Project manager is an interesting, multitasking, and challenging profession. Professionals with extensive experience and those who are just starting to build a career in project management can face many different challenges. These include the nuances of risk management, problems of effective communication with other team members, and disturbed work and life balance.
We have collected 5 most common problems that project managers face and prepared some tips on how to deal with them.
Table of Contents
- 1. Communication Challenges
- 2. Creating a Closed Working Environment
- 3. Stress and Professional Burnout
- 4. Ineffective Time Management
- 5. Technical Savvy
- Conclusion
1. Communication Challenges
The work of a project manager 99% of the time consists of communication – not only with team members, but also with clients and management. Lack of clear and quality communication leads to misunderstandings, conflicts and even mistakes in the project.
Professional manner of communication of a project manager is his business card. A classy specialist has well-developed communication skills, clearly communicates his point of view to stakeholders, is able to communicate openly and charismatically in any situation, calmly reacts to stressful moments, and assesses any risks coolly and without panic.
For example, acting as a mediator during an internal conflict among team members, a project manager should listen to each team member and make a compromise decision, giving a full explanation of his actions. Or, for instance, if a project manager keeps silent about changes on the project to the customer, the expected results do not coincide with the real ones. As a consequence, conflict arises.
To fix this, develop your communication skills. Regularly communicate with your team and stakeholders in a comfortable and transparent format. Use convenient and accessible communication tools. Organize regular meetings that will help you stay in touch and keep you informed of any changes to the project.
2. Creating a Closed Working Environment
Working on a project is a collaborative process, and all team members must be involved in participation and discussion. If the project manager fails to create a comfortable environment that fosters effective and efficient communication, the project will not succeed.
Each employee has their own unique qualities, skills, experience, and work culture. But the project team cannot function in isolation. All participants come together and contribute to the success of the project. The project manager, as the liaison, needs to create a comfortable, communicative environment where all participants feel useful and can share suggestions without restriction.
Use modern communication tools, such as Slack, instead of emails and phone calls. Ensure an open and transparent culture by allowing all participants to speak up without exception. Listen and hear your colleagues, and find compromises in case of possible intra-team conflicts. Get rid of micromanagement of your colleagues and allow them to develop their own professional skills and thus gain experience.
3. Stress and Professional Burnout
Being a project manager, both in IT and in any other field, often entails chronic stress and professional burnout. It all starts when a specialist’s balance between personal life and work is disturbed.
Overwork, finishing tasks on weekends, overload of tasks, tight deadlines, inability to say “no”, constant changes in projects are the other side of the coin in the work of a project manager.
Good salary, cool projects, and meeting new people are all great, but over workload can have a negative impact on your health and productivity. Project managers have to keep a balance between personal life and work, and if they don’t know how to do that, they need to learn it like any other skill.
To help yourself prevent burnout, start by developing your work schedule so that you have time to complete your tasks and don’t have to do them outside of work hours.
Also practice taking a break every hour, during which you can go outside to breathe, eat your favorite snack, read a couple of pages of a book, or meditate. Taking regular breaks will help you recover and relax.
Another important tip concerns your weekend relaxation. Just as you schedule appointments and calls on your calendar, schedule your favorite hobbies, or time to get together with your family. Turn off your phone notifications, don’t check your email regularly – allow yourself to rest and recharge.
4. Ineffective Time Management
A project manager often works in multitasking mode, but the inability to prioritize negates all work efficiency.
Projects, especially in the IT field, are often rushed, creating chaos and overload. The challenge is that it can be difficult for project managers to properly prioritize tasks and effectively allocate time to complete them.
Here are some important tips:
- Use Time Management Techniques: To pump up your time management skills, use various time management techniques such as the Pomodoro Method, GTD (Getting Things Done), and Eisenhower Matrix.
- Learn to Plan: Additionally, pay special attention to planning. Making a clear work plan for the day or week will help you with this. You can also structure your plans in such a way that they can be easily modified.
- Prioritize Tasks: Properly prioritize the tasks, and go for the most urgent and critical ones for the project.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Delegate: Delegating tasks not only allows you to focus on the more important tasks at the moment, but also increases trust among your team members. Don’t try to do everything yourself. Offer to perform tasks to colleagues whose skills are most relevant to the task. The main thing is not to overdo it and take into account the current workload of your colleagues.
5. Technical Savvy
A IT project manager often has to deal with a lot of technical aspects on projects. The situation is exacerbated by complex terms, specific developer jargon, and ever-changing technologies. If a project manager has a poor grasp of technology and is unable to adapt quickly, interaction with the team and customers becomes difficult.
So how does a project manager combat this problem?
First and foremost, be flexible and learn on the go. Yes, you will have to learn the basics of a new field if you have a team member with an unknown function. You will have to ask clarifying questions to developers over and over again. Learn basic technical skills, get project management certifications and attend training. Understanding the technical side of the project will help you communicate effectively with your team and stakeholders.
You may be interested in: https://itcreativelabs.com/blog/10-best-project-management-certifications/
Conclusion
Becoming an experienced project manager requires a lot of skills and abilities. Don’t be discouraged if you encounter problems, take it as a valuable experience.
With the right approach and up-to-date solution methods, you will be able to successfully deal with any difficulties and successfully close projects. We hope that our tips will help you become an even more successful and effective project manager.
