5 Must Have Qualities For a Project Manager

You enter an organization as a trainee and gradually move on to leading a huge team of technical experts. As a trainee work will come from above; you will have to finish it on time and report to your ‘Chief’. You will have to send updates about your progress, report difficulties in the project and look up to your chief for a helping hand when you get entangled with your allotted tasks. Probably you are just one amidst a few others who are under the eagle eye of the Chief who is sitting up there asking you for status updates on bug fixing or going through performance statistics every now and then.  Feeling pressured, isn’t it?

But just imagine…what if you are that ‘One’ to whom a hundred others report their daily progress, call you for help, ask you one million questions and submit tasks which need a thousand rework!!! A BIG responsibility isn’t it? So how do handle that transformation from being a “one amongst hundred” to being the “one”! Initially, it could give you a tough time. However, once you get the catch of it things will fall into place and you find yourself in a better position to take challenges one-on-one!

Many of you might have acquaintances who occupy a top managerial post in top-notch companies. So you could just walk-the-talk to get an idea of how it feels to be a project manager and lead a huge team. You could get an insight of how things actually work in hierarchies and what does a project manager do to ensure things go on well.

For those of you who do not have such experienced contacts…we are here to help you out!

Just remember…there are success key qualities which will make you a successful project manager. Embed it in your mind or chant it like a mantra…these are all that you need to handle a team and take it to the pinnacle of ‘Victory’!

Have a vision and lead

First and foremost, you should be clear about what you want. Set long term and short term goals; imagine where you want to see your company in the next 5 years and make sure to do all that you can to reach there! Being a visionary is of no use unless you know how to lead your people in the right direction.

Develop interpersonal skills

Your strong communication and interpersonal skills will come to your help when you deal with stormy clients and depressed subordinates. Make sure you are good at communicating and equally good in understanding! Develop verbal, non-verbal, listening, responding, questioning, self-awareness and assertiveness to install dynamism into your personality which is your strongest bet when being a project manager.

Analyze risks

As a project manager learn to take risks but make sure you know the possible consequences and worst-case scenarios you will be encountered with. Once you develop the competence to look at a ‘risk’ from all frontiers taking one is no big deal! So weigh the pros and cons of risk-taking and analyze its magnitude before putting your feet into it!

Develop problem-solving skills

There is no single project which comes devoid of issues and problems. Learn how to deal with an issue that arises at a critical time. Think about what you can do without disappointing your client or hurting your subordinate. Once you get the catch of it server issues & design rejections will not give you headaches like before.

Learn to handle a team

If you are the ‘Chief’ then you should have people to lead. We prefer to dotingly call them ‘the team’! It’s a team you will have to head as a project manager. You will have to learn how to keep the team bonded at all times. Analyze its member, their strengths and motivate them. Look into their weaknesses and see what you can do to help them out! This way you develop a two-way bonded which will take you a long way. Listen to your people…this is all it takes to be a prosperous project manager!

We would like to end this write-up with a small thought….

Put yourself in other’s shoes and think…even when you are the ‘Chief’!