Category: Professional & Management

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What Does a Project Manager Do?

Project management is the process of delivering projects to a high standard on time and budget. But, it’s not as if every project goes to plan. Some go off-piste while others hit their mark and goals effortlessly. What’s the difference? Usually, the answer centres on the person in charge. An excellent project manager can work with tight time and money restraints and maintain their employees’ rates of productivity and output.

To learn more about how they do it and what makes a fantastic project manager, take a look at the key points underneath.

project management training

What Does A Project Manager Do?

Primarily, a PM oversees a project and ensures it doesn’t go off track in the process. However, that’s the simple version. The role of the project manager has changed in the last decade, often for the better, which means it has become more complicated. Whereas old PMs used to work with vague directives, the strategy is more in-depth today. Not only is a project manager informed of specific targets, but they are involved in the strategy meeting in lots of businesses.

As a result of the boom of project management in recent years, PMs have become crucial cogs in the wheel of the industry. And, as technology and the economy continues to change in the future, the role is bound to become more complicated and valuable.

Main Tasks And Responsibilities

Because every project is different, there is no one-size-fits-all-policy regarding a project manager’s responsibilities. That’s why the best project management courses teach a varied range of skills that will come in handy in several situations and scenarios. Of course, there are general tasks that occur throughout most projects.

  • Create and log a plan: While directives are less vague now than they used to be, projects aren’t fully fleshed out and handed out to a manager. Therefore, the PM has a lot of independence regarding delivering outcomes, which means they have to craft and log a plan. This includes planning what work needs to be done, when, and by whom, as well as understanding the non-negotiable requirements.
  • Create a timeline: One thing that is almost always included is a deadline; clients have strict time restraints and want results by a specific date. To ensure this deadline is met, the PM will plot out the tasks. By doing this, it enables them to see what needs completing and when and the possible risks.
  • Manage the risks: Spotting the risks isn’t enough – a project manager has to manage them effectively. A prime example is going over budget. This is very dangerous as it means either asking the client for more money or using the company’s to cover costs, the latter of which is unacceptable. The PM, then, must track every expenditure, from materials to labour, and make changes in real-time to stop charges from building up.
  • Bring a team together: Firstly, the PM builds a team that they believe has the best skill set for the project. But, as necessary is the task of motivating the employees so that they maintain a high standard and level of output. To do this, they need an understanding of how people work and what drives them to succeed.
Man Looking at White Project Papers on the Wall
project management courses uk

What Skills Does A Project Manager Need?

Working with a broad range of people to hit targets that are always changing means the project manager must have an electric range of skills. Here are the most essential.

Leadership

The team must follow the leader to ensure goals are achieved. Inspiring others means using a variety of tactics to get the best out of people. Fantastic man managers know when to shout and when to be sympathetic.

Scheduling

Scheduling is a core value of project management as things change at a rapid pace. The ability to deal with glitches and put them right involves crafting a thorough schedule from the beginning. That way, there is a foundation, a reference point, to rely on in a crisis.

Critical Thinking

As the leader, no one is going to make decisions on a manager’s behalf. Critical thinking allows a PM to weigh up the pros and cons come to an informed conclusion. The greatest can react in a matter of minutes.

Communication

Without the ability to explain their strategy, a project manager can’t rally the troops. No will understand their job and how to complete tasks effectively.

Project Managers

The most famous project manager at the moment is Sundar Pichai, the new CEO of Google. However, they come in all shapes and sizes. Check out this excellent post to find out more about project managers and their mentality, and to build your skills consider attending our Project Manager Training London. 

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Introduction to Management – 3 Skills For New Managers

New Managers need to learn and develop certain skills if they are to be successful when leading others and to ensure they help nurture improved productivity, efficiency and performance from their team.

Attending an Introduction to Management training course (part of our management training courses London) would be a useful method to up-skill new Managers and give them more confidence to do their job more effectively.

This article will explore three essential skills that are key for new Managers:

Introduction to Management
Introduction to Management
Delegation

New Managers sometimes feel like they need to do everything and struggle to delegate tasks. They might also feel that it will take longer to explain to someone else how to complete a task so it is quicker to do it themselves. This can sometimes be true but the art of delegation is an essential skill that all new Managers need to master.

Just like in sports Managers should try to get the right players in the right positions. When delegating a task try to learn the strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes of your team members and where possible allocate tasks to team members that match their strengths and preferences.

When delegating it is also key to give clear instructions and double check the other person understands what is expected of them. Therefore new Managers should ensure that they use good listening skills to check understanding.

How to give and receive feedback

The ability to create an open feedback culture in your team and be able to give and receive feedback in a clear and professional manner is of upmost importance to new Managers but also for Professionals of any level. As the saying goes “Feedback is a gift and not an attack!”

There are two main types of feedback – constructive (negative) and reinforcing (positive). Some Managers are too worried to give their staff feedback so they only do it once each year in their annual appraisal. Feedback should be constant. Some Managers also only give constructive or negative feedback as opposed to reinforcing (positive) feedback. This is definitely a great way to demotivate your staff!

Feedback should be timely – meaning that if a Manager notices an opportunity to give feedback to their team on performance it should preferably happen within 24 hours and clearly face-to-face communication is the best method. New Managers should also give a healthy balance of both constructive and reinforcing feedback.

To be a great Manager it is also important to be open to feedback not only from your Manager but also from the staff that work for you. Instead of seeing feedback as criticism you should be hungry to get it from others to help you improve your skills and become a better Manager. This requires a high level of Emotional Intelligence – to learn more about the wide field of EI and how it links to feedback take a look at our Emotional Intelligence training London.

Organisational Skills

Strong organisation skills are important for new Managers so they are able to manage their own time effectively but also to ensure that they spend enough face-to-face time with their team. It is very common for new Managers to feel overwhelmed due to having to both manage their own workload and find time to manage their subordinates.

Time Management techniques such as having clear goals, writing a regular things-to-do-list, reducing distractions and staying focused are useful for new Managers to optimise their time through strong organisational skills.

You might wish to attend a training course to improve your organisational skills. Many books on Management and Leadership say that in order to be a good Manager or Leader the first step is self-management – meaning having strong self-awareness and being able to manage your own time and emotions effectively.