Your IT project manager is the centerpiece at the proverbial table of project implementation. Without one, your project will be much more likely to fail, or at least more likely to get done incorrectly or inefficiently. Today, we want to break down some of the qualities that make for a great project manager and how you can find the right one for your business.
The 4 Traits of a Great Project Manager
ROI-Aware
The biggest responsibility that a project manager has is to ensure that the business sees a return on the investment of any new project. The project manager knows what a good investment is and takes action when the project is teetering on the brink. These kinds of decisions are challenging, as projects don’t yield immediate results, so a good project manager should be forward-thinking with the intention of reducing costs, increasing profits, and making operations more efficient as a whole.
An Understanding of Potential Issues
Your project manager should also have a clear understanding of the potential challenges that will arise while carrying out any project. This means they’ll know how your IT systems work, as well as what their internal components look like, their software systems, the hardware associated with them, and cloud-based resources. Additionally, the project manager will have an intimate knowledge of how all these variables interact with each other.
Embracing Patience
A project manager will also be responsible for pulling together the skills and expertise of several individuals on the project team. They’ll need to have patience and understanding that not everyone has the same technical knowledge as they do, and they should have a penchant for explaining technical terms in more accessible, understandable ways. The project manager should also be ready to provide updates to the management team on a whim, so they need to have the skill of breaking down technical details in digestible ways to appease stakeholders.
Making the Hard Calls
As the one in charge of carrying out a project, the project manager needs to understand that their decisions matter. Difficult decisions will have to be made, and chances are they will be unpopular with at least someone on the team. That just comes with the territory, and the top priority should be for every decision to optimize for the project’s success. This type of objective thinking should be at the heart of all major decisions the project manager has to make.
If your business needs assistance with project management, get expertise you can rely on by contacting us today at 800.618.9844.
