{"id":5992,"date":"2011-02-22T06:57:02","date_gmt":"2011-02-22T13:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5992"},"modified":"2011-02-20T11:05:03","modified_gmt":"2011-02-20T18:05:03","slug":"the-8-habits-of-highly-effective-project-managers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5992","title":{"rendered":"The 8 Habits of Highly Effective Project Managers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you want to be an evil<\/span> a successful project manager?<\/p>\n

Me too.\u00a0 I\u2019m actually a bit obsessed with it.<\/p>\n

As I work with my project teams, more and more ideas keep coming out to enhance our ability to deliver successful projects.<\/p>\n

I also study how the most successful project managers I know in various industries are doing.\u00a0 I read a lot of blogs, leave a lot of comments, and start a lot of conversations.<\/p>\n

If you want to be a great project manager, you should too.<\/p>\n

A lot of the top project managers write\u00a0books <\/a>and blogs, deliver presentations and\u00a0training.\u00a0 They all do things just a little different.\u00a0 (In some cases, VERY different)<\/p>\n

Information Overload<\/h2>\n

\"\"So I would read one book and get completely jazzed about a particular methodology or set of techniques to go try.\u00a0 The next day I\u2019d talk to someone who told me about something new that blew my mind and I HAD to try with my project teams.<\/p>\n

My teams started getting dizzy.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s that crazy project manager going to throw at us this week?\u201d they\u2019d groan.<\/p>\n

I needed to focus on the fundamentals.\u00a0 Not the shiny objects, but what all great project managers had in common.<\/p>\n

I spent a lot of time observing, which led to this list of the eight success traits shared by all of the top project managers I\u2019ve found.\u00a0 Today I want to share it with you.<\/p>\n

The good news is that even if you don\u2019t have all these traits already, most of them can be developed over time.\u00a0 I have even worked them into my own\u00a0project management training courses as items that can be learned.\u00a0 Best of all, if you can cultivate these traits, you\u2019ll become more effective in the rest of your life as well.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Effective Project Managers Are Lifelong Learners<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re new to project management, you\u2019re probably on a steep learning curve at the moment.<\/p>\n

Maybe you tell yourself that things will get better when you\u2019ve been doing it longer. There won\u2019t be so much to learn. You\u2019ll have systems in place soon and everything will run smoothly.<\/p>\n

Sadly, I think this is a myth. I\u2019ve been managing projects for many years now, and I can always get better. Just when I\u2019ve got one element sorted out, nagging thoughts come out of the woodwork beckoning me towards working more effectively with my teams.<\/p>\n

If you want to be the best project manager you can be, you have to keep learning.\u00a0 Whether it\u2019s training courses, blogs, books, or podcasts, you have to keep on your toes.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, being curious and wanting to learn keeps you young and your brain active. A love of learning doesn\u2019t just set you up for a successful\u00a0career<\/a>, but for a successful and happy life.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Effective Project Managers Are Clear Communicators<\/h2>\n

This one can\u2019t be stressed enough.<\/p>\n

Project management is 90%\u00a0communication<\/a>, right?\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about trying to specify a percentage, but it\u2019s a whole lot of what makes you successful or not as a project manager.<\/p>\n

Without clear communication, your teams will be stressed, you will be stressed, and your customers and stakeholders will be stressed.\u00a0 Not good.<\/p>\n

Not good at all.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Effective Project Managers Are Analytical<\/h2>\n

Successful project managers look at their projects as systems.<\/p>\n

Systems thinking<\/a> is one of the best ways to approach a way of doing project work and find the places where it can be improved.<\/p>\n

To be a successful project manager, you need to be able to identify the areas for improvement through objective analysis of how you and your teams are working.\u00a0 How does the work flow?\u00a0 What is the value stream?\u00a0 Where are the bottlenecks?<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Effective Project Managers Are Focused<\/h2>\n

Successful project managers keep themselves and their teams focused on\u00a0the Goal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When adhoc requests flood in, a successful project manager is able to protect her team from multitasking by using systems like\u00a0Kanban<\/a> or other priority mechanisms.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Effective Project Managers Value Planning<\/h2>\n

Successful project managers understand the value that comes from planning with their teams.<\/p>\n

They also realize that plans change, and the process of planning is often much more important than the plan itself.<\/p>\n

To get good at this, they practice, try new things, practice some more, attend\u00a0training on planning to get new perspectives, practice some more\u2026<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 Effective Project Managers Are Empathetic<\/h2>\n

I don\u2019t mean getting all emotional, or even sympathetic.\u00a0 Empathy is just about the ability to get out of your own head for perspective.<\/p>\n

Successful project managers are able to simulate the viewpoint of someone else, and thus understand them better.<\/p>\n

Managing your team and stakeholders\u00a0empathetically<\/a> is critical if you want to really understand what is going on with your project, and how to facilitate all of the various pieces and parts towards a common goal.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 Effective Project Managers Are Self-Starters<\/h2>\n

Absolutely critical.<\/p>\n

No one is going to spoon feed you what you need.\u00a0 You have to get out there and get it.<\/p>\n

When a successful project manager senses a miscommunication, he attacks it with a vengance.\u00a0 It\u2019s HIS job to do so.<\/p>\n

Throwing your hands up in the air and saying \u201cOK, but I\u2019m going to set the building on fire\u201d is not acceptable.<\/p>\n

Passive-aggressive behavior doesn\u2019t work if you want to be an effective project manager.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 Effective Project Managers Are Good Listeners<\/h2>\n

An effective project manager is a facilitator.<\/p>\n

They listen more than they talk, and guide their teams towards sharing their insights and leveraging their talents.\u00a0 If you want to know what\u2019s REALLY going on with your project, you have to listen to your team, customers, stakeholders.\u00a0 Listen.<\/p>\n

Successful project managers listen.<\/p>\n

So, please leave a comment!\u00a0 I\u2019d love to hear what you think!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you want to be an evil a successful project manager? Me too.\u00a0 I\u2019m actually a bit obsessed with it. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[899],"tags":[900,669],"class_list":["post-5992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career-2","tag-project-management-career","tag-project-manager-career"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5992\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}