Project manager skills that will help you climb the career ladder
The entrepreneur Yuriy Dubkov shared behind the scenes and interesting facts about a project manager role. These include building a team, organising work, managing processes, and communicating with clients. Given the various requirements, the project manager’s skills receive special attention in any organisation.
This position is among the most important in several fields, including the IT sector. Without an experienced manager, organising a successful product launch within deadlines and technical requirements is challenging. In the construction industry, the Project Manager is responsible for working and completing the project according to regulations and permits.
Characteristics of the profession
The project manager organises and systematises all activities and coordinates the successful completion of all stages of product creation. They ensure the effective management of the whole process:
- concept creation;
- action plan development;
- task fulfilment;
- monitoring the implementation concerning the concept;
- project closure.
In the first phase, the specialist interacts with the client to identify the key points of the project. He then defines the schedule for working on the product and the responsibilities of each team member. The manager controls the execution of tasks, ensuring that the specialists adhere to a specific plan and deadlines. He should set the pace of work, monitor the priority of the team’s actions, and eliminate difficulties and conflict situations. In the final stages, the specialist supervises the product’s test launch. And if all goes well, he hands the finished project to the client and receives feedback.
The positive and negative sides of the job
Like any other job, this has advantages and disadvantages.
Disadvantages:
- the emotional component, as the job involves a high level of responsibility towards the team and the client;
- the impact of constant stress as a result of multi-tasking and the need to manage multiple processes;
- the risk of communication difficulties with the team and clients.
Despite the disadvantages, the position has its positive aspects:
- the work is not monotonous, as it involves solving complex but interesting tasks
- the emotional high that accompanies the successful completion of a project;
- It enhances your communication skills and helps you make useful contacts;
- high level of remuneration.
For example, a manager’s career path may begin with acquiring general skills during an internship. In addition, many companies actively support the development of their specialists by first offering the position of Junior Project Manager, where the key skills are the ability to communicate effectively with different people and the desire to learn.
After acquiring the necessary knowledge, there is the opportunity to move up the career ladder to the position of Middle Project Manager. This requires the manager to solve more complex tasks and manage large projects. Successful work will allow you to move to a new level – Senior. Then, you can become a PMO director, overseeing the work of other managers. The Chief Operating Officer is responsible for creating process standards and training staff.
