How to Be a Great Project Manager PDF

HOW TO BE A GREAT PROJECT MANAGER DO YOU WANT TO Contents BE A MORE What does a Project Manager do all day?...

HOW TO BE A GREAT PROJECT MANAGER DO YOU WANT TO Contents BE A MORE What does a Project Manager do all day? Shout about your successes EFFECTIVE Build a high-performing team Motivate and lead Form the right relationships Set expectations PROJECT Manage the finances Show how hard you’re working Control change Celebrate small successes MANAGER? Communicate clearly Report progress Focus on what’s ahead Ask for support How to set Goals Give a ‘heads up’ and Achieve them Celebrate big wins Identify what’s important There is a growing demand for people with Define your goals clearly Boost your Self project management skills. Communicate your goals Create an Action Plan Confidence PMI predicts that there will be nearly Monitor progress Look after yourself 16 million new jobs created in project Set simple goals management by 2020 so whether you Get a mentor are starting work as a project manager for Improving your Ensure a work/life balance the first time or have plenty of experience Decision-Making Keep learning Focus on what’s ahead behind you it’s an exciting – and growing – Investigate the problem profession to be in. Prioritiz the issue Identify the solutions How to Achieve a You can always improve the way you manage projects and good project managers Make your decision Act on it Work-Life Balance never stop learning. The more you improve, Prioritize the greater the level of project success Set goals you will achieve. In this ebook I will step Write Great Project Watch your hours you through the things that you can do to Documents Socialize One a week improve the way you manage projects every Keep it simple One a day day. Make it focused Find a peer Have a clear structure Rewards I’ll show you how to: Make it flow Feeling proud Just the right amount Define your role Set goals and achieve them Invest in Professional Improve your decision-making skills How to Perfect your Development Write project documents that Presentation Skills Get Serious stakeholders will read and action Prepare with care Widen your scope Deliver presentations that get results Body language Write it down Manage day-to-day tasks On the day Get specific Get recognized for your work Spark interaction with the audience Reward yourself Boost your personal confidence Get a work/life balance Invest in continuous professional Manage Your day to You can do it! development. day tasks Only one list This ebook contains dozens of the tips, tricks Set clear priorities and techniques that I have learned over the Add dates years both as a project manager and as CEO Manage your lists of ProjectManager.com. Apply them to your projects and see how much more effective you can be as a project manager. Best wishes Jason Westland, CEO and Founder of ProjectManager.com Let’s start at the beginning. What does a project manager do all day? Your official role as a project manager is to deliver your project on time, within budget and to the required specification. There are 5 things that you JARGON BUSTER need to do well in order to achieve this: SCOPE CREEP: 1. Build a high-performing team When the scope of your project Great projects are delivered by a high-performing team. Your role is to recruit expands without being controlled. the best people you can find to your project team. Make sure that their skill sets are perfectly complementary so that you have all of the experience you need to deliver the project successfully. What’s the problem? Scope creep means extra work for your team, You need to create a detailed job description for every person in your project team probably with no expectation of extra money so that they all know what is expected of them, every step of the way. Only with for the project or extra time. Everyone takes an effective team and with everyone having a clear understanding of what is on more, and because you’ve accommodated expected of them will you deliver the result you are looking for. one new change, the client thinks that it’s OK to suggest a couple more. There comes a point 2. Motivate and lead when you can’t deliver on time and your project never finishes because there is always ‘just one more’ tweak or change to do. Being positive and supportive towards your team, leading by example and motivating others to do the same are essential. If you want others to work hard, then you need to demonstrate a strong work ethic yourself. How do you do that? How do I handle it? Lead by example It is always easier (and more cost-effective) to Set the direction for the team make changes early in a project. The difficulties Motivate them to do their best work really start when you get further into the project and the deliverables are nearly finished. Show that you care about them and their contribution. Making a change at this point can be very costly as it involves a lot of rework. Use a change A project manager should manage the team effectively and make sure that management process to stay on top of requests everyone knows what is to be done and by when. There are times when you for change. might need to be strict and “crack the whip” to ensure that every task is done on time and doesn’t slip. There are times when you can empower your team to make the right decisions by themselves. If your project does slip, your role is to identify the slippage immediately and implement your contingency plans so you can get back on track. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. 3. Manage the finances 5. Communicate clearly Every project has a budget, whether it’s clearly defined or not. You Project managers are the main source of communication about the need to ensure that you don’t spend more than you’re entitled to, or project. Build time into your week to communicate the status of the your sponsor/client will be dissatisfied with the end result. project regularly. Your project team will be motivated by knowing how things are going, and it will give your stakeholders confidence Manage finances carefully by listing every expense and ensuring that that you have everything under control. they are budgeted upfront. Tell your client as soon as possible if you notice any unbudgeted expenditure and be completely transparent in Use project dashboards and reports to get your message across your financial dealings. If you need more budget, then don’t be afraid clearly. to ask for it. 4. Control change As the project manager, you are the person who tightly controls all changes to the project scope. “Scope creep” kills projects. Define the scope of the project upfront and then review it each week to make sure that you’re not doing unauthorized work at any time. Your customer will ask for changes throughout the project. Never accept a change without assessing the impact it will have on your budget or project plan - most changes cost money and add time to your schedule. You can accommodate changes, but your customer should be aware of, and agree to, any impact that has on the rest of the project. Control the changes on your project so you only work on items that have been approved and clearly incorporated into your plan with any additional resources required. MORE TOOLS TO HELP YOU BE A GREAT PROJECT MANAGER 1. Build your team: Use resource planning software to manage your team 2. Motivate and lead: Read more about Building a High Performing team 3. Manage the budget: Watch this video about how to track project expenses 4. Control change: Read more about project change management 5. Communicate: Use a communications plan template to tell people about your project © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. How to Set Goals and Achieve Them Great project managers are extremely good at setting goals and achieving them. Every project has a defined and published delivery date, so you need to be goal- orientated if you want to deliver your project on time. There are 5 things to consider when setting goals. 