Project Management is part and parcel of every business. It is a systematic approach to managing and controlling new initiatives or changes in an organization. Projects, often time-bound, involve completing a number of activities within a given duration and a fixed budget.

What makes project management interesting and demanding is that it requires a great deal of time, expertise and aptitude for managing things. Hence, there are specialists called project managers to handle project management. The project manager’s job is much more than estimating, managing and delivering the project within specific time duration and a limited budget.

The project manager is responsible for:

• Planning the project in detail
• Organizing the team to work on it
• Communicating the project status on a regular basis to the concerned stakeholders
• Adhering to the time schedule and budget
• Closing the project

His responsibility starts at the inception of the project. At this stage, he estimates the time it will take to determine the pricing and profitability. Time Estimates should take into account all the delays and disruptions to work. A realistic time estimate is very critical to a project’s success.

Cost Management is about creating a budget for the project. The manager should skillfully budget all the resources from people and tools to equipments and more. A project manager’s skill lies in finishing the project in the said budget.

The project manager should have the ability to obtain competent people for the project. Hiring the right people for the job is an ongoing process throughout the project lifecycle. The manager should have Strong Interpersonal Skills and be able to motivate and encourage his team members to work in collaboration with him. He should also be able to address and resolve problems within the team and assist in resolving any project conflicts.

It is essential for the project manager to have Effective Communication Skills. Lack of good communication skills can result in misunderstanding and delay in completing the project. The manager must be able to communicate information clearly and concisely to his teammates and stakeholders.

The project manager should have the ability to work and build relationships with people from top to bottom level within the organization. He should have the required Technical Know-How needed to do the job. If the manager lacks much-needed technical skills, he or she should be trained, coached or mentored by an experienced person. Though the manager may not do the ground work, his technical skills and knowledge will definitely help him during the development and implementation stage.

The manager should have Good Presentation Skills as he is the link between the customer and his organization. He should be able to update and convince the customer on the progress of project at each stage. The skills are many and varied, hence the list is exhaustive.

Do share your thoughts on the same.

Basically, I am a Flash Action Script programmer in Custom courseware department. As my responsibilities are increased I became Project Manager. I learnt a lot of Project Management skills in CommLab India. Initially I used to get tensed to handle multiple projects, because I used to take complete responsibility of all the projects and I was not able to meet the deadlines I used to work late nights with the team to complete the projects.

On those days I am not able to find out the reason for these problems. One day I attended Stephen R. Covey’s training program on “Overcoming Challenges in Today’s Times” in which he showed some video clips on trust. Also I read about trust in the book “The Seven habits of Highly Effective People” written by him. I learnt that we need to trust our team first and give them responsibility. After this training I worked on this concept and realize that I was not giving responsibility to my team and taking full burden of the project upon me, because I am not trusting my team.

Then I started experimenting on the concept with my team members. I selected one member in my new project with whom nobody wants to work, because his performance is very low. Before starting the project I gave complete details of the project to review and then I personally explained everything about the project and his role and I said,

“This is your project and complete responsibility is yours. You are the boss of your work and I will not take any responsibility on this project, but I am always available to help you. You can ask me any number of times for the clarifications or any other suggestions. But I will not take any responsibility of the project.”

Then I asked him to give the project plan which he submitted. I took confirmation two times about the deadline. He promised me that he will submit the project on time. I helped him whenever he asked me. He became very serious on his work and taking full responsibility of the project. Everyday he updated me the status without asking. Unfortunately, after this hard work he didn’t complete the work on time. He felt bad about his performance and understood his area of concerns. Then he requested me for some more time to complete the project which I agreed. This time he doubled his effort and concentrated on the areas of concerns and completed the project. After completion of the project he felt great in handling the project independently for the first time and also he enjoyed working with me. I am also happy because I didn’t have complete responsibility. I just kept tabs on the project status. I hope next time onwards he will be more responsible in his work.

We should first keep trust on our team and start giving responsibilities. Also this applies to the team member to ask and take responsibilities. One will feel great if any responsibility is given. It is very difficult to get job done with others if that person does not feel any responsibility. If we give total responsibility then that person will find better ways to handle the job, sometimes better than us. This concept helped me to handle multiple projects without stress.

Don’t put pressure everyday to your team members which does not give any motivation, just keep trust on your team and give them the responsibility. Responsibility of work will makes them feel great and motivates them to work.

Keep Trust on Your Team!

Abdul Razzaque Hussain
Project Manager