A project manager is a professional who systematizes, plans, and executes projects while working within the golden triangle of Project constraints like budgets, scope, Quality and schedules. The primary objective of any project manager is to define goals, oversee teams, communicate with stakeholders, and oversee the entire project progress from its initiation till its closure.
A project manager is responsible for controlling the risks and minimizing uncertainties in any project. You may use the Kanban Board Excel Template to track the entire project management process. The role of a project manager is in demand irrespective of any industry, from IT and finance to construction and healthcare, every industry is looking for project managers to oversee and execute their projects.
You might be interested in acquiring a project management certification to excel in the career of project management. However, there are many project management certifications in the market and it might be confusing to choose the best one. In that case, a PMP Training in Manila certification by the project management institute is one of the most prestigious project management certifications that you can earn. You can explore the PMP certification training course by Techcanvass to begin your journey as a project manager.
In this article, let’s get a basic understanding about the roles and responsibilities of a project manager.
Roles & Responsibilities
Project manager is a change agent. They treat the goals of the project as their own and ensure that the team carries a shared purpose within the project team. Project managers are leaders who have to ensure timely and efficient project completion as per the satisfactions. As a team leader, a project manager is also responsible for inspiring and encouraging the team members. They need strong critical thinking capabilities to solve problems as they arise and finely tuned communication skills (like a talent for customer service) to ensure everyone remains informed, motivated, and on board. And this is the reason why project managers are considered essential for the success of any venture.
Throughout the cycle of a project completion, the project manager is responsible for:
- Defining the scope of the project
- Staying on schedule
- Planning a project’s expenditure and sticking to the set budget.
- Managing project resources (including teams and workers)
- Documenting the progress of the project
- Communicating with stakeholders
- Assessing risks
- Troubleshooting
- Leading quality assurance
Top 10 Qualities of a Project Manager
1. Effective communication skills.
One of the qualities of a good manager is having strong communication skills and being a good communicator so that he can connect with people at all levels. The project manager is responsible to clearly explain the project goals as well as the tasks of each member, responsibilities, expectations, and feedback. And should be able to communicate to internal and external stakeholders
2. Strong leadership skills.
Effective project management means having strong leadership skills such as being able to motivate the team and drive them to achieve their maximum performance so that they can ultimately reach their goals and attain the end goals of the organization.
3. Good decision maker.
An effective project manager is someone who has good decision-making skills because there will always be decisions that a project manager needs to act upon quickly. The project manager must have the skills to think clearly and take calculated decisions that are going to benefit the organization and the clients.
4. Technical expertise.
Since project management software and other related programs are an essential requirement for meeting the goals of a project, an effective project manager must have sound technical knowledge to understand the issues that are related to the technical domain. Technical knowledge can help project managers take strategic project decisions.
5. Inspires a shared vision.
An effective project manager can articulate the vision for his client/organization to his team members very well. A project manager with a strong future vision can lead his/her team in the right direction as well as easily adapt to the uncertain changes that the team might face during the lifecycle of the project. They can help empower the project team members to identify the vision of the project on their own.
6. Team-building skills.
It is necessary for a team to work together, otherwise the project might undergo various relationship challenges that will ultimately hinder the success of the project. A good project manager has great team building skills that allows them to help the team members focus on their positive traits and give them a sense of importance. They must be fair and just in the way they treat them and must use emotional intelligence to manage the team.
7. Cool under pressure.
Another quality of a project manager is the ability to stay calm under pressure. Sometimes, many uncertain circumstances during the lifecycle of the project could take a mental toll and test the patience of the project manager. Therefore, it is important for the project manager to stay calm and consistently deal with unexpected project constraints to prevent affecting the working progress of a team.
8. Good negotiation skills.
One of the qualities that a project manager must possess is the ability to negotiate. There may be times when uncertain conflict may arise in a team because of differences in opinion, and hence to deal with the team conflicts and maintain harmony within the team, the project managers require great negotiating skills. Moreover,, negotiation skills helps project managers to interact with the internal team managers/functional managers and getting the work done on time.
9. Empathetic.
An empathetic project manager possesses the ability to be grateful and understanding towards the work done by the team. Acknowledging the tasks of each and every member helps give them a sense of importance and enhances their performance.
10. Competence.
A good project manager is competent and knows how to initiate new projects and at the same time deal with uncertain challenges. They also know how to learn and keep a log of the previous project mistakes.
About The Author
Techcanvass provides IT certifications training for professionals. It offers globally recognized certifications in the domain of Project Management and Business Analysis. Techcanvass is an Authorized training partner (ATP) of Project Management Institute (PMI), USA and an Endorsed Education Provider (EEP) of International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), Canada. Established by IT professionals, Techcanvass is aiming towards making learning a more structured, practical and goal-oriented exercise. We also offer consulting services in the fields of Project management and Business Analysis.
