What does it mean to be a competent and thriving project manager?
It’s not just about qualifications or certificates (but those come in handy, of course, especially when looking for a senior role).
It’s not even about delivering projects on time (although it’s a big part of the job).
These things are essential. However, if you are really striving to be a great project manager, you need to rise above the routine tasks, qualifications, and technical prowess. What you need are some vital skills — ones that can help your team feel motivated, valued, engaged, and trusted.
What are these skills? More importantly, how can you acquire such skills? And how can an online project management course help? Let’s help you find out.
Focus on Communication
There’s a reason this skill is at #1. As a project manager, you’ll be required to liaise with different people from other departments, teams, clients, etc. Most projects encompass a long list of stakeholders who watch your progress like a hawk. You need to keep them aligned, up-to-date, and of course, happy.
When you have so many people to manage, communication becomes very important. From workflow to company goals, everyone should be on the same page, working towards the common goal. However, it’s easier said than done, particularly when you have so many hoops to jump through and so many people to please — meaning you need to be consistent, transparent, and tailor your communication as per the audience.
Doing that effectively is not just a skill; it’s an art — the art of communication.
So considering this is a skill you’ll rely on all day, every day, you need to focus on honing it. But how?
- Listen to your people.
- Don’t shy away from giving feedback.
- Centralise your communications.
- Pursue an online project management course that can help you practice and develop this skillset.
Find the Right Project Management Tools for Your Trade
From analytics to collaboration, project managers need to familiarise themselves with various sofwares to get the job done. Even the best project managers can’t do it alone. Identify areas that need improvement within your processes and procedures and find the right tools to bridge the gaps.
Using the correct project management tool can be a turning point for your team as it can help you save time, provide visibility through status reports, and help streamline workflows.
But how to find the right tools?
This is where an online project management course can come in handy. By exposing you to the most popular tools in the box, these courses help you identify the best-suited one for your trade. It’s a simple solution; all you need to do is look for the ideal course and enrol. Most experts recommend the project management certification from XLRI, but you can do your own research too!
Make a Commitment to Continuous Development
Contrary to what people say and expect, project managers don’t hold all the answers. To make sure you thrive, you’ll need to go beyond the lines of your usual project management certifications and find ways to gain a better understanding of your industry. In addition, you’ll also need to discover innovative ways to apply the existing skills and how to develop new ones.
The answer — online project management courses. These courses can help you find a mentor, gain insights into the best practices of project management, develop your technical as well as soft skills so that you can make your way to the top.
Without Budgeting, There’s No Judging
As a project manager, you’ll not only be required to deliver projects on time but also under budget. Rest assured, you don’t need to acquire financial planning knowledge to understand what the project requires. However, you do need to comprehend the basics of financial management, such as budgeting, allocating funds and resources, etc.
According to the latest research by PMI (Project Management Institute), insufficient funding was one of the primary reasons for project failure.
So you understand how significant it is to build this skill set? But how?
Learn from the past mistakes, evaluate previous projects to comprehend where you went overboard. Finally, make it a habit to include a Plan B so if there are surprises along the way, you are already prepared.
Get Into a Relationship with Data Analysis and Reporting
At the core of project management lies analysis, reporting, and performance. This can present unique challenges as it is not easy sifting through and presenting data crucial to the project. You need to have hands-on knowledge and control over the process. You need to have an analytical mindset and be creative.
What can you do?
Start at the beginning, ask the right questions about the project and then use that data to find answers. When you start right, you’ll likely finish right too. And this can help you focus on analysis and reporting rather than spouting out numbers just for the sake of it.
Pursue an Online Project Management Course
From delegation, resource allocation, status updates to project wrap up and review, a project manager needs to handle a myriad of tasks. So unless you want to sink at the job, expert guidance is the only way forward. An online project management course can come in handy here. These courses can help you gain advanced knowledge of the domain, understand the intricacies of project management, and how to overcome them.
One such PM course you can rely on is the project management certification from XLRI. Offered in collaboration with Talentedge, this course is designed to help aspiring project managers hone their existing skills and develop new ones. So if that’s something you’re considering, enrol for the project management certification from XLRI, and make your way to career progression.
Ready to Step Up Your PM Game?
The scope of project management is constantly evolving, so you need to stay abreast of the changes. And to do that, you need to push yourself to improve and develop. Sometimes it’s helpful to get back to the basics, build core competencies, and reiterate your knowledge.
The project management certification from XLRI, offered on Talentedge, can help you do just that. So what are you waiting for? Enrol for this best online project management course TODAY!
