The Professional Project Manager

Here are my rapid fire suggestions for some of the most common issues a project manager will face:

Poor planning and estimating – Start with a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and then involve those people who are actually going to do the work

Poor change control – document everything

Poor scope definition – only do what is fully defined

Poor communication – try and see through the others person eyes

Demanding customer – listen better, document everything

Stalled career – invest in training or experience for yourself

Surprises keep slowing down the project – take time to do a risk register

Lack of clarity about who does what – get everyone to contribute to and agree on a RACI chart

No time for project closure – include it in the project scope of works and allocate time and cost to it

Poor team morale – karaoke evening 😊

I often get asked by junior or novice project managers for any tips I can give them as they begin their careers in project management. I don’t always have time to think things through on the spot so I have taken the time to note my top 8 tips. I would love to hear what tips you would also give.

1. The first job you take may be the one that takes you to the job you want. I always see people entering the profession complain when they see job advertisements asking for a minimum of 3-5 years experience. There is a reason for this. You need to get some experience under your belt. You may have just come out of university with a project management degree or got an entry level certification but this doesn’t translate well to actual on the job in the real-world experience. Go and get that experience by taking a job as a project administrator. Then see point number 4 for quicker way to get the job you really want.
2. Always be honest. There may be times where you are pressured to bend the truth a little. Don’t do this. This may mean standing up to senior practitioners or demanding clients. If you are honest you will never need to remember what you said previously. Also, your personal and professional reputation depends on honesty. If you find yourself working for or with people who expect a little dishonesty you may be better off elsewhere.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. This actually applies all through your career not just at the beginning. If you don’t know something, then ask someone who does. Mistakes, both small and large, happen because someone thought they would look stupid by asking a question. In fact, the opposite is true. We generally think that people who ask questions are smarter. So, go ahead and ask those questions.
4. The deep end is where the action happens. Don’t be afraid to put yourself forward for things that seem complex and out of your comfort zone. If you are as smart as you think you are you will rise to the challenge. If you don’t succeed, then take an optimistic view of it and realise that failure is a great teacher. Either way you will learn fast.
5. Keep gathering experience and qualifications. Don’t think that learning stops once you get your first job. You must always keep your knowledge up to date or you will get left behind in a fast-changing world. Keep up the professional development units, get that next credential, attend that conference (even better, present at the conference) and keep learning in order to get the most from your career.
6. Share your experiences. There will always be someone with less experience than you so don’t be afraid to mentor them. Don’t be afraid to share your experience with more senior people too. It may be the case that you have a unique viewpoint and experience that they don’t. Value yourself and your experience (just don’t over value it – see point 1).
7. Put in place good work habits. Good work habits are things like turning up on time to work and to meetings, acting professionally and respectfully at all times, being honest (see point 2) and expecting to get out of your career what you put in. Do these things on day one of your career and every day after and you will soon have them locked in place.
8. Start getting to know people. You can call it networking if you want but that word is probably better suited to describing how computers are linked together, not people. Introduce yourself to people and listen to what they have to say. If they ask about you then share a little about yourself. Follow up occasionally with an email or a coffee invitation. Over the years these relationships will be extremely valuable to you on a personal and professional level.

So that’s what I think are 8 important tips for novice or junior project managers. What did I miss?

I am constantly surprised by the large number of people acting as project managers who tell me that they have all the responsibility for the success of a project but little or no authority on the project.  

This means that they have the responsibility to deliver the project on time, on budget and to the required specifications but they do not have the authority to get the resources they want, manage the budget or to make decisions affecting critical parts of the project.  If you have more responsibility than authority then you are not a project manager. You are a project administrator, expeditor, facilitator, coordinator or more often than not, simply a scapegoat in waiting.

Would you accept the job of General Manager for Microsoft and then be told that you had no authority to hire and fire, to track and change budgets, to develop and market products and to influence the organisation strategically? Yet the Board of Directors will be measuring you against all these factors and if the company doesn’t do well you will be fired? No you wouldn’t, so why accept the same in project management – after all a project manager is the general manager of a project.

Allowing this situation is setting you up for stress, failure and an early exit from the profession of project management. If the level of responsibility you have is greater than the level of authority that you have then it’s like heading to the guillotine with no way to stop the blade from dropping – don’t do it!

I sense the frustration these people have and I can see the look of surprise and amazement when I tell them that a true project manager has equally high levels of authority and responsibility.

So how do you get equally high levels of responsibility and authority?

Start with your job description. If you have the title of project manager then you should have equally high levels of responsibility and authority. If you don’t, then downgrade your job title to reflect your actual position. Sure, the job title isn’t as good as you want but you will be happier. Make it clear that you will not accept full responsibility without full authority. Furthermore, you won’t accept unequal levels of responsibility and authority.

If you are going to be fully and solely responsible for delivering the project then you need the authority to get the resources you need when you need them, to control the project costs and budget, to oversee and manage changes to the project and to maintain and enhance client relationship to name just a few of the areas you must have authority in.

Only by having equally high levels of responsibility and authority can you truly be a project manager.