Common Weaknesses Of Project Managers: Overcoming My 6 Main Flaws

Are Project Managers born, or made? Most likely, it’s a combination of both. Whether our specific discipline is in Engineering, Software Development, Architecture, Construction Management, Business Management or none of the above, we decided to pursue our fields in part because of our natural passion and inclination for the craft. In this way at a minimum, Project Managers can be born. In the vast majority of cases, though, people within these fields need to get several years of experience on the job before being promoted to ‘Project Manager‘. These several years include valuable work experience, training and continual development. In this way, Project Managers are made. There are many reasons why experience and continued training is required. Project Management requires several specific skillsets, managerial techniques, leadership and the ability to make complex decisions. As you can imagine, the vast majority of people do not possess these skills right away! In fact, they might be at the opposite end of the spectrum compared to what’s needed in a certain area. This article will be focused on common weaknesses of Project Managers, six of my own flaws and how I got past them.

Common Weaknesses Of Project Managers: Table Of Contents

If you want to jump ahead to a specific section, just click below!

• My Natural Strengths As A Project Manager
• My Weaknesses As A Project Manager
• Giving Instructions & Directing People
• Overcoming Perfectionism: Accepting ‘Good Enough’
• Being The ‘Bad Guy’ When Necessary
• Navigating Through Disputes & Disagreements
• Being Accountable For The Entire Project
• Becoming A Manager – Letting Go Of Our Specialty

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My Natural Strengths

As far as my interests go, I love planning and figuring things out – managing a complex process is like figuring out a puzzle. I graduated with a Civil Engineering degree and have enjoyed data and the math side of things back to childhood. I’m OK with being lost in spreadsheets or documents all day long. As far as wanting to be a P.M., the money is a huge part of it. Not even MY salary, but my interest in managing contracts, billings, costs and profit is a major part of why I pursued being a Project Manager. Those are the good qualities I brought to PM-ing.

My Weaknesses

Now the bad news. Initially, I wanted no part of giving instructions and telling others what to do. Truthfully, I didn’t feel comfortable. I always liked to create cool things and work on my own – Project Management is not that at all. I’ve written another article about overcoming perfectionism – being in charge of other people means being in charge of their mistakes, which I found frustrating, time-consuming and a bit intimidating. Not only do you need to answer for those who you oversee, but you need to reprimand them when they’re in the wrong, which is the part I found intimidating. The funny part is that I’m a competitive person and I’m not afraid of confrontation in certain situations, but I generally like to have good relationships with those around me and I try to keep things positive. Needing to discipline coworkers was the last thing I wanted to do. When I was just a young guy in the office who bemused people with stories and jokes (at least I think I did), this wasn’t something I needed to worry about.

How about needing to also oversee field crews, technicians, subcontractors, vendors etc.? Being a naturally empathetic person by nature, some level of personal relationship always seemed to evolve with them. This is good in some ways, but not good when it comes to pushing the project’s pace, saying no to requests for more money or formally laying down the law – all things P.M.s MUST do. Because at the end of the day, you report to a Client who is paying your company to get something accomplished, and they’re coming to YOU to make sure that happens – good or bad. For this, you must accept total responsibility – the hardest part of all of this, since it encompasses each point above!

Along the way, I found myself thinking “Can’t I just have the work slid under my door?“. Sometimes I wanted to close my office door, put my phone on silent and dive back into spreadsheets, documents, etc. for the next 40 years. These things, after all, are what I really like doing. As a P.M., the answer is simple – no you can’t! You must oversee the work – not be down in the trenches all the time. Those days are gone once we get promoted to Project Manager.

The good news is that over time, I was able to get past all of these things. But it took effort, experiences, set-backs, mistakes and more to get there!

Common Weaknesses Of Project Managers: Overcoming My 6 Main Flaws

As far as common weaknesses of project managers go, here are my flaws simplified in a list. In the following sections, we’ll go through the details of how I got past each one of them:

1. Giving Instructions & Telling Others What To Do
2. Overcoming Perfectionism & Accepting ‘Good Enough’
3. Becoming The ‘Bad Guy’ When Required
4. Navigating Through Disputes
5. Being The Client’s Point Of Contact & Taking Responsibility For The Overall Project Outcome
6. Letting Go Of Our Original Disciplines & Embracing The Management

Let’s dive in.

