Project management is how one plans and executes tasks to accomplish a project based on defined deadlines and requirements. Businesses across industries employ project management methodologies to ensure deliverables meet a certain timeframe and budget and are produced following business rules.
The responsibility to ensure that a project runs smoothly based on parameters set lies in the hands of project managers. More than strategic thinking towards achieving business goals, project managers must also be equipped with a set of skills for leading their team efficiently.
Projects can be big or small, and managers must be versatile in deciding on the best approach the team must use to accomplish it. Hence, project management means working smarter either by delivering projects on deadline, proofing processes, or cutting down on the back and forth. Improve your project management skills using the following approaches:
Improve on Your Communication Skills
Communication is a critical skill everyone must develop in every business, especially leaders and decision-makers. Effective communication allows for a more precise transfer of data and information, a smoother flow of processes, and better collaboration among teams. As a project manager, it’s important to recognize how important communication is between you and your team.
Having open and candid communication about goals, obstacles, workarounds, and expectations within the team can help you get to know your members’ strengths and weaknesses. This can help you in allocating tasks and setting realistic project deadlines.
As a manager and leader, initiate communication and encourage team members to express their thoughts and suggestions about projects or the processes. It is also essential to be an active listener. Knowing all the sides there is to know means you can decide objectively without bias, and you can come up with an approach that will be equally beneficial to both the business and the workers.
Use a Project Management Software
Managing a project is a major responsibility, but it doesn’t mean it must be all manual. There are many project management software available today that can help you improve your team’s efficiency, productivity, and collaboration. They can also help manage tasks better and keep track of your team member’s time. Such apps also help keep detailed project notes that you can share with your team in real-time.
Look for the best project management tools that will work best for the tasks you have at hand and for the people who will use them. There are those that provide insights and analytics, which help visualize the project requirements. You can use this to easily determine how long each task takes and allocate resources better.
Ask for Feedback
Project managers are often the ones who assign and check tasks to provide feedback afterward. But it is also important to hear your team out for their feedback and thoughts to improve your management approach. They are the primary receivers of your decisions; hence they are the ones who can evaluate your skill better.
Be open to constructive criticism. Some people are not confident to reach out to their managers, so they regularly ask for their outputs. You can create a designated communication channel to provide work-related comments and suggestions when you want. Initiating a call to talk to team members may be a simple gesture, but it’s a great way to let them know you want to listen.
Reaching out to ask for feedback is highly important, especially for teams working remotely or who are scattered across the world and are not speaking with each other most of the time. It’s best to use flexible communication tools like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies, which enable international calls that are cheaper than traditional phones.
There are many VoIP solutions on the market, but RingCentral’s VoIP solutions are simple and easy to implement. What is RingCentral VoIP? It is a reliable cloud communication platform to help connect with your team and improve your management skills.
Boost Morale
Employees are all humans; hence it’s important to regard their mood, emotions, and overall morale. Be empathic and try to encourage them and share positive energy. It is known that boosting employee morale is beneficial to businesses as it helps improve productivity and retention. But beyond that, as the project manager, you should take it onto yourself to let your team know that their contributions are valuable.
Be generous with giving positive feedback and recognizing achievements. Giving team members a good old tap on the back when they complete a task won’t hurt. It’s among your responsibilities as a project manager to ensure team members follow the workflow processes, but you should not only tell them what to do but let them recognize and appreciate what they are doing and the value it adds up to the organization and the business.
Be the Best Project Manager
Being a project manager requires you to be a multi-faceted professional with a balance of in-depth strategic business knowledge and refined people skills. To be an effective project head, remember that you manage the project itself, the tasks, resources, and deadlines, and when it comes to people, you lead and guide them towards accomplishing projects. This way, you can get the best results objectively while keeping your team satisfied and happy.