1. Identify what’s important WHY HAVE ONLY On a project it can feel like everything is a priority. Take time to sit down with your THREE GOALS? project sponsor and identify what is really important to achieve. Ask them this question: “If there were three critical things that the project had to deliver, then It’s simple. There’s so much that goes on in a what would they be?” project that if you have too many goals, they won’t be front of mind and may get diluted. The three things might be “delivering on time, under budget and to specification”. Or they might be producing three key deliverables, or even three major business It’s much easier to remember and focus on three benefits. things long-term. That’s also why you need to keep them short and simple. If you set three or more goals, then you’ll probably forget them 2. Define your goals clearly within a week, making them harder to achieve. Take these three important things and turn them into project goals. Remember Remember, if your priorities change, you can to make your goals SMART— Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and amend your goals: they aren’t fixed forever. Time-Bound. Using the SMART approach is a good way of making sure that they are clear enough for you to work towards. Read more about setting clear project objectives here. 3. Communicate your goals Upload your goals to your project management software and make sure everyone on the team has access to them. You can also print them out and put them on the wall by your desk or in another visible place. Then take your team out for lunch and tell them what the three goals are and why they are important to achieve. Share your goals with your other stakeholders, including any contractors, suppliers and business representatives that may be involved with the project. Make sure everyone working on the project knows what has to be done and by when so you’re all on the same page and working towards a shared vision for the project. 4. Create an action plan © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved.  Having the goals in front of you every day will help, but you need to take them seriously and create an action plan to achieve them. Revisit your project plan and identify all of the tasks that will specifically help you achieve your three goals. These tasks are now the “high priority” tasks for the project and together they form your action plan. Assign your best project team members to these high priority tasks and make sure they have everything they need to achieve them. 5. Monitor progress Use project dashboards to focus on the high priority tasks in your plan. A dashboard can show you the progress being made on those important tasks on a daily basis which gives you the ability to monitor the work. Track the project status daily and resolve any issues that arise as quickly as possible. Personally oversee the tasks and the resources if you need to. If they slip, take quick action to bring them back on track. Do everything in your power to make sure that these high priority tasks are completed on time, so that you can achieve your three goals and lead your project to success. PROJECT MORE DASHBOARDS TOOLS SHOW TO HELP YOU BE YOU HOW CLOSE AYOU AREPROJECT GREAT TO ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS. MANAGER 1.A Build Good yourProject team: Use Dashboard resource planningShould: software to manage your team 2. Motivate Make it and easylead: Read for you to more about Building see progress visuallya High Performing team 3. Manage Updatethe budget: in real timeWatch this video about how to track project expenses 4. Control change: Allow you Read to drill more down intoabout project change management the detail 5. Communicate: Enable you toUse a communications share the information plan with template to tell people about your project other people © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. Simple steps for improving your decision-making There are lots of decisions to be made on projects and in the fast moving business environment you might not always have lots of time to reflect before HOW DO YOU making a decision. Your project team members and your project sponsor will look to you to put forward IDENTIFY recommendations and make decisions based on your knowledge of the project and your judgement. SOLUTIONS? Use your subject matter experts to help. So, when time is short and the project team needs an answer, how do you make Discuss the problem as a team. sure that your decision is the right one? Brainstorm ideas together. Look at lessons learned documentation It’s actually not as complicated as it might sound. Making a decision is a process from other projects. that generally starts with a problem and ends with a solution. Most successful leaders use the same five steps for making decisions. By following these five steps Ask other project managers in online for every decision you make, you’ll make better decisions faster and you’ll feel good forums like the Project Manager about it. Community on LinkedIn or in your company. Don’t discount any ideas until you have 1. Investigate the problem analyzed all the options. Decisions need to be made when a problem is presented to you. The first step is to spend time considering and identifying the root cause and make sure that it is not just a symptom of another underlying problem. Project problems are usually related to people, processes, equipment or materials. Find out when, why and how it occurred and its impact on the project. 2. Prioritize the issue On projects, problems occur all the time. You need to determine whether each problem needs your urgent attention or not based on its impact on the project. If it’s high impact (e.g. it’s preventing your team from working) then it is a high priority and you need to focus on getting it resolved quickly so your project can get back on track. 3. Identify the solutions With a clear understanding of the problem and its priority level, you can then spend some time identifying potential solutions to address it. Once you have a list of potential solutions you can then review each alternative to determine whether it: Solves the root cause of the problem Is easy and practical to implement Will prevent the problem from re-occurring. