Thanks to Susanne Madsen, a Project Leadership Coach for contributing this post to CSD.
1. Focus on customer needs ~
The single biggest success factor for a project is whether it delivers what the customers really need. Not only will that create a happy customer, it will also dramatically increase your success as a project manager. The tricky part is that customer needs aren’t necessarily synonymous with what the customers say they want. Outstanding project managers focus on the customer’s real needs and seek to uncover the reasons behind the requirements. They do that through enquiry and by consistently learning about the client’s business.
2. Keep your promises ~
As a project manager is it absolutely essential that what you say and do is credible and that your clients and stakeholders trust you. When you take on an action or commit to a deadline – however big or small – always deliver it when you said you would. This is also true when it comes to chasing other people for the actions they take on. You will gain an enormous amount of respect for being effective, timely and reliable and it will be easier for you to plan and execute the project with minimal resistance. Set a good example in everything that you do.
3. Be proactive ~
They key to success for any manager and leader is to be proactive and consistently focus your efforts and attention on the long-term as opposed to being reactive in the present moment. Too often we get caught up in urgent or unimportant activities and we procrastinate on the big important things such as planning and initiating the project properly, writing the business case, learning about our client’s business or taking the time to build strong relationships with our customers and team members. Don’t sit back and wait for things to happen. Take the initiative as a matter of course.
4. Support your team ~
5. Delegate ~
6. Challenge the status quo ~
7. Stay calm under pressure ~
Questions:
How good are you at doing each of these activities on a daily basis? What is the biggest action you take away from this?
About Susanne Madsen
Susanne Madsen is a Project Leadership Coach and the author of “The Project Management Coaching workbook – Six Steps to Unleashing Your Potential”. She is a qualified Corporate and Executive Coach and has over 15 years of project and programme management experience running high-profile projects for organizations such as Citigroup, Standard Bank and JPMorgan Chase.
Susanne specializes in helping project and change managers improve their leadership skills so that they can increase their performance and fast-track their career. She does this through training, coaching, mentoring and consulting.
Susanne believes that a great project management leader is first and foremost able to manage his or her own state of mind and that project management success is as much about leading people as it is about managing tasks, events and processes. She helps people look inwards and become a better leader; someone who sets a great personal example, who is excellent at challenging the status quo, who inspires the team to follow and who focuses on the 20% of the activities that contribute to 80% of their results.
You can read more about Susanne on http://www.susannemadsen.com