new project manager can refer to.But actually we will meet many unpredicated issues in the project management process.So in my opinion,a good risk assessment skill and strong leadership are more important.
Eduard Hernandez
Community Champion
Product Operations Program Manager
Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain
Number 9 is arguable. Several good PM professionals ended up there by chance, maybe without even realizing that they were managing projects. With time and experience, they turned into exceptional PMs.
Thanks for this insightful work
Doaa Sobhy
Freelance Project Manager| Senior Consultant
Dubai, Du, United Arab Emirates
Thanks for the great article,
Yes, consensus building should be with the team and stakeholders to ensure collaboration.
informal network is very important skill , and it opens the closed doors and removes impediments.
Such a relevant topic right now for all project managers. Thank you for shedding light on it.
wael ahmed
project manager| Red Sea Consultant
asyut, AST, Egypt
Thank you for your kind words
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