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. 4. Make your decision Now you have all of the information you need to make your decision but try to take your time to make the decision in a considered manner, however pressurized your MORE RESOURCES working environment. Take the time to carefully consider all of the pros and cons for each option. Go for a walk, or if it’s really important (and you have the time) sleep on it so you have a clear head when deciding. You can make non-important decisions quickly, but great project managers are FOR MANAGING really sure about their justifications when they are making decisions which are critical to the success of the project, so take the time that you need. PROJECT ISSUES 5. Act on it 1. Use this 5 step approach for issue management to deal with problems If this is a decision that is within your power to make, you can now act on what 2. Learn the 3 critical things to include on you have decided. There is no point choosing a route forward unless you are fully your issue log committed to implementing it. Act on what you have decided immediately by telling 3. Get issues resolved quickly by speeding up your team about it and then scheduling the tasks needed to make it happen. issue escalations There are some situations where you can’t actually make the final decision yourself but you have been asked to put forward a recommendation. In this case, you’ll want to present your recommendation to your project sponsor. Talk through the options you considered and rejected, explaining why you came to the decision you did. Your project sponsor may not agree with your recommendation but once you have the final decision from them get your team lined up to complete the necessary tasks. Remember, every problem affects your project in some way, so you need to act quickly once you’ve decided on what to do. Use this issue log template to keep track of the problems you encounter, the decisions you make and the plan required to put those decisions into action. Project management software typically includes issue management capabilities (review the one from ProjectManagement.com). ISSUE LOG Project Title: Last Updated Date:: ID CATEGORY DESCRIPTION PRIORITY OWNER ACTION PLAN STATUS DUE DATE 001 Procurement The contract is not yet High Claire Tomlinson Chase up with supplier Open Next Tuesday signed with Supplier A and Legal team © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. Write Great Project Documents Without The Headache Projects create a lot of documents because they are the main way of formally defining what it is you are going to do. 5 GRAMMAR Putting something in writing makes it clear for everyone and if everyone understands the goals you are far more likely to achieve them. MISTAKES TO You’ll also use project documents for communicating with stakeholders, formally AVOID and informally, as well as recording decisions and planning. Grammatical errors in your Here are some tips for how to improve your writing skills and produce powerful documents make you look less project documents that your stakeholders will find easy to read and understand. professional and can erode your credibility as a project manager. Keep it simple 1. ‘Your’ shows possession as in ‘your laptop’. Effective writers can cover whole topics in just a few short paragraphs. Remove any ‘You’re’ is a contraction of ‘you are’ as in surplus content, clutter and jargon and write in plain, simple terms that everyone ‘You’re late for the project meeting.’ understands. That way your documents will be quick and easy to read. 2. ‘It’s’ is another contraction. It’s short for ‘it Make it focused is’ as in ‘It’s a good job we mitigated that risk.’ ‘Its’ is a possessive pronoun as in ‘its impact’ To create a powerful project document, you need to focus purely on the topic. This will make your document more persuasive and inspiring to read. Think carefully about the content that your readers expect you to cover, list your topics and stick to 3. ‘Fewer’ is for when you can count items them. Never write off the topic. If you need to go off topic, then put the content in as in ‘There are fewer risks on the log this an Appendix at the end and refer to it. week than last week.’ ‘Less’ is for when you can’t count it as in ‘Grammar errors make you look less professional’. Read more about making your reports meaningful here. 4. ‘Affect’ is a verb as in ‘This issue will affect Have a clear structure our ability to complete the project on time.’ ‘Effect’ is a normally a noun and used to Think carefully about your Table of Contents. Your readers need to be able to scan describe impact as in ‘The effect of this risk the Table of Contents to get a quick feel for what your document contains. The would be huge’. Table of Contents should be simple and easy to understand. Where it is relevant you should also: 5. ‘There’ is often confused with ‘their’. Use ‘their’ if the thing you are describing Use tables to make numbers, budgets, and milestone dates easier to read belongs to a group: ‘I’ve got their user requirements.’ Use sub-headings to help your reader understand where they are Insert diagrams to explain difficult topics Use short paragraphs to accentuate points Make use of bold, italics and underlining to highlight key points Use bullet points rather than long paragraphs as they are easier to read. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved.  TYPES OF Make it flow Write your document so that each section flows from one topic to the next. Don’t PROJECT make the reader struggle to work out where they are. Introduce the sections as you go through the document and explain how they build on each other. DOCUMENT Project proposal Just the right amount Project charter Project plan Give your readers just the right amount of information needed to make a decision or take an action. Keep it short, but informative and helpful. Risk register Procurement management plan Don’t waste time writing documents from scratch. Get free project management Requirements traceability matrix templates here and find out how to use them in this article from our blog. Stakeholder analysis matrix Work breakdown structure Quality management plan Change log Configuration management plan Project reports Project closure document And many more! Watch this video to discover the 5 project reports that you should definitely include on your project. With all the documentation that surrounds projects you’ll definitely want to look into how to streamline your project paperwork and how to set up a document library to store your records. