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Role of Project Managers

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Role of Project Managers

A project manager is an individual with sets of skills who efficiently and effectively initiates, plans, executes, monitors, controls and directs projects to completion to ensure attainment of specific project objectives or final deliverables within a finite timescale, scope, and on a budget (Wills, 2010). Since a project manager oversees projects from inception to completion, he or she has inherent capability to bring down project’s costs, maximize efficiencies, increase revenues as well as shape the business current trajectory to its default future. According to the Haskin (2018), there exists two categories of project managers; the “warriors” and the “bookkeepers”. The “bookkeepers” are those who documents every fine detail about project progress, results and status. The “warriors” project managers step up to strive beyond documentation and work relentlessly while focusing on the project’s goal and desired results rather than the processes (Haskin, 2018). ‘Warrior’ project managers are more effective than the ‘bookkeepers’ because they are able to overcome obstacles, raise issues as they surface, and create teams with similar mindset as well as shape of the current business trajectory into greater heights or growth.

Worth noting, project managers should possess certain skills so as to effectively and efficiently perform their not-easy responsibilities or the five phased project life cycle tasks. Among the couple of these skills, I think the top three most critical skills that project managers must have are communication skills, organization skills, and management skills. Good communication skills ensure better conveyance of right information at the right time to teams, stakeholders, senior managements and other parties, about project status or progress (Heldman, 2018). Project manager should communicate well in writing, and verbally. Better communication ensures smooth running and successful completion of project. Also, a project manager must possess general management skills such as team building, negotiation, budgeting, people and problem-resolution skills (Heldman, 2018). Management skills are critical because they help managers estimate and negotiate for project’s resources, coach teams, communicate with various parties, and provide excellent customer service. Good organization skills, on the other hand, helps the manager to set priorities, and manage time well thus ensuring timely and successful project completion (Heldman, 2018). Of these skills, the most difficult one is the management skills, particularly, the budgeting aspect of management skill because it requires some accounting knowledge. I think one way to get round it is to start learning the basics of budgeting as well taking an accounting course.

References

Haskin, J. (2018, August 2). Project managers need to be warriors, not bookkeepers – or your

projects are doomed. CIO. https://www.cio.com/article/3294701/project-managers-need-to-be-warriors-not-bookkeepers-or-your-projects-are-doomed.html

Heldman, K. (2018). Project management JumpStart. John Wiley & Sons.

Wills, K. (2010). Essential project management skills. CRC Press.

Also see: Project Management Essay Sample

Last Updated on January 7, 2021

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