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Top 13 Must-have Characteristics of a Project Manager

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19th Feb, 2024
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    Top 13 Must-have Characteristics of a Project Manager

    Project managers' job titles may seem simple, involving things like planning, organizing, and carrying out projects, but in practice, the position involves a lot of different responsibilities. A project manager is a leader, motivator, communicator, collaborator, organizer, and negotiator in addition to being a coordinator. A project manager is someone who wears many hats and has many responsibilities. This entails thorough project planning, developing timelines, making sure the team works within predetermined time and financial constraints, resolving problems as they come up, updating stakeholders on developments, and, in the end, guaranteeing the successful delivery of the service or product.  

    To be a highly competent project manager, one can enroll in Project Management courses and gain comprehensive knowledge and skills, equipping yourself with the tools needed to successfully plan, execute, and oversee projects in your field. In the post below, we will look at the characteristics of a project manager, their roles and responsibilities, demand for a project manager and much more.

    Who is a Project Manager?

    The project manager serves as the linchpin holding the project together, navigating challenges, and driving the team toward successful project completion. Qualities of a good project manager include the ability to balance leadership, communication, and strategic thinking. An effective project manager acts as the central figurehead, directing and coordinating the work throughout the project's whole lifecycle. They manage the difficulties of starting, organizing, carrying out, and finishing a project, bearing accountability and duty for its overall success.

    The project manager serves as the orchestrator, ensuring that the project not only meets its objectives but also brings benefits to all stakeholders involved. A project manager plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the project is well-planned, executed efficiently, and ultimately meets or exceeds the expectations of stakeholders. They are responsible for overseeing a wide range of components during this journey, such as the project team, sponsors, stakeholders, scope, schedule, budget, quality, communications, risks, and vendor relationships. Their work is dynamic and demands a wide range of abilities, from communication and leadership to problem-solving and strategic thinking. Taking a PMP certification course online is a convenient and flexible way for professionals to enhance their project management skills, preparing them for the rigorous PMP exam and advancing their career prospects.

    Responsibilities of a Project Manager

    Let us look at the responsibilities of a project manager in detail: 

    1. Initiating the Project:

    • Defining Purpose: Clearly articulate the project's purpose and objectives.
    • Project Charter: Develop a comprehensive project charter outlining key details.

    2. Creating the Project Plan:

    • Detailed Planning: Develop a detailed plan encompassing tasks, timelines, and resources.
    • Scope Management: Clearly define and manage the project scope.
    • Budget and Schedule: Establish and manage the project's budget and schedule.

    3. Managing Project Quality:

    • Quality Assurance: Implement processes to ensure project deliverables meet defined quality standards.
    • Continuous Improvement: Monitor and refine quality throughout the project.

    4. Managing People on the Project:

    • Team Leadership: Provide leadership and motivation to the project team.
    • Team Development: Foster a positive and collaborative team culture.

    5. Managing Stakeholders:

    • Identification: Identify and engage project stakeholders.
    • Expectation Management: Manage stakeholder expectations and communication.

    6. Managing Project Risks:

    • Risk Identification: Identify potential risks to the project.
    • Mitigation Planning: Develop plans to mitigate and manage identified risks.

    7. Managing Vendors and Partners:

    • Vendor and Partner Selection: Select and manage vendors and partners.
    • Contractual Obligations: Ensure vendors and partners meet their contractual obligations.

    8. Reporting to Executives and Stakeholders:

    • Transparent Communication: Provide regular and transparent updates on project status.
    • Issue Resolution: Address and report any issues that may impact the project.

    9. Managing Implementation and Release Activities:

    • Execution: Oversee the implementation phase according to the project plan.
    • Release Management: Manage the release of project deliverables.

    10. Managing Project Transition:

    • Transition Planning: Plan for the transition of project deliverables.
    • Knowledge Transfer: Ensure knowledge transfer for ongoing maintenance or support.

    11. Closing the Project:

    • Project Evaluation: Assess the project's successes and areas for improvement.
    • Documentation: Properly close out the project and archive documentation.
    • Client Satisfaction: Obtain client or stakeholder approval and satisfaction. 

