The,Perfect,Project,Manager,be business, insurance The Perfect Project Manager

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I've been working in the computer industry now for over 23 years. Duringthat time, I've had the unfortunate circumstance to work under manyincompetent project managers. I don't mean the word incompetent as aninsult - it's just that in the Information Technology industry, we tend topromote programmers, engineers and analysts to management and supervisorypositions and, well, just expect them to do well.I've never really understood how anyone can expect a person who is trainedas a programmer to suddenly be able to manage a project. It takes years andyears of specialized training to become just a good project manager, muchless an excellent one. In fact, I would say, having managed my own share ofprojects, that this is one of the downright hardest things anyone can do.Think of the skills needed to understand a project - this means the projectmanager must have enough programming, analytical, design and engineeringknowledge to be able to scope out what is needed to get it done. Now, ofcourse, comes an even harder part - the project manager must estimate whenit will be done (and God help him if he's wrong). He must then manage all ofthe other people and resources involved, keeping them on the correct tracktoward reaching the target. If anything crops up, the project manager musttroubleshoot and correct it, quickly, before things get out of hand.So what are the things that make for a good project manager?Takes Responsibility - A good project manager completely understands that heis responsible for the project. You will not hear things like "that's Joe'sproblem" from him.Responsibility means to be accountable for something. The best projectmanagers have no problem with saying "I made a mistake". The poor ones arealways looking for who made the mistake. The worst project managers findanyone they can who can take the blame.Is in Control - One of the absolute worst things that you can hear from aproject manager was "you were supposed to ...". Whenever I hear this from aso-called project manager I want to scream, "but you are the projectmanager - it's your job to be in control".That's probably the key point of the project manager and his key duty. He orshe must be in control of the project. Everything must be known at alltimes. Delays are understood and handled before they have a major impact.Weak areas of the plan are firmed up with additional personnel or resources.Has a large variety of skills - Good project managers have an understandingof all of the components of their project. If programming is involved, thenthey can program. If it's an engineering project, then the best projectmanagers understand engineering. This does not mean they are excellent atthose tasks - it means they understand the skills, know the language of thetechnicians and have a working knowledge of the fundamentals.This is absolutely necessary because without that knowledge, a poor projectmanager will make stupid errors and ask people to do things which are notpossible or practical. This is, in fact, a fundamental reason why manyprojects fail - the project manager does not understand the project which heis managing. This causes his people to lose respect for him, and sooner orlater the project spins out of control.Understands people - The very best project managers do not have any problemsworking with people. Projects are estimated, analyzed, programmed, created,documented, and worked on by people at all levels. Therefore, if a projectmanager does not work well with people, he is fighting a losing battle.This works on all directions on the organization board. A project managermust be able to supervise his own people, work with consultants, handle hisboss, work with his boss's peers and boss, communicate with vendors andpossibly clients, and be able to communicate well enough with anyone to getthe job done.Manages time - This is especially important if a project manager is, likemost of us in information technology, managing more than one project at atime. The project manager will be hit from all sides by conflicting goalsand objectives. People will demand time from the manager, and he must begood at using this time wisely. Perhaps the most important things are: usemeetings wisely and appropriately, minimize the use of email (a real timewaster), stay clear of politics and plan well to avoid a crisis (the worsttime waster of all).Understands when quick action is necessary - Sometimes quick action isnecessary, and sometimes it is not. A good project manager understands whenan event is a crisis and when it is just someone attempting to make acrisis. Sometimes these are very difficult to differentiate - but it can andmust be done.Acts quickly when necessary - When quick action is necessary, a good projectmanager does not hesitate (at least not for long) and does what isnecessary.Understands when he must be ruthless and when he must use a soft touch -There are times when a project manager must act quickly and decisively, andthere are others when he must be a nice person. For example, I managed aproject a few years ago which took a sudden turn for the worse. Iinvestigated and found out a consultant was not doing his job. I confrontedthe consultant, got back severe attitude and fired him on the spot. Theproject was soon back on track. On the other hand, in one instance I found aconsultant was having severe personal problems and that was the cause ofsome slippage in the schedule. I immediately gave her a couple of days offand the problems vanished upon her return.Produces solutions, not problems - The job of a project manager is to managea project such that it is completed. It is not his job to create problems. Agood project manager understands this, and acts accordingly. Thus, he isalways putting solutions on his bosses desk, not more problems.Controls deviations - For some reason, many managers love to introducechange in projects after they get under way. This must be controlled or yourpeople will feel like they are shooting at a moving target which isinvisible. It's hard to hit a target if you don't know what that target is,and just as difficult to hit something if it changes constantly. Sometimes aproject manager must be flexible - but those instances must be controlledand the reasons for change understood.The real measure of a good project manager is simple - his projects getcompleted as specified, his people feel productive (they believe they arecontributing to something worthwhile), and the finished product (the resultof the project) is of high quality. Article Tags: Good Project Manager, Project Manager, Project Managers, Good Project, Manager Must, Quick Action