In many ways, the project manager sets the standard for the rest of the team, and the best leaders are those who others feel able to trust since they consistently behave in a responsible way.
A pessimistic and negative manager is guaranteed to put any team on a sharp downward spiral!
A.A. Milnes character ‘Eeyore’ is a notable example of the kind of personality you would never want to see in a project manager. A small pinch of Tigger’s contagious enthusiasm and another of Pooh’s optimism should form the core of any strong project manager’s personality!
Positive people naturally draw others toward them and this positivity and enthusiasm soon rubs off.
In an ideal world, with efficient planning at the start and a clearly defined goal for everyone to work towards, all projects would work out just the way they were intended to – with zero hitches along the way. As we all know, life is simply not that straightforward and problems must, therefore, be embraced and overcome to move forward on a project without unnecessary delays.
The onus is not necessarily onthe project leader to come up with the right solution to any given problem (although this would be a bonus!) as there may well be another team member with skills that are better suited to dealing with any said issue that may arise. Ultimately, the project manager should be resourceful and creative when faced with problems and focus on identifying the fastest and most effective way to resolve them.
Project managers must be able to cope well with stress and pressure when dealing with the numerous issues and obstacles they are likely to be faced with within their role. When problems occur, budgets are not met, or team members are struggling, a leader must remain cool and calm always and ideally hide any signs of pressure they may be feeling from the rest of the team.
Practically-minded people take on each challenge as it comes with a logical, methodical approach.
Those with a tendency to fold under pressure do not make strong project managers and should steer well clear of this type of role.
A vital part of the project manager’s role is the delegation of tasks to the right individuals. This involves getting to know a team of people to the point where you fully recognize their personal strengths and abilities and understand what they do best. With this knowledge at your fingertips, you can delegate the right tasks to the right individuals and achieve the best results possible.
This information obviously takes time to pick up, but many managers have a knack for it. Being able to hand over a task to someone and walk away knowing that you can trust them to carry it out to the best of their ability frees up a project leaders time to focus on the other areas requiring their attention.
A project manager who can demonstrate to a team that they trust them and have confidence in their abilities will get the best out of their team. People feel undervalued and patronized when they have someone continually checking up on their work as this implies they are not good enough.
Perhaps this quality is a little too obvious to list, but what the heck!
Any project manager worth their salt must be good at what they do and demonstrate this ability to their team. If you are leading a team of individuals who perceive you as not knowing your bottom from your elbow, all manner of chaos will ensue.
Having the theoretical side of project management under your hat is one thing but if you know your stuff and are blessed with all (or most) of the qualities on this list, however, you ought to do well!
