It’s not everyone’s goal to become a project manager. Some people just fall into the role, finding themselves responsible for teams and executing projects on top of their day to day responsibilities. In today’s busy work environment, not everyone is able to dedicate valuable time to official project management training. In fact, a recent survey found that two thirds of project managers aren’t project certified, and for one third of those surveyed, ‘project manager’ isn’t their primary title.
However, with proper strategy and planning, construction professionals can avoid the pitfalls that can come from being an accidental project manager. In fact, accidental construction project managers can achieve success without being an expert on the subtleties and theory behind project management, by following these top tips to work smarter.
1. Boost collaboration
When one or more members of a team are managing too many tasks at a time, collaboration can become chaotic. Sharing responsibilities equally amongst team members can ensure that project delivery isn’t jeopardised by overworked team members. Visual task management tools like Kanban boards can help. These kind of tools allow everyone to see the status of each task and who the owners are in order to keep project deliverables on track. Creating a virtual project space can allow all team members to have visibility of strategy and tactics, and all important plans and documents are in one convenient place.
2. Share the load
Brief, daily catch ups with team members can keep everyone on track and make sure that team members aren’t doing everything alone. The trick is to prioritise and delegate, as staying laser-focused on the tasks which will help accelerate you towards your goal, will ensure maximum efficiency of time and resource. Balancing work load is the key to ensuring that team members can complete tasks.
3. Communicate the bigger picture
It’s important to make sure that everyone in the team has sight over the strategy as well as their day-to-day tasks. This way, teams can understand the importance of everything that they are doing and how it contributes to the bigger picture. Gantt charts are one way to visualise this. Gantt charts allow teams to have a bird’s eye view of which tasks are currently in motion, which are running simultaneously and if any tasks are dependent on each other. Not only will this help avoid confusion within the team, but it will also improve communication to stakeholders, who need to be updated and informed of project progress.
4. Plans change
No plan is static. It’s inevitable that scope of work and timeframes will require changes to your plan in order to stay agile. You can tackle unforeseen changes witch a strategy based on overall objectives and a project timeline. This will clarify the goal and allow the team to have visibility of the goal. Team members will then be in a position to fulfill their roles and use their specific skill sets to contribute toward reaching the finish line.
5. Communication is key
Don’t rely on traditional communication methods such as phone or email to get work done. Using a cloud-based tool that enables teams to collaborate across time zones and locations can solve the problem of coordinating schedules. Stakeholders can also see real-time progress and contribute to the project as needed.
A lack of formal project management training doesn’t mean that construction project managers can’t get work done in a smart and efficient way. Many accidental project managers can feel overwhelmed, as they are thrust into the role, expected to oversee a plan, organise a team as well as track progress, without being taught how. By following these top tips, accidental project managers can ensure that teams are working productively and with lower stress levels.
By Jason Morio, Director of Product Management, Projectplace by Planview