    Embarking on a PRINCE2 training course provides individuals with structured methodologies and best practices in project management, empowering them with the knowledge and certification to effectively lead and deliver successful projects.

    It’s not enough. Actually, it takes more to become a good and ideal project manager whom someone could admire. In this article, we are going to highlight some striking traits and important qualities of a Good project manager that can help you become a better one or improve yourself. Time Management techniques help you to assign correct time slots to activities as per their importance. The right allocation of time to the right task in order to make the best possible use of time refers to time management. You can also take up PMP training to validate your project management knowledge and skills through a certification that’s acknowledged across the globe.

    Get to know more about Agile Vs Traditional Project Management.

    Top 13 Important Qualities to Become a Successful Project Manager

    A good project manager needs to possess certain skills like technical, business, and management skills to manage projects with utmost efficiency. Moreover, as a responsible position, a project manager must possess certain qualities for the smooth delivery of various projects.

    A few of the qualities that a good project manager should possess are as follows:

    1. They Inspire a Shared Vision

    An effective project leader is often described as having a vision of where to go and the ability to articulate it. A leader or project manager is someone who lifts you up, gives you a reason for being, and gives you the vision and spirit to change.

    Visionary project managers enable people to feel they have a real stake in the project. Moreover, they empower their teammates to experience the vision of their own and offer others the opportunity to create their own vision, explore what the vision will mean to their jobs and their lives, as well as to envision their future as part of the vision of their organization.

    2. They are a Good Communicator

    According to Jada Pinkett Smith, a slogan of every good project manager is;

    “My belief is that communication is the best way to create strong relationships”

    Another strong trait that distinguishes a good project manager from others is their ability to communicate with people at all levels. Since, the project leadership calls for clear communication about responsibility, goals, performance, expectations, and feedback – a good project manager can be said a complete package comprising all these important qualities.

    The pioneer must be able to successfully arrange and utilize influence when it’s important to guarantee the accomplishment of the group and venture. How does it come about gainful? Successful correspondence brings about group accomplishments by making express rules for the professional success of cable car individuals.

    3. Integrity

    One of the most important things any project manager should always keep in their mind is, that it takes their actions to set a particular modus operandi for a team, rather than their words. Good management demands commitment and the demonstration of ethical practices.

    The leadership or project management depends on integrity represents a set of values, dedication to honesty, and consistency in behaviors with teammates. Integrity is that a good project manager takes responsibility for setting the high bar for ethical behaviors for oneself, as well as rewarding those who exemplify these practices. Leadership motivated by self-interest does not serve the well-being of a team. Learn more about the motivation theories here.

    4. They Possess Leadership Skills

    If you want to become a successful project manager, you ought to have good leadership skills. Understanding the characteristics of project managers can provide insights into how they effectively deal with teams from various walks of life. Hence, it becomes vitally important for them to inspire workers and fine-tune team performance to achieve organizational goals through various leadership styles.

    A great project manager sets the tone for the project and provides a clear vision of its objectives for the team. A sense of foresight is also crucial – by anticipating potential issues, you can have your team ready to tackle them swiftly. Enthusiasm and passion are two key traits to embrace if you want to inspire others—no one will follow if you exude a negative attitude.

    Top Qualities to become a successful project manager

    5. They are Good Decision Makers

    Good decision-making skill is not only crucial for one's personal life but also very important in one's professional life as well. Good project managers are empowered to make countless decisions that will help define the project track.

    As we all know a single minor wrong decision can easily jeopardize the entire project. Thus, a project manager needs to be capable of thinking quickly and reacting decisively.

    6. Expert in Task Delegation

    Task delegation is another basic skill in which you need to be an expert. You should be able to judge your team members’ skills and assign tasks in accordance with their strengths.

    Being a pioneer doesn’t imply that you have to consider each minor detail of a venture. Show your team members you trust them and delegate tasks to them.

