Smart project managers know that meeting and exceeding their goals and objectives is the key to their success.
With the right project management skills, they execute their tasks better and reach milestones well within time.
Timely delivery of projects helps to create trust and credibility among the clients. Not only that, they help organizations to get more business.
Project management skills are extremely important for professionals working in technology companies, especially for people who interact with the client and are responsible for project deliveries.
As businesses are getting competitive by the day, project managers will find it difficult to adapt if they don’t sharpen their skills in 2020.
Today we will discuss how you can increase your efficiency in managing projects if you are in a similar role as well.
1. Communication
Talk, send a message, signal, or respond. Communication is vital for progression, and as a project manager, you need to be able to communicate effectively.
Ensure that you respond on time and that you are available when the team needs you. Good communication skills will assist you in constructing the right message and ensuring that the intended message is successfully delivered to your team.
The better they understand the requirements, the faster they’ll deliver.
2. Time Management
Time is a limited resource, and you cannot afford to waste it. Once the time elapses, it’s gone, and as a project manager, you need to understand how to best use the time you have at hand to ensure that you finish all the necessary milestones on the list.
When allocating time to the tasks on your project, be realistic. Sit with the team and understand how much effort a task actually requires. Time estimates shouldn’t deviate by much.
Once you have the time estimates with you, the challenge is to stick to it. This can only be achieved when your team and you understand the significance of productivity.
3. Share Best Practices
A common rule of any skill is that if you cannot teach it to others, then you are not good enough to be called a subject matter expert of that skill. To improve your skills, share your experience with others.
Teaching doesn’t only help you to refresh what you know, but it also adds to your knowledge.
At the micro level, it creates your backup. You will be able to identify people who can manage the show in your absence. Just in case there’s an emergency, your colleague can carry on with the project and it won’t suffer.
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4. Review Previous Projects
Sometimes, it reaches a point when you find it hard to move forward with your project. This is the time when you need to make the right decisions.
Whether you are handling a small project or a comprehensive multi-staged assignment, make sure you evaluate all the options at hand. Speak with your seniors for advice.
Reviewing old projects that were successfully delivered can also help you gather ideas you need on your current project.
It’s also a wonderful idea to go through client’s feedback on the accomplished tasks. This will help you understand how you did it successfully last time around.
5. Create A Healthy Environment Within The Team
Work relationships are vital when leading a team. Treat each member with respect, listen to them, and address any issues they are facing at work. Your team members should feel comfortable in talking and sharing things with you.
Having a happy team on board makes life easier and will contribute to the success of your project.
6. Learn To Lead
Leadership is one of the fundamental skills today but the problem is that most professionals lack in this area. You cannot run a team if you cannot lead. Period!
A leader is a person who understands his team and its needs. He is willing to do things first up and set examples. He listens to them and takes their inputs seriously.
He is the first in line when something goes wrong. On the other hand, he shares appreciation and bouquets with the entire team, when the client is happy.
Doing this will ensure quality output from each of your staff. This is also a significant step in preparing yourself to lead strategic projects as you move forward in your career.
7. Use Project Templates & Tools
Templates are useful in understanding the project requirements and milestones clearly. Ensure all your team members use them.
Not only this helps in simplifying the project but also makes them accountable if something is missed.
Besides, there are a number of tools that are popular these days. Scoro, Basecamp, Podio and Jira are great project management tools that you can use to make things easier on your desk.
8. Set Expectations
It’s important to set expectations within the team. Tell your team members what is expected out of them.
But before that, it’s also important to be realistic with your demands. Don’t ask them to deliver what is generally not achievable or set timelines that are too stiff.
Make them understand how important it is to follow process and timelines. If these factors are adhered to, they are likely to deliver the project to the client’s anticipation.
9. Share The Responsibilities
It’s important that all tasks and responsibilities are shared within the team. In case of a missed timeline, the member responsible should answer rather than the entire team.
The whole project won’t take a hit if a function isn’t working correctly. It can be worked upon again and fixed in no time.
When tasks are shared, you know who to speak to in order to restore things.
Monday - Project Management Software
- 100% Customizable
- Collaborate Across Teams & Departments
- CRM Software Integration
- Used by 152,000 Companies
Summing Up
Like anything, project management is no cake walk. With businesses getting more demanding in 2020, it isn’t easy to survive if you don’t possess these skills.
As we discussed, these skills are important to ensure that you work on the project seamlessly without breaking the expectations of your client and business.
Following these will not only improve you as a project manager but you’re likely to achieve more onthe professional front.
Read more:
- Vital Project Management Skills and How to Build Them
- Top apps for project management
- Best project management tools
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Roberto Garvin.
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