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Agneesh Updadhay is a project manager with a leading MNC from the USA, based in Greater NOIDA in the insurance sector. He has been a PM for years and that’s has been his forte for some time. However, he has been a rolling stone with changing jobs ever so often and leading to a bad name in the market. He used to wonder why till one fine day, he asked his juniors in a meeting to write what they thought about him on paper and send it to him anonymously.
As the chits came back from hesitant juniors, Agneesh was astonished to read the remarks. The image he has of himself vastly differed from what his colleague’s thought of him. It was an eye-opening exercise, leading to a process of deep thinking, course correction strategy, and an improved relationship.
To avoid a negative image in your organization and among your colleagues, here are 5 attributes of a good project manager:
Cool In All Situations - The need to be calm, collected, and sober in all situations during a project is essential. There are boiling points and crises; there will be pressure situations that may cause frustration anger, short temper, etc. It is here that leadership ability coupled with the experience of yoga, mindfulness, meditation, and deep breathing comes to the rescue of a professional especially a PM under pressure. Don’t risk ties with team members due to nasty words, emails, or actions
Team Building Skills – The PM is the head, the mentor of the project team. He has to guide, motivate, cajole, and be fair. Give importance to all members and focus on the positives of each person in the team. Human resources are the building blocks of a successful project with the PM as the architect of the building.
Empathy – Being empathetic is an attribute or a quality we should all have as human beings. It is different from sympathy which most people confuse. Understanding, caring, and gratitude all come under the aegis of the word “empathy”. To be a successful PM, one needs empathy in life and in work. Smile more, ease up and be gentle.
Leadership Skills – In order to rise in the organizational hierarchy, a person must display leadership skills. You can acquire some from business schools, some are inborn and some you learn on the job. A good PM must be able to lead and motivate team members in all situations and derive maximum output from them to do the benefit of the organization.
Communication Skills - Be an effective and articulate communicator, verbally and with body language, etc. Be clear in speech, be crisp. Connect with project members and stakeholders of all levels and at all stages in a clear cut manner. Cut the red tape and the jargon, use simple plain language.
Do you have the above attributes to be an ideal project manager, unlike Agneesh? Share with us other pointers which will help others to be good professionals and human beings. We value you're taking time out to read and share our blogs and keep our morale high with feedback.
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