When we are looking to engage new Project Managers to join our organisation, we aim to employ consultants who have the skills and personal style necessary to effectively lead project teams to success.
As we’ve seen through these challenging times, it is the real skills that matter. The ability to hold it all together, to lead and to bring insight and care to our interactions. Too often, we’re pushed to only focus on the easily measured, but each of us knows that the human elements are critical.
With our ever-changing work environment and the move towards remote and home working, now is the time for Project Managers to step up and demonstrate leadership skills like never before.
Project Managers with a Leadership Mindset understand people and how to work effectively with their teams to achieve the desired goals of their project.
Traditional Project Management
Traditional Project Management has been concerned with effective planning, control of resources, schedules, budgets and ensuring completing of activities.
- Operations and Systems – there was a project with activities that need to be completed.
- Scope and Budgets – scope was controlled, budgets and schedules were managed, documents were prepared, and people and key things were organised.
- Reporting on Progress – updates were provided on the progress of the project and possible risks and issues were identified.
Project Managers with a Leadership Mindset
The traditional foundations of project management are still relevant however, the following additional personal attributes have now become imperative for project managers who want to lead their teams to success.
- Understand the value of people and the contributions they make to a project – they connect the entire team to a collective project vision, so that the team feels appreciated and important.
- Know the strengths and weaknesses of their team members – ensuring their team members are in the right roles and guiding them to perform their roles efficiently.
- Set the vision for the project – they inspire and motivate the team rather than direct the activities. They provide the framework and environment that will give the team a sense of confidence that the project will be a success.
- Ensure the expectations of senior executives are communicated – they manage expectations with milestones at short intervals to demonstrate delivery and build confidence.
- Understand the importance of change – they are effective communicators with a strong appreciation for the importance of change management. Their role is to take the team through the journey of change.
- Encourage innovation – engage with staff to foster new ideas and creative perspectives on working more effectively.
- Are concerned with the overall project outcome – they review and provide individual feedback to improve the skills of the team members so that performance of the project improves overall.
- Ensure that each project adds to lessons learned and that learnings are applied to projects going forward.
”CMC’s consultants were of the highest calibre at both a professional and personal level. They were very collaborative, focused on mentoring our internal staff and also sharing their knowledge. Everyone who worked on the project benefited from CMC’s involvement
Ole Elsaesser – Chief Financial OfficerDowner EDI Mining