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. How to Perfect your Presentation Skills At some point in your career as a project manager, you will most likely have to stand up and present to a room full of people. Many people fear public speaking and go RESOURCES out of their way to avoid situations where they have to talk in front of an audience. Project managers don’t FOR ADVANCED have the luxury of being able to dodge public speaking. Whether you are talking to five people in a board PRESENTATIONS meeting or 500 in a town hall-style meeting, you’ll SKILLS have to give presentations throughout your project 1. Watch this video to learn how to deliver a management career. great presentation Public speaking is a challenging skill to master. But if you prepare carefully, take 2. Learn 5 reasons why you should improve it slowly on the day and are enthusiastic about it, then you will deliver a powerful your communication skills presentation to your colleagues. 3. Read about how to give a great client Here are some useful tips to improve your presentation skills to help you prepare presentation and overcome your nerves. 4. Find out the 5 ways that you can practice and improve your presentation skills 1. Prepare with care You’ll need to prepare carefully if you want your presentation to go well. Start by thinking about your topic and the audience and what they are most interested in. Then list your key points and write down the general structure of the presentation. If you are nervous or are new to presenting, you may prefer to write down every word that you want to say and memorize it. This will boost your confidence and settle your nerves on the day. However, try not to make it sound too scripted and make sure you emphasize the key points. Experienced presenters generally don’t need to write everything down but will often have a list of key points or bullets to prompt them. Pro tip: practice, practice, practice! The more you know your material and are comfortable with what you are going to say, the easier it will be. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved.  Pro tip: Get to the venue well before your scheduled presentation 2. Body language time so you can set up your equipment and familiarize yourself with the room. It’s said that 80% of a successful presentation is about body language, and only 20% is about content. These top tips will help you communicate the right message through your body: 4. Spark interaction with the audience Make eye contact with people at all times. Never stare at the Encourage interaction with others during your presentation. By ceiling or the back of the room as you present, unless your having others talk for a few seconds, it takes the focus off you nerves start to get the better of you. temporarily. This gives you time to clear your head and focus on the Appear confident. Use an open stance, stand tall and proud. key points ahead. Smile and let your personality shine. Don’t be overly formal. Remember that relaxed body language conveys honesty and Another trick to clear your head is to pause while your team are openness. Walk around a little and make use of props. reading a slide or considering key points you’ve just mentioned. Vary your voice and use slow, open hand gestures. Never have your hands in your pocket or play with a pen. Move your hands Using role play with real examples is a constructive way to get to an open position and then pause for effect. audience participation and encouraging questions can make for a Speak slowly and carefully, but passionately. If you’re lively discussion. enthusiastic about the topic, then your listeners will be as well. Pro tip: End your presentation with a question to the audience. Ask Pro tip: practice in front of a mirror or video yourself giving your them what they remembered most about your presentation. If you presentation at home. Watch yourself back to see how you really can, give away something to the person who asks the first question look when presenting. to encourage more interaction. 3. On the day Take it further Keep on top of your nerves on the day. If you have practiced Watch some project management training videos to see the adequately you’ll be feeling confident about what you are going to ProjectManager.com experts present. What can you learn from their say. Make sure that you know where you have to go, at what time, delivery and style? and who you are meeting when you get there. Here are some other tips for your presentation day: Get a good night’s sleep beforehand. Eat a healthy breakfast and try to free up your schedule, so you’re more relaxed going into it. Spend 15 minutes going over your presentation beforehand. Concentrate on your breathing for 2 minutes. This focuses your thoughts, relaxes you and gets rid of any nerves. Remember, the opening and close of your presentation are the most important parts. Put in extra effort here to make it memorable. If you forget something or make a mistake, don’t stop to apologize, just keep going and try to relax. It will soon be forgotten. You also have to be confident presenting at online or virtual meetings. Read these 4 tips to improve your virtual presentations here. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. Manage your Many lists day-to-day tasks One list Once you’ve been managing projects for a while you’ll Add priorities realize that it soon feels as if you have far too much to do. Great project managers juggle a lot of balls but there is a simple way to keep on top of your work, even when it seems like you are never going to keep up. Add dates You need a stellar To Do list. Project managers who struggle to stay in control of their tasks often have To Do lists all over the place: sticky notes on their monitors, lists on the mobile phone, Manage online tasks in their collaboration tools and on project plans. When projects get busy even organized project managers add more tasks to their lists than they are completing in a single day and it feels as if you’ll never get ahead. So how do you avoid that and manage your To Do list professionally to make sure that you never drop a task? SHHHHH, Let’s look at some ways to structure your work using To Do lists to help you deliver your project successfully, every time. HERE’S A WORK MANAGEMENT You only need one list If you have lists in your car, on your PC, in your pocket or at home, then merge them SECRET all into one list. Do it today! You won’t be able to get all Group the items in your list and put them in a logical order or in categories. As soon your project tasks done. Project as you’ve done this, you’ll immediately feel like a weight has been taken off your managers don’t talk about it, but shoulders, because everything you have to do is now all in one place. You’re ready to take the next step. there often simply isn’t the time to do everything. Set clear priorities Identify the “critical path” tasks which are those that must be done to complete the project. Upload your list into your project management software and prioritize it based on: The question you should ask yourself is, “If this task is a week late, will the overall project slip The amount of work each item will take for you and for others by a week?” If the answer is yes, then that task is on the critical path to success. You need to The complexity in completing the task complete these critical tasks as a higher priority The importance of the task to the project than others. Other tasks can be done later, and The deadlines for completion. sometimes not at all. If you aren’t sure what your priorities should be then take your list to your project sponsor and get them to help you identify the tasks that are the most important right now. Remember, priorities on projects change, so be prepared to shift your effort between project tasks as they become more or less important. