On Becoming an Elite Project Manager

It takes more than just experience and execution to bring in successful projects, writes PM planet guest columnist Ron Ponce of Fog City Consulting. “I deliver my projects on time and on budget yet I never get selected for the most important assignments.” This is a quote that is repeated on a daily basis across the country by project managers that are successful, skilled, and experienced yet never seem to be able to make it over the hump in the eyes of their managers. Why is that? What is it that they are lacking that the “elite” project manager possesses? The most successful project managers realize that in addition to delivering on time and on budget that they must successfully deliver on the people side of the project. The perception of team members, stakeholders, and management will ultimately determine how successful the project is viewed within an organization. The people side of a project or some call the “softer-side” of project management is an evolving concept. Each organization will differ on what “soft skills” are valued within it, but it is clear that there are certain traits that the “elite project managers possess and are valued across the majority of organizations.
These traits are:
Execution
Execution is the one trait that is most expected of each project manager. The team and
management see this as given as it is part of the job description of any project manager. That said it is still a critical trait because it is the foundation upon which the perception of success is built. In many cases, it is here where the project methodology and project management tool kit are displayed. It is important to know how to customize these quivers so that they meet the needs of your specific project. I am a firm believer that holding to the rigidity of a methodology or the uses of specifically formatted project tools without taking into consideration the specific project you are working on and the people you are working with will lead to potential failure right out of the gate. A critical component to execution is organization. Without strong organization of thought, information, planning, communication, mitigation, and so much more, a
project manager will have a higher probability of not meeting expectations. Key to organization, especially if it is not a natural trait, is to keep it simple. Prioritize the focus of your needs on a daily or even hourly basis depending on the project demands. Avoid becoming overwhelmed or being mired in analysis to the point that it prevents you from making decisions. The slowing or
bottlenecking of decisions will adversely impact you and your team’s ability to execute.
Communication
Communication has to be the most critical trait that a project manager possesses. Think of the number of people that are looking for information about the project such as key stakeholders, managers, team members, and internal and external constituents. Communication provides the
public opportunities for the project manger to display that they are a cut above their peers. Communication of project activities and status can take many forms and each must be mastered. The critical components for success boil down to the following:

Know your audience - You need to know who you are communicating to in order to make sure the content you are communicating will resonate and be valued by your audience. An executive will require different information than a member on the core team, and those types of differences must always be taken into account. Take the time at the start of the project to determine the communication preferences of your team. This is also known as creating a communication plan.

Determine the mode - Today we get bombarded by emails, IM, Twitter, and other means of communication. You can’t take the risk that your message will be lost when it comes to your project. It is critical to determine the best way to communicate your message with the team. Do not hide behind your email for all communications. Get your message out in your own words, and more importantly with your own spin and emotion. Email and any written form of communication will fail to convey your emotion or better yet influence the emotion your team member should have when digesting your information. The best format is to verbally communicate your thoughts. Pick up the phone, leave a message, video conference, or simply walk over to talk to someone when it is appropriate.

Be clear and concise - A project has many moving parts and each has a story to tell. It is important that you determine what needs to be communicated and to whom. When you do, it is then critical that you are to the point. Make sure you are concise on the information you are presenting as well as if you need any specific action to be taken by a member of your audience and by when. A best practice is to provide the meat of your message at the top, and then provide details after. You want to make sure that your content is not just received but understood.

Be honest and timely - We know that each project will have its issues and challenges. It is emperative that you not hide these items from your team or key stakeholders. You will lose total credibility if members find out about these issues from someone other than the project manager. You need to determine the criticality of the issue as well as the timeliness of getting the message out to the team. Not all issues are created equally and as such the urgency behind each will vary.

Leadership
Project managers interact with many different people at many different levels. The matrix nature of the role doesn’t lend itself to preordained leadership. The mantle of leadership is earned. Being able to have the vision to drive a project and team to a successful completion, the foresight and organization to head off problems that can jeopardize the project, taking accountability for all aspects of the project, and presenting the team in the best light or providing them opportunities to do it themselves are all examples of strong day to day leadership. It is critical to lead proactively by example and not lead passively. The project team and management want to see action and deeds not just words coming from a good report.
Experience

It is critical to be able to express the importance that your experience from past projects will provide value to this current team and stakeholders. That expression should be active
and visible. Your experience should initially manifest itself in your preparation. The more time that you are able to invest in making sure the kickoff to the project is well thought out and thorough the more confidence your team will have. Layout lessons learned from past experiences that you think are applicable so that it is clear to the team that you are alerting them very early to possible pitfalls and ways to avoid them.
Influencer
As I have said, there are many constituents in some cases both internal and external that must
be managed and more importantly cultivated during a project. This area is where the “elite” project managers really are able to set themselves apart. You need to be able to influence in good times and in bad your team, key stakeholders, periphery project players, vendors, you name it. You wear many hats such as therapist, relationship manager, sales person, good cop, bad cop, coach, manager, and more. You are not Sybil, but can’t allow yourself to just be a project manager. In order to be a successful influencer, you must know the following:
Know your audience - Though similar to communication, you need to know all the players on your team and those outside who can potentially help your team. Each of these players has their own agenda which may or may not be in synch with yours. It is important to get to know them, and understand the impact their agenda will have on your project. You also need to determine what you have that can help make that person a proponent and not an opponent.
Be aware of the politics - There are agendas, but there is also the complexity of office
politics that you must be aware of at all times. It is critical to make sure you are fully aligned with your project sponsor, stakeholders, and your management throughout the entire life of the project. It is advised to not breakdown a political barrier alone. There are too many potential risks to the project and to your career. Make sure to have regular checkpoints with them outside of meetings to validate that you are on track. Keep them aware of obstacles that may be politically driven in order to leverage their pull to help break them down.

Never burn a bridge - As a project manager you need to nurture every relationship that you can. You never know when or where that relationship will provide dividends. It is also true that you should avoid at all costs being in a position to alienate a person, group, or organization to the point that they will not want to work with you in the future. I realize that this is easy to say
and hard to put into practice during the heat of the moment. The key is to always keep in your mind what was said by Tom Hagan in the move The Godfather, “This is business not personal.” Do your best to never take any negative comments or inaction personally. The success of the project is bigger than any one single person.
Motivation
Project teams are made up of diverse team members. In some cases those members may reside in different time zones. It is critical to the success of the project that the team feels that they truly are a team moving as one. The elite project managers are successful at finding ways to
motivate their team in order to keep them focused and feel rewarded. Motivation is a powerful tool that works best when there is balance in how it is used. Your team needs to know that your motivation is genuine. There will be times that you need to focus in on an individual, or there will be times when you will need to focus on the team as a whole. The easiest thing to do is to make sure that people are rewarded throughout the project for their efforts. It can be as easy
as a Thank You, a lunch for the team, a gathering after work to blow off steam, or some time alone away from the group. You need to remember to recognize those that are doing the actual heavy lifting.There is always room for more elite project managers in any organization. Apply these traits and the examples of some the mentioned best practices in your current project right away. You and those around you will see benefits immediately.