What skills really matter when hiring a project manager? The
PMBOK divides the capabilities into the knowledge areas, all of which are weighted
based on a notion of importance. Every time I consider a project manager for hire,
I consider the same areas represented in the PMBOK as important and weigh some
more so than others. The knowledge areas (integration management, scope
management, time management, cost management, quality management, human
resource management, communications management, risk management, procurement
management, and stakeholder management), when balanced appropriately, provide
the framework for successful and effective project management. These knowledge
areas all fall within certain process areas within the PMBOK. Those process
areas (initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and
closing) are generally well established within most organizations and there are
usually well-established tools and frameworks for knowledge areas as well. If
that is the case, that most processes, tools, and frameworks are in place, how
do projects fail? Is it the project manager’s abilities or the circumstances of
the projects? Put another way, is it possible for a project manager to be
successful whether or not the project succeeds?
Let’s look to sports for the answer to that question. Let’s
assume that every game is a project. Let’s also assume that the project manager
is the coach of the entire team. Some of the best coaches have unsuccessful games
and yet they are still held as great coaches. These coaches have had unsuccessful
seasons and still are seen as great coaches. They’ve been unsuccessful in big
games and small. So, to respond to the question, yes, it is possible that
successful project managers have unsuccessful projects, so it is possible that
the circumstances of the project itself influences its own success. The
question becomes, how does a project manager maintain their own success when
they find themselves in an unsuccessful project? The answer to this can be
found in the principles of successful and effective project management.
These principles are based on years of experience managing successful
and unsuccessful projects for various companies representing various industries.
They are based on fundamental principles which are proven by years of use. You
may recognize some of the principles as adaptations from other books, postings,
you tube videos, and other works. While none of these may be new (after all, Aristotle
said “It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas
make their appearance in the world.”), they are presented here with a focus on project
management.
The list of principles I’ve gathered are:
· Vision Drives Success
· Staying Open to All Possibilities Reduces Perceived Obstacles
· Being Curious Provides the Space to Ask Questions
· Willingness to do What it Takes When Project Health is in Jeopardy
· Strength of Character and Personal Values Matter
· Communicate 360 often
· Be Responsible for the Outcome No Matter What
· Change When Change is Needed
· Take Risks When Risk is Called for
· Act with Urgency
· Go to the Source Don’t use Assumptions or Second-Hand Information
· While Responsible for it All You Don’t Have to Do It All
This is not a comprehensive list, like many principles they
are intertwined and woven together in a tapestry. This list may change over
time AND it I will be elaborating on each of them.
Practicing each of the principles in our daily life, in the
small things we do every day is what matters most. Being a successful project
manager is intertwined with being successful in life. Each of us decides what
that looks like. The beauty of life is the fact that we all get to trust the
process, live within the circumstances of our lives, and find the magical pixy
dust that keeps us alive and well to journey another day. The magical pixy dust
is found in the journey itself, in the way we rejoice in each moment we breath
and in the care, we give ourselves and our fellow travelers. What are you practicing
today?