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved.  Add dates What do you have to achieve by when? Write down your targets and deadlines. If you’re unsure what these should be, speak to your manager or project sponsor. Ask them them to list the top five things they want you to do and by when. Your project team will also help you define the dates for project tasks as they are the experts who know how long each item is going to take. Set target completion dates for your critical tasks. You then need to do everything in your power to make sure that these dates are met. Don’t worry about setting firm dates for non-critical tasks. It takes too much time and things change anyway. You’ll come to those tasks as you go along. Manage your lists Use your project task tracking software to help you manage your To Do list and project tasks. As the project evolves, tick off the tasks as they are completed. And when new tasks arise, decide whether they are critical or not and if they are, then set targets dates for them as well. Keep your To Do list online so you can access it from wherever you are – you never know when you’ll need to add a new task. This will help you keep your list up-to- date and avoid slipping back to having multiple pieces of paper and sticky notes for recording your work. MANAGE MORE YOUR TOOLS TOTO DO YOU HELP LIST BE LIKE A PRO A GREAT PROJECT MANAGER 1. Want to know how to create the perfect task list? Find out how in this article. 2. Avoid these 6 task list problems. 3. Unsure of the difference between a task list and 1. Build your team: a project Use resource plan? This video willplanning software to manage your team clear it up. 2.4. Motivate Once yourandlist lead: Read more is complete, useabout these Building a High Performing team 5 tips for prioritizing 3. Manage your tasks. the budget: Watch this video about how to track project expenses 4. Control change: Read more about project change management 5. Communicate: Use a communications plan template to tell people about your project © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. Shout about your successes! Great project managers get rewarded and recognized for their performance on a regular basis. If you don’t feel like you’re getting the reward and recognition SHARE THE you deserve, it may be that you’re so focused on your projects that you haven’t had a chance to tell others CREDIT, TAKE about the value you’re providing. THE BLAME If that sounds like you, think about how you can boost your personal brand so that others can see your successes. Remember, reward and recognition go hand-in- You should shout about your hand with success, but if no one knows about the work you are doing, they can’t successes but don’t do it at the reward you for it. Don’t rely on them to notice. Grab every opportunity to show others why you deserve recognition for your efforts. Here are eight sure-fire ways expense of other people. Give to help you get the recognition you deserve. credit to your team when they have done an excellent job and 1. Form the right relationships try to shelter them from any blame when things go wrong. The first thing to consider is from whom do you want recognition? Whether it’s your manager or CEO, you need to build your relationship with them, ideally on both a The buck stops with you as the personal and business level. Make them aware of your role, how critical it is to the project manager when it comes to business and why they should care. mistakes but be generous sharing praise. 2. Set expectations Don’t expect your manager or project sponsor to realize that you are working minor miracles every day: talk to them about the challenges you are faced with and how you are using good project management practices to overcome them. 3. Show how hard you’re working Every boss expects their team to work hard. You need to show them that you’re going the extra mile and why you’re different than the other project managers in the organization. Make sure that they know what you are doing to satisfy your clients, whether that is through extra hours on the project or simply helping your team through a busy patch by keeping morale high. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. 3. Celebrate small successes 7. Give a “heads up” Don’t wait until the project is finished to promote it. Take a small Keep your manager informed regularly by giving them a “heads up” success and tell people about it. Even if your project is delayed and when critical issues hit your project. Never let them wait to read the team is under pressure, share those small successes. This helps about issues in a Project Status Report or meeting. Tell them the keep team morale high and shows your project stakeholders that you news (especially bad news) as early as you can so they have time to are keeping the project moving forward. digest it before you seek their feedback. 4. Report progress 8. Celebrate big wins Use dashboards and project reports to share your project’s progress Congratulations, you’ve delivered on time and under budget, or at as frequently as you can. This demonstrates that you’ve got the least one of the two. Celebrate it celebrity-style. Throw an office project under control, you’re keeping the momentum going and it party, shout morning tea for the team or at least take the team and gives your managers the feeling that you’re progressing well. your manager out to lunch. Promote your project in your company newsletter, take photos and 5. Focus on what’s ahead consider a press release. It’s time to shout out your success from the rooftop, instead of just getting caught up in the next project. Even if the project is running late, don’t dwell on the current state instead focus on the work you’re doing to get it back on track. Always Remember, people only get reward and recognition for successes if communicate the positive side of the situation to your manager, so it those successes are visible. The more visible they are, the easier it is looks to them like you have it all under control. And if you don’t have it for your management team to give you the recognition you deserve. under control, then... 6. Ask for support Don’t ever be afraid to ask for support from your manager and to tell them the absolute truth. You might need more time, people, equipment or even advice from them. By getting their support regularly, you’re actually getting more buy-in from them for your project. It’s another opportunity to build your relationship with them by asking their advice about how to handle a difficult situation. You can