We talk a lot on this website about whether Project Managers are born or made, and we always arrive at the same answer – there’s elements of both in the best P.Ms out there. That being said, the most polar opposites of ‘born’ Project Managers out there can still boost their skill levels tremendously through learning and experiences. Said another way – there’s a strong possibility of success for even the most unnatural P.Ms. In this article, we’ll be exploring 7 simple, effective ways to get ahead as a Project Manager! Let’s dive in.
7 Simple, Effective Ways To Get Ahead As A Project Manager
Let’s get right into the details – here’s our list of ways to get ahead as a Project Manager, plus some related articles we’ve published in the past for each of these points!
- Maintain An Up-To-Date, Detailed To Do List
- Plan Ahead – Meetings, Due Dates, Conversations, Etc.
- Prioritize The Most Important Work
- Establish A Team & Delegate Work Accordingly
- Get Relevant Certifications & Training
- Take On Responsibilities For Your Organization Beyond Your Project
- Structure Your Day Right, Including Putting In ‘The Hours’
Scroll below to read more about each of these methods…
1. Maintain An Up-To-Date, Detailed To Do List
When it comes to getting ahead as a Project Manager, one cannot overlook the to-do list. In theory, a Project Manager’s to-do list contains the latest and greatest status of every item presently on the project.
In actuality, a to do list can be a P.M.s greatest tool or become their biggest adversary. To do lists become counterproductive when they’re not organized or updated regularly.
What does it take to keep a to do list updated?
- Reviewing Emails
- Meeting Regularly With Others On The Project
- Staying Current On Project Operations
- Understanding Where The Project’s Truly At
By regularly updating our to do lists, we as Project Managers are doing a lot of the due diligence necessary to keep the project on track as a whole. The quality of the to do list reflects this.
Read Next: Project Management Note Taking Tips: Double The Value (With Examples)
2. Plan Ahead – Meetings, Due Dates, Conversations, Etc.
What Is Today, But Yesterday’s Tomorrow?
–Mr. Krabs
Another essential way to get ahead as a Project Manager is to plan ahead. In order to truly keep a project on track, one must be able to look days, weeks and months ahead and take the necessary actions to bring that vision to life.
Planning ahead applies to more than just the big-picture schedule, too.
If you need to have a conversation with someone or review an important item of work, it’s best to do so first thing in the morning. That gives the other people involved time to work on this item throughout the remainder of the day. In turn, you can go work on whatever else you’ve got on your plate, too.
What about a conversation or meeting for tomorrow or later in the week? Set it up now! This helps everyone involved structure their time accordingly, as well as to properly prepare for the discussion.
Knowing what needs to be done in the days and weeks ahead is essential for Project Managers.
Read Next: How Do You Run An Effective Status Meeting? 10 Best Practices
3. Prioritize The Most Important Work
We’ve discussed the concept of the Pareto Principal ad nauseam on this website already. What’s one more time?
The Pareto Principal basically states that the vast majority of results (80%) are achieved by the successful completion of a handful of items (20%).
As we look for ways to get ahead as Project Managers, it’s essential that we know how to prioritize. We need to spend the majority of our time on these top-shelf, high priority items. In the majority of cases, important items on projects will involve either cost, schedule or quality.
After that, we must delegate the rest of the work as much as we can. However, this isn’t possible unless we…
Read Next: How Do You Manage Multiple Projects Effectively? Our Top 10 Techniques
4. Establish A Team & Delegate Work Accordingly
Team work makes the dream work – a cringe-inducing, accurate statement.
We can only do so much as a Project Manager. Even the greatest P.M.s can’t do it all alone. We need a team to help make the project a success.
Here are a few extremely important tasks we see on all projects that are best delegated, rather than taken on by the Project Manager:
- Administrative Work – Logs, Files, Etc.
- Meeting Minutes
- Tasks That Require Hours Of Focus & No Interruptions
- Details Of Technical & Design Work
- Non-Critical Work Related To Logistics & Daily Operations
With that work delegated to others, we can focus on some other ways to get ahead as a Project Manager, such as maintaining our to do lists and planning ahead!
Read Next: Inexperienced Project Manager? The Do’s & Don’ts For Young P.M.s
5. Get Relevant Certifications & Training
Project Managers are not judged on their project portfolio alone. We must also develop skills that are recognized in a universal way by our peers and prospective employees – licenses and certifications.
One of the most commonly recognized certifications in Project Management is the PMP Certification. Whether this is valuable to you in your individual career is up to you.
In construction, for instance, Project Managers can get OSHA certifications, become LEED A.P.s and many more.
One of the best ways to get ahead as a Project Manager is to become licensed or certified in ways that are relevant to your industry.
Read Next: 6 Project Management Metaphors For A Quick & Easy Visualization
6. Take On Responsibilities For Your Organization Beyond Your Project
Looking to get a promotion or raise independent of your project’s results? Volunteer to take on extra responsibilities for your organization beyond what’s required of you as a Project Manager.
Although we spend most of our time within the confines of our own project, we ultimately work for a business. These businesses must operate efficiently and profitably in order for all projects to succeed. To truly transcend to another level, Project Managers must be aware of the company’s operation as a whole – not just what our project looks like.
One of the simplest, most effective ways to get ahead as a Project Manager is to help solve our organization’s problems. Here are a few ‘side projects’ I’ve taken on as a Project Manager in the construction industry over the years:
- Organized & Tracked Railroad & Highway Safety Certifications For About 100 Workers While Working For General Contractor In The Bridge/Highway Industry
- Attend Career Fairs To Find Prospective Interns
- Compare Prices & Quotes For New Equipment, Tools, Etc. That The Company Wants To Buy
- Help Others Learn To Use Software Or Programs That I’m Regularly Using
When it comes time to negotiate and raise and/or promotion, you’ll have even more to talk about!
Project Acceleration In Project Management: 5 Methods + The Good & Bad
7. Structure Your Day Right, Including Putting In ‘The Hours’
This last section is centered about putting everything together and operating from that place each day.
We’ve discussed the importance of maintaining our to do lists and all it entails. We’ve emphasized planning ahead, coordinating our teammates, prioritizing, delegating work and taking on more responsibility.
Knowledge is great, but it must be applied.
Project Managers must practice these things each and every day in order to perform their best. Just like a trained athlete practices the same moves over and over again. P.M.s must maintain good habits.
Looking to learn how to structure your time? Here are a few articles we’ve written on this topic!
- Project Management Efficiency Tricks & Hacks: 10 Go-To Techniques
- How To Be More Efficient At Work: 8 Easy Practices
- Project Acceleration In Project Management: 5 Methods + The Good & Bad
Let’s not forget one indisputable truth – when thinking of ways to get ahead as a Project Manager, we must always be willing to put in the time it’s going to take. The more practice we get, the more experience we gain, the better we’ll be.
Ways To Get Ahead As A Project Manager: In Summary
The world of Project Management is competitive. In order to get that raise, promotion or new job, we must perform well AND stand out in some way. After reading this article, you’ve now got a plethora of ways to get ahead as a Project Manager at your disposal. The only thing that’s left to do is to start practicing. I hope this article has been helpful – thanks a lot for reading!
