4 crucial project management skills every Consultant and Vendor should have
To a considerable degree, the successful and timely completion of a project requires effective project management. Frequently, we think of project management only when for large or complex assignments that require several times and a broad range of resources to be managed. However, even the most straightforward, one-man, project can go off the rails if poorly handled. More importantly, a poorly managed project that is fraught with delays and other challenges, is costly to you, the Consultant or Vendor, as it means that you end up spending more time and effort that you had initially budgeted.
Hence if you are project managing a team, or just a single-man operation, here are five crucial project management skills you ought to possess.
1. Great communication
As the project manager, you are leading the team (even if it is a team of one!). And typically, you cannot have effective leadership without great communication. Clarity and conciseness when communicating instructions, expectations and concerns and observations, both written and orally, to team members and the client is crucial. Miscommunication and misunderstandings can be costly, and also result in unwelcomed delays to remedy errors made.
2. Time Management
Efficient project managers are proficient in organising their time and in prioritising tasks. With regard to a team, the project manager is the one to keep all members on track: that everyone knows what they should be working on; that priority tasks are being actively handled; that internal and official timelines are being met; and that anticipated challenges are being proactively addressed. It thus means that they are continually monitoring how projects are progressing, and try to pre-empt situations that could derail the timelines established and agreed.
Additionally, and during the work plan development stage, project managers should aim to be fair and realistic when setting internal deadlines for completion of specific tasks by team members, as it can be demoralising if activities are woefully under-resources. Hence, the effort ought to be made to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to facilitate efficient and effective delivery of required outputs.
3. Leadership
While it might be obvious, the project manager must lead the project, and so must possess strong leadership skills. Although there might be team members that outrank the project manager in the organisation, to do the job effectively, the project manager must lead, which would include:
- forming and managing teams
- making decisions
- communicating with client and stakeholders
- delegating authority to others, as needed, to execute certain tasks.
It must be emphasised that, when a project experiences a major challenge, especially if it detrimental to the team and/or organisation, all fingers tend to point to the project manager. Hence while you might have to tread lightly when dealing with senior executives who are on a project team – which is your excellent communications skills will be needed – these members, and their responsibility to the team, still need to be managed.
4. Problem Solving
Finally, it is rare when a project does not have one unexpected challenge. Generally, and from the outset, there are issues that must be addressed. Frequently, many are minor, and just some tweaking of the project plan is needed, or a simple remedy can be applied. However, occasionally, there a major problem emerges that requires careful consideration and solutions to be weighed that try to minimise loss and other undesired outcomes.
To that end, project managers ought to be able to examine a problem logically and systematically; generate possible remedies; analyse the pros and cons of each; and offer a solution (or course of action) that should be implemented. Frequently, the options will need to be discussed with company management and with the client. Hence a clear and logical approach, with competent analysis ought to be demonstrated.
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