guarantee they would prefer to help out at the start of a problem than be told about it when it’s too late to do anything to put it right. MORE RESOURCES FOR SHARING YOUR SUCCESSES AT WORK Use status reports to formally communicate project wins. Learn the behaviors you need to accelerate your professional success in this video. Uncover the 5 tips for boosting your project management career Join the ProjectManager.com LinkedIn community and celebrate your project successes with us! © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. Boost HOW TO FIND A MENTOR Ask Your Manager your Self- Your manager is not a good person to have as a mentor as you already have a relationship with them. A mentor outside your direct hierarchy is normally better, although your manager could informally mentor you about certain things. Confidence Talking to your manager is, however, advisable. They can help you identify who could be a possible target and you can tap into their network of colleagues. Ask Your Project Sponsor Project managers all have crises of Your project sponsor is a senior manager and has his or her own network of senior, confidence. You wake up one morning and experienced colleagues. If you let them know that you are looking for a mentor then they can put you in touch with anyone they think would be suitable. wonder if that decision you took was really the right thing for the project. The best performing project managers have a high Again, it is not advisable to ask your project sponsor to mentor you as you already have a close working relationship with them and mentoring sessions are likely to level of self-confidence. If you’re not 100% turn into chats about project progress! However, if you do get on well with them confident, then it will impact on your ability and they have the time, when your project is over you could perhaps approach to achieve success. them and ask them to be your mentor. For some people, confidence comes naturally and to others, they need to work at Ask Your HR Department it. Let me share some golden rules that will Is there a formal mentoring scheme that you could join? Many companies have help boost your self-confidence. formal schemes that support new project managers. They work by pairing a junior member of staff with a more senior counterpart. You may not get to choose your mentor but a lot of the admin will be done for you. Rule #1: Look after yourself Even if there isn’t a formal mentoring scheme in place (or there is and you are not Confident people look and feel good. The eligible for it) then you can still ask for advice from HR. They know what training first step towards boosting confidence is to courses and development opportunities there are for senior managers and they may be aware of individuals who are looking to improve their coaching skills who start with your physical and mental state. would love to act as your mentor. Try to eat healthy foods, reduce junk food and drink plenty of water during the day. Look Outside Your Business Do a little exercise every day. It’ll work Your mentor does not have to come from your own organization. Unless you have wonders. Go to the gym or take up a sport. a particular reason to want to meet face to face, you could ask online groups if Get a new haircut, buy some new clothes they know of anyone. Or your friends and family who work in big organizations – and treat yourself a gift that you’ll value. If maybe they are aware of managers in their businesses who would be a good fit you look and feel fantastic, then you’ll start for you and are happy to be mentors. each day feeling wonderful. You can ‘meet’ your mentor virtually online with webcams and Skype or have chats over the phone. Be flexible about your arrangements and you may be Rule #2: Set simple goals surprised at the sort of person who would be willing to work with you. When you get to work, set simple and achievable weekly goals. On Friday night Ask Your PMI Chapter when you leave work for the weekend, you’ll Many PMI Chapters have members who are willing to mentor new project managers. There is a reason for this – volunteering as a mentor helps a Project have a sense of achievement that you’ve Management Professional (PMP®) keep their credential up to date as they get done what you set out to do. This will give credit towards their professional development time through mentoring. your confidence a fantastic boost. Make sure you tell people about the goals you’ve set, This makes your local PMI Chapter a useful place to start looking for a mentor as and when you achieve them. Never make you’ll meet some enthusiastic people who are keen to help. your goals too hard or too easy to reach. And each week, stretch yourself a little more so that you’re constantly performing at higher levels. Rule #3: Get a mentor Rule #5: Keep learning Find someone who is honest, wise and that you can trust, Aim to learn something new as often as you can. If you are and ask them to be your mentor. It might be a family member, starting out in your project management career this is going friend or colleague. Meet with them (virtually or in person) on to be pretty easy but even if you are an old hand at managing a monthly basis to talk about the goals you’ve set and what projects you can still develop your professional skills. you’ve achieved. Get their feedback and advice on any problem you’re experiencing. Their feedback and support will boost your Keep learning new things through reading, online research and confidence even further. meeting people to learn from them. This will not only improve your performance at work but it will give your confidence a Rule #4: Ensure a work/life balance wonderful boost because of the extra knowledge you’re gaining. To be at the top of your game, you need to have a careful work/ life balance (and we’ll discuss that more in the next section). Having a balance between work time and ‘other’ time means juggling your project commitments and personal responsibilities effectively. Be aware that if you overwork yourself tiredness and stress will knock your confidence. Limit your work hours and make the most of your personal time by doing things you enjoy. If you get the most out of life, then your confidence will grow each day. HAVING A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE? CHECK OUT THESE RESOURCES. 1. Learn some more easy ways to build your self-confidence. 2. Uncover your project management skills gap so you can improve your weaker areas. 3. See if one of these 4 ways to deal with stress would help you feel more confident. 4. If you know a colleague is struggling with their self-confidence, find out about ways to help a team member. