My experience as a Project Manager revealed to me that I do not want to be a Project Manager. While I had a positive experience and I learned a great deal, managing people and a project while knowing the least about the intricate details about the project is not particularly my cup of tea… yet, anyway. Who knows? Maybe my opinion will change one day. But for now, my experience as PM for 15 hours felt like I was the person running the party but also the last to show up. More importantly, I would like to share my biggest takeaways.
- GET AND STAY ORGANIZED - You’ll start with a couple of documents and before you know it, there might be about 10 of them - that you created yourself. Keep in mind that your team members are not only working in these documents themselves but they are also creating their own documents. Create a folder system and use naming conventions that are clear, consistent, and logical.
- COMMUNICATION - Be sure that all questions and concerns get addressed between your team and the client but also know when a concern can be discussed later or amongst a select group of people. Not every detail is relevant to the group discussion. Time is precious here so communicate early and make your best effort to keep conversations efficient.
- BE PRESENT - While you will have your own task list to address, your team needs someone to keep them on track and aware of deadlines. In my opinion, this is the essence of the role in the first place. When given no time frame, people will easily get carried away in the details of their dream goal. But as you know, you don’t have unlimited time. You have limited time and the job needs to get done. Whatever is not done will not reflect on your team members. It will reflect on you. Keeping tabs on everyone with respectful boundaries will help you to scope the project, organize, delegate appropriately, address conflicts early, and have a much smoother experience.
- BE PREPARED TO BE FLEXIBLE - It’s normal to have big dreams and to want to deliver on all of the client asks, but you are also working with limited time, other personalities, and of course, technical issues. So yes, dream big and aim for the stars, but honestly, not now. What is the best minimum viable product that you can produce for the client and meet their asks? Scope. Scope. Scope. Be prepared to switch gears completely on some ideas. Listen to your team and their concerns and find a way to be flexible and adjust the plan. Here, with only about a dozen hours of solid work time, be open to change and keep it simple.
- SENSE CHECK - This was some amazing advice I received from one of my coaches. I am thanking them. And you can thank me later. Take some time, as much time as needed - but remember to keep the conversation focused - to have all team members share their numbers with each other. Everyone should have the majority of their attention on the presenting team member. The goal here is to ensure that everyone is telling the SAME STORY. It will be pretty unfortunate to get to client presentation day and one dashboard says that sales are doing well while another dashboard shows the opposite. Once things are moving and grooving, check to make sure that all of the numbers make sense. Sense check. You’re welcome!
- REMAIN CALM - Just when you start to panic, your team has already been panicking. Okay maybe that might not necessarily be true, but it is in your best interest to remain calm. Panic silently and have all the internal heart palpitations you want - anyone you work with will feel that energy and it will help keep them as calm as possible and for most, productive as possible too.
Now go forth and release your inner leader!
Have feedback? I’m interested! Connect with me on LinkedIn!