    7. They are Well Organized

    Henry Mintzberg said;

    “Management is, above all, a practice where art, science, and craft meet”

    Good organization is a key factor for creating a productive work environment as well as solving problems under pressure. Being well-organized helps you to stay focused on the big picture and to prioritize your own tasks and responsibilities.

    With regard to exhibiting your outcomes, you ought to have the capacity to recuperate all the important information and demonstrate an intelligible vision of a venture to be executed.

    8. They Own Proficiency

    Proficiency and thorough knowledge – both can be said to be basic yardsticks on the basis of which a leader’s or manager's wisdom or excellence can be weighed. Being on top of your projects entails a vast amount of industry knowledge to be effective in what you do.

    Some learning on the money-related and legitimate side of your tasks won’t hurt either. You should be seen as able and skilled by your group.

    9. They are Great Problem Solver!

    Good project managers work with a team of experts or consultants and use their mastery of handling issues in the most effective ways.

    Nobody will anticipate that you will have a prepared answer for every single issue; you should have the capacity to utilize the knowledge of your team members and stakeholders to produce a collective response to any problems you experience on your way to delivering a project.

    10. They Know What is Collaboration

    This is the last and the most important trait that should exist in every good project manager or leader. Recognizing the qualities of a good project manager, a grip of group progression is fundamental if you want your team to work smoothly on your projects.

    When building up your team, keep this in mind: disagreements and conflicts are bound to happen; as a leader, you’ll have the capacity to mediate them and ensure all your team members progress towards the same goal.

    11. Should Possess Good Negotiation Skills

    It is important for a project manager to possess good negotiation skills. Further, this skill set plays a pivotal role to resolve conflicts by settling the issue and maintain harmony in the team.

    12. Managing the Project Life Cycle

    There are numerous life cycle phases involved in a project. In the early years, the practice of project management focused on planning and controlling the execution of projects which has now moved to include the conceptual phases and project portfolio management that provides needed linkage between strategic growth management of the organization and project management. A project manager must be capable of linking the strategic growth management of the organization and project management.

    13. Achieving the Project Benefits

    The success of a project is measured by the benefits that it delivers in terms of output. A project manager should be capable of ensuring that the team focuses on benefits delivery and not just merely completing their project on time and within budget.

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    How do these Qualities Help to Tackle Project Constraints?
    How do these qualities help to tackle project constraints

    Before moving forward, let us understand the constraints that a project manager should watch out for. The constraints are:

    • Scope: It defines the needs of the customers as well as the requirements expressed and implied.
    • Time: The customers want their projects to be delivered by an agreed date.
    • Quality: It can be defined as the standard that a project is expected to be delivered.
    • Resources: This denotes the amount of money, budget, or resources available for spending on the project.

    These are not the only constraints in a project. The following are a few of the important reasons for the failure of the project:

    1. Lack of user involvement
    2. Long or unrealistic time scales
    3. Poor or no requirements
    4. Scope creep
    5. No change control system
    6. Poor testing 

    The suggested qualities collaboratively help a project manager to avoid all these constraints and take the project smoothly.

    Transform your team's capabilities with Agile Management. Join our agile certification course now and revolutionize your project management approach.

    Key Takeaways

    Communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills play a crucial role for an individual to become a good project manager. Moreover, he or she should be a good decision-maker for the smooth maneuvering of the project journey.

    Apart from these qualities, you should possess the following attributes in order to be a good project manager:

    • Integrity
    • Enthusiasm
    • Empathy
    • Competence
    • Ability to delegate tasks
    • Stay cool under pressure
    • Team-building skills
    • Problem-solving skills.

    Demand for Project Managers Across the Globe

    According to the PMI and Anderson Economic Group (AEG) analysis, project-oriented employment opportunities in 11 countries on five continents representing developed or growing economic powers. Project-related job growth is expected to be 33% collectively. The following chart explains it elaborately:

    Countries
    Project Management Jobs in 2017
    Expected Project Management Jobs in 2027
    China34.9 million46 million
    India14.7 million21.7 million
    United States6.7 million8.8 million
    Japan3.4 million3.8 million
    Brazil1.9 million2.4 million
    Germany1.9 million2 million
    United Kingdom1.0 million1.2 million
    Canada690,184779,828
    Australia474,495574,399
    Saudi Arabia201,127228,077
    UAE73,35293,861

    Tips for Improving Project Manager Skill

    Let us explore various approaches to enhance and refine your project management skills and competencies.  