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. Getting the work/life balance you deserve Do you ever feel that your projects are beginning to take over your life? It’s quite a common feeling because project managers and teams often work long hours DO YOU HAVE A on a project to ensure its success. Work becomes everything and as a result, your personal life becomes GOOD WORK/ secondary. LIFE BALANCE? It doesn’t have to be like that, and it shouldn’t be. QUESTIONS TO You can have a great working life and personal life at the same time. It’s called having a good work/life balance and you get it when you prioritize your life as highly as you do your work. ASK YOURSELF Do you spend time at home What is a work/life balance? It’s about getting the maximum enjoyment from your work time and personal time, every day. This means really enjoying the time you thinking about work? have at work, and the time you spend after hours so that you’re getting the most out of what life has to offer. The reverse of this is not enjoying your job, and not Do you check your emails and having a personal life. alerts before you go to bed and Those are the two extremes and most people fall somewhere in the middle. when you get up? However, nearly everyone can take at least one small step to improve the quality of your working and home lives. Here are some ideas to get you started. Do you take work phone calls when you should be spending Prioritize time with your family? Sit down with a nice warm drink and ask yourself if you had to review your adult life to date, then what would you say about it and what would you wish you’d done If you answered Yes to any of differently? Think long and hard about this question, and then write down your answer. Now set out a clear vision for what you’re going to do differently from this these then your work/life balance point onwards. You may not need to make radical changes to improve your life. It’s isn’t as good as it could be. Take usually just about prioritizing. Write down a new set of priorities for your life, ones that mean the most to you. action now to avoid burning out. Set goals Set yourself three personal goals to help you get the maximum enjoyment from your work time and personal time every day. For example, your goals might relate to: Your physical health Your personal time The way you approach your work. Together the goals must help you to achieve your perfect work/life balance – whatever that looks like for you. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. Watch your hours GET ONLINE It makes sense that to achieve a perfect work/life balance, you need to enjoy both your work and your personal life. If you work around the Fifteen years the workplace looked very clock, then you may not get the time to have a personal life. Try and balance your work time, family time and personal time, so that you different. Today, more and more transactions actually make time to achieve your goals. are done online and we spend more time there socializing, working and hanging out Project management is a varied job and some weeks there is more work to complete than others. Take advantage of the slower times on with friends, family and colleagues. your projects to get ahead with your personal goals so that you don’t resent having to work long hours at busy times on your projects. Online tools make it easy to balance the needs of work and home because you can access your project management data and systems from anywhere. Socialize Get a free trial of ProjectManager.com today and see how much We’re not all “social butterflies” but it’s a well-known fact that of a difference online working makes to your work/life balance. socializing with good friends reduces stress. Make a special effort to make a new friend sometime soon. It may sound corny, but new friendships often add spice to life. Rewards Once a week While peers can motivate you, true motivation comes from within. Set yourself a reward for achieving your goals. The reward doesn’t What do you have a passion for? Is it arts, sciences, sport or need to cost a lot, for instance it might be taking two days off work to something wacky? Whatever it is, try your upmost to make it happen spend with your family. The most important thing is that the reward once a week, every week. Tell yourself “this is the one time in the is something that means a lot to you and is worth working towards. week that it’s my time” – then stick to it. You’ll find it incredibly rewarding. In fact, you’ll start looking forward to that activity each week because you know you’ll have fun doing it. Feeling proud Once a day If you can achieve your goals or even get half way there, then feel proud about having done it. It takes a lot of effort to make a change in your life so feel proud about what you’ve achieved. This sense of pride In addition to the “once a week” activity above, kick off a “once a day” will show in your work and your personal life. And guess what? You’ll activity as well. Make it something small to ensure you find the time have gained new enjoyment from life, so it has to be good. to do it. It could be spending ten minutes reading a magazine, going for a walk or calling a friend. As long as it’s enjoyable, then make it a regular time in your daily schedule. This is the hardest tip of all to Further reading: Stay on top of your project stick to, but the most beneficial in the long run. If you’re serious about so you can get home on time. Get my free your work/life balance, then you will be able to find ten minutes every day to do this. Oh, and remember to make it fun! ebook: Step by Step Project Planning Find a peer Being good at time management can really Nothing beats having a peer to do this with you. Find someone who help you stay focused on work during work wants to get the same out of life. Open up to them and tell them what you want to achieve. Then work together to motivate each time and on your personal life when the other to achieve the personal goals you set. working day is over. Here are some resources to help you improve your time management. Meet every couple of weeks to talk about what you’ve struggled with and what you’ve achieved. Advise each other on what you could be 1. Boost your productivity with these 7 quick tips for good doing differently to create the perfect work/life balance for each of time management. you. 2. Do you waste time? This video will uncover 9 time wasters to avoid. Someone to support you can make a real difference in your life, and you can make a real difference in theirs. Choose your peer wisely and 3. Learn how to manage time on projects in this video. work together to achieve your joint goals. 4. Read more about how to create a realistic schedule. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. Invest in continuous professional development Have you heard the phrase, “You learn something new every day?” The best project managers are constantly learning 15 RESOURCES new things to improve the way that they manage TO BUILD YOUR projects. To become the best project manager that you can be you should invest in continuous professional CAREER development and carry on learning about project 1. Videos management skills. 2. Twitter: search for #pmot Don’t take it for granted that you know everything about managing projects. Things 3. Books and ebooks are constantly changing; the culture of organizations, technology and the economy to mention a few. With all this change happening, you need to continue learning 4. Conferences how to adapt to it and how to apply the latest techniques to managing projects 5. Magazines successfully. 