As a project manager, you must manage, and you must lead. You must manage the project components so the right tasks are completed at the right time and you must lead the team to successful project completion. You must understand sales, marketing, finance, accounting, and human resources. You need to have expert skills in communication, negotiation, and organization. You must be able to drill into the details and you must be able to step back and see the whole picture.
You must be able to anticipate changes that will affect the project outcome – that is, you must be able to see into the future.
And, you must be able to manage all this with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. If you are worried, anxious, or highly stressed, you can’t. You will feel more like drowning. Your worry will keep you focused on and magnify what is going wrong.
So, what is a Project Manager to do? Try these steps to shift your focus from wrong to right.
- First and foremost, accept that you can’t know everything about everything. Let go of the fear of being “found out”.
- Step back and look at the whole project. Identify where your project needs positive focus. Use a tool like the Project Success Assessment to identify areas of your project where you need more focus and more resources.
- List the things that you are really good at and that you like to do. Start doing them.
- Assign, delegate, or hire people to do the other stuff. If you absolutely have to do the things you don’t like, schedule them on your calendar and schedule something you love to do right after them.
I am interested in your feedback. Please respond and let me know how these steps work for you. You can reach me at Fearless Project Management.
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