    • Evaluate Your Existing Skills:  

    Start by performing a comprehensive evaluation of your existing skill set. Determine your areas of strength and growth. Having this self-awareness is essential to creating a strategic plan for improving skills.

    • Take Advice from Others:

    Look for ways to pick up knowledge from others, such as through training courses, teamwork, or mentoring. To expand your skill set, take advantage of the wealth of information and experience that people have to offer.

    • Put Your Skills to Use:

    Engage in active participation in tasks, projects, or real-world situations to put your skills to use. By using what you've learned practically, you can confirm your understanding and pinpoint areas that might benefit from more development.

    • Update Your Skills:  

    Keep up with developments and trends in the industry. Update your knowledge regularly to stay up to date with new approaches and technologies. This dedication to lifelong learning guarantees the applicability of your skill set.

    • Give Away Your Skills:  

    Discuss your knowledge and skills with members of your professional network. Teaching or mentoring others not only solidifies your own understanding but also fosters growth in those around you. It might also present chances for group education.

    • Assess Your Development:

    Evaluate your skill development progress regularly. Consider your successes, difficulties, and opportunities for development. You can modify your learning approach and establish new objectives as necessary thanks to this continuous assessment.

    To fulfill the duties of a project manager, acquiring the necessary training and mastering the mentioned skill sets is essential. A lot of ed tech platforms offer high-end training such as KnowledgeHut Project Management training courses which equip participants with valuable skills and methodologies to excel in their project management endeavors. 

    Conclusion

    A rewarding career in project management requires a great deal of dedication from those who choose to pursue it. In addition to being very demanding, project managers get tremendous satisfaction from their work because they actively oversee projects from inception to completion and get to see the tangible results of their labors. Strong leadership, among the key characteristics of a project manager, is essential for guiding teams toward project success.

    No project manager starts out as an expert in every area; rather, their journey is a never-ending education filled with successes, failures, and "aha" moments. Taking on these responsibilities requires more than just following rigid checklists; it also entails changing and growing as a project progresses. The secret to success is to use teamwork, clear communication, and creativity to lead teams through the ever-changing challenges of project management.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    1What are 3 critical skills of a project manager?

    Three critical skills of a project manager are:

    • Leadership: Ability to guide, motivate, and inspire teams towards achieving project goals.
    • Time Management: Efficiently allocating and prioritizing tasks to ensure timely project completion.
    • Risk Management: Identifying potential problems early on and devising strategies to mitigate or address them.
    2What are the 3 characteristics of project management?

    3 Key Characteristics of Project Management Processes:

    • Consistency 
    • Flexibility 
    • Transparency 


    3What is a Level 3 project manager?

    A Level 3 project manager typically refers to an individual with advanced project management experience and skills, often responsible for managing larger, more complex projects or multiple projects simultaneously. They usually have several years of experience and might hold advanced certifications or qualifications in project management.

    4What characteristics do project managers have?

    Effective communication, managing workflow, making data driven decisions, strategic thinking, promoting an environment of continuous improvement, motivator, great team player are few of the characteristics of a project manager.

    5What is the role of a project manager?

    With the power and responsibility granted by the project board, the project manager takes on the vital role of completing the project and supervising the team. This person is responsible for managing the project's daily activities and making sure it proceeds smoothly from start to finish. Few of the responsibilities include:

    • Formulating a Plan
    • Executing the Plan
    • Monitoring/Reporting
    • Finalizing the Project
    Profile

    Elena Gray

    Blog Author

    Elena Gray, the writer of this article, has been associated with Coursework Club where she provided coursework writing service for more than a decade. At present, Elena leads a private venture offering Social Media Marketing to its worldwide clientele.

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