6. Websites Get serious 7. Your mentor 8. Blogs Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, invest in formal training to boost your skills. So get serious and take the first step. Either enrol in a formal training course or use 9. Your PMO library learning tools so that you can learn from home when it suits you. Set aside two hours every week to sit down and read books, articles and blogs about projects. By 10. Your manager immersing yourself in the topic, you will spark ideas for your own projects that you 11. Project management can use to improve your success. templates Widen your scope 12. Webinars 13. Seminars Don’t just stick to the classical theory of project management. Instead, widen your scope by participating in discussion groups online that also cover managing people, 14. Networking events money and equipment, as well as suppliers, procurement and communications. 15. Your local PMI Chapter Write it down If you’re reading late at night, much of what you read will go in one ear and out the other. So every time you think, “That’s a good point!” write it down. Create your own learning guidebook and record every tip that you’ve learned along the way. Then you can read your own guidebook as a refresher. Even better, you can use it to share the knowledge you’ve gained to your team. Who knows, you could even publish it as a book! © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. Get specific WATCH AND When you’ve spent a couple of months improving your knowledge of project management, you’re ready to get specific. Write down the areas that you’re weak in and get detailed materials on those topics. LEARN Many companies, including Project managers are generalists: they need to know a lot about all management topics. You can’t be an expert in everything but if there is a key area that you know ProjectManager.com, provide you aren’t so confident in, spend some time digging deeper into that topic. project management training videos about all aspects of Reward yourself managing projects and the tools and services they provide. You By writing down your learning along the way, you’ll quickly realize how valuable that information is to you. Feel proud of what you’ve learnt by rewarding your own can learn in your own time, on efforts. Go out for a meal with friends, buy new clothes or do something special. any device capable of playing Rewarding your efforts will reinforce how import learning is to you and it will motivate you to continue learning more each week. back video. Many of the videos available are extremely short which makes them suitable for watching on the go. If you are the kind of person who prefers to learn about project scheduling by watching someone do it than by reading a book, then videos could be an effective tool for you. MORE RESOURCES FOR CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1. Find out 7 quick ways to earn Professional Development Units towards your PMI credentials. 2. Read more about how volunteering as a project manager can be rewarding. 3. Check out these top 10 project management books. 4. Perhaps you can develop by helping others? Learn about becoming a project management mentor. 5. Watch this video on how to get certified as a project manager. © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. You can do it! Becoming a great project manager is no easy task – if it was we wouldn’t see so many stories about failed projects in the media. Great project managers need time, patience, experience and the right approach. By following the tips and ideas outlined in this eBook, I hope I’ve pointed you in the right direction. Just to recap, to become a great project manager you need to: set very clear goals create plans to achieve them. perform at a high level improve your decision-making produce professional written documentation hone your presentation skills manage your day-to-day tasks develop a work/life balance that works for you continue to learn new skills give yourself a confidence boost to ensure you’re always performing to the best of your abilities. If you can do all of this while delivering your project and achieving a work/life balance at the same time, you’re well on the way to becoming a great project manager. ACT LIKE A PROFESSIONAL PROJECT MANAGER Leverage the power of project Stay connected to other professionals and Continue to grow your knowledge with our management software. Create plans today join the largest PM - curated community free resources with your 30 day free trial on LinkedIn © 2014 ProjectManager.com All rights reserved. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jason Westland, Founder & CEO of ProjectManager.com With 20 years experience managing large projects including a $1b project for British Rail in the UK, Jason went on to build Method123 and MPMM.com, the leading toolsets in the PM templates and methodology industry. After being acquired by a US Consulting Company, Jason founded ProjectManager.com in 2008. He is the author of the best-selling book “The Project Management Life Cycle” and writes for Computerworld and CIO Magazine. Jason lives with his family in Texas, USA. ABOUT PROJECTMANAGER ProjectManager.com is a leading software-as-a-service provider of award-winning project management software. ProjectManager.com is unique because it allows users to see the progress of their projects visually through real-time charts, dashboards and reports online. It’s an easy-to-use enterprise solution that scales for small teams through to large international businesses. ProjectManager.com has a broad range of clients from single user accounts to high profile customers including NASA, the United Nations and Siemens. Founded in 2008, ProjectManager.com is now used by over 300,000 people in 100 countries. Take a free trial of ProjectManager.com and see why it’s the best way to manage your projects online. Join Our Growing List of Customers Copyright statement: This document is provided for informational purposes only. Information contained in this document may represent the current view of ProjectManager Ltd. on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. No part of this document may be improperly reproduced, stored, translated or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the express written permission of ProjectManager Ltd. ProjectManager Ltd. may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document, and the distribution of this document does not give the recipient any license to such intellectual property. While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, neither the Author nor the Publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. This publication is not intended for use as a source of legal, financial or human resource management advice. The Author assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any reader of these materials.