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How To Succeed In Project Management: Tips From Experts

You are probably starting out in your project management career or struggling to succeed in it. You constantly wonder which skill sets will make you an amazing project management professional.

While career progression takes work, here are a few insider tips and recommendations that will help you better understand your career path.

Effective Communication

The biggest mistake PM professionals make is beginning a project without fully understanding the needs of the clients. A great project manager actively listens to stakeholders, product owners, and colleagues and knows what is necessary to complete a job.

Timely, concise, and complete communication is key. Work on consistent communication with your team to ensure you have accurate details about the progress of the project and any deadline that could be missed.

Time Management and Productivity

It is normal to sometimes make a mistake or misstep when handling a project. Experts suggest that you find a way to work around this. Find ways to be more productive and manage your time better by defining how many hours a task should take.

Another challenge of time management comes in when you bite off more than you can chew. For example, setting a two-week deadline for a month-long project. Set realistic expectations from the start and track your time as the project is ongoing.

Solid Teamwork & Relationships

A certified project management professional should establish and maintain relationships with his teammates. Since all project work gets done through people, a project manager must good at working with others.

During projects, ensure you are working as a team; with shareholders, customers, and senior executives. After a successful project, you could meet after work for dinner and discuss how the just-ended project went and what could have been done better.

Moreover, be versatile and don’t stop learning. Participate in volunteer work also.

Bonus Tips

  • Be perseverant. Achieving project deliverables is a tough task that comes with many setbacks which could make you more reactive and desperate.
  • Analyze your project plan weekly while mapping out milestones and deal with any project gaps immediately.
  • Review and learn from every project. The better you are at compiling and using lessons from past projects, the greater your chances of succeeding in future projects.

These tips may be too many to grasp at a go but pick one that you can easily implement and gradually move on to the next ones.

All the best in your career.