1. Giving Instructions & Telling Others What To Do

This was the worst in my early 20s. For some reason, I just was not comfortable delegating work and telling others what to do. I was used to being everyone’s friend. Now, I’m their…boss? I laughed when people referred to me as the boss.

Obviously, this does not mix with being a Project Manager.

Here are a few ways I became comfortable being a manager and giving instructions:

• Someone needs to give direction. If direction isn’t given to get x, y and z done by a certain day and time, it won’t happen. People will take as much time as they’re given to get a task done. Goals must be set.
• You’re doing your job well when you give clear direction. So long as you’re respectful and conscientious, you’re doing what everyone needs you to do.
• You might just need to get used to it. Like anything else, doing something you haven’t done before will feel weird at first, but doing it makes you better each time. Now I don’t think twice about it. If you feel uncomfortable at first – it’s normal!

Being uncomfortable with giving direction and managing people is one of the most common weaknesses of Project Managers in the early stages of our careers, but it can be overcome.

Read Next: Being Direct In The Workplace, Without Being A Jerk: 10 Simple Steps

2. Overcoming Perfectionism & Accepting ‘Good Enough’

If you want something done right, just do it yourself….right? That’s the motto passed down through generations. But when managing a project team, that just can’t be done. We need to get as much work done as efficiently as possible, but there will always be things that irk us, or we’d like to make ‘better’, and our team’s work is no exception. At the end of the day, we can’t make every last detail look just how we want. People make mistakes. The clock keeps ticking and deadlines keep coming.

Not only is our definition of perfect flawed – it’s completely subjective to our own opinions – but perfection isn’t necessary for great results.

Here are a few ways I’ve gotten past perfectionism as a Project Manager:

• Tell people what to do, not how to do it. It’s a famous George Patton quote. Define all of the objectives, but give others enough room to do the work the way they see best.
• Keep things simple. A nice, clean format is the only requirement. Fancy fonts, color-coordinated tables and aesthetics are great, but not at the expense of reaching the actual goal.
• Only a few things really matter. The Pareto principle dictates that 80% of results will come from 20% of actions. The flip side is also true – the remaining 20% of results will come from 80% of actions. Focus on those 20% of critical tasks and make sure THOSE get done right. The rest simply don’t matter as much. Which brings me to…
• Time is a finite resource. There’s just not enough time in the day to get every last thing on the list done ‘perfectly’. Use the time you have to the best of your abilities, and leave the rest to the Universe.

Read Next: Project Management Perfectionism: Rise Above With These Simple Tips

3. Becoming The ‘Bad Guy’ When Required

The piano cuts out mid-note. The bar tender stops what they’re doing. Everyone in the saloon becomes quiet, and they turn their heads to the entrance. The double doors bust open and in walks the cowboy, black hat and all. Their spurs jingling are the only sound heard, other than the heavy thuds as they cross the room. There’s a new sheriff in town.

This is over-dramatized on purpose, but it’s how I felt when I needed to lay down the law. I felt like that bad guy who everyone suddenly turns to watch. Like a schoolyard fight, minus the wedgies.

Let’s get real about having to discipline others – it can be extremely uncomfortable, even scary, but it’s all in our heads! The reality is much less than what we build it up to be.

Here are a few ways I became comfortable enforcing rules and boundaries as a Project Manager:

• Some people are lazy, don’t care or have bad intentions. These things cause the project to suffer, which ultimately makes your job performance look worse and leave the Client unsatisfied. Is someone else’s bad behavior going to be the thing that prevents project success and even your own advancement? It can’t.
• In reality, our ‘street cred’ matters as a PM. If you get the reputation as a pushover, or someone who cowered to another person, people will remember and naturally exploit it. We must keep our reputation in tact as a leader. Showing the people around you that you have expectations and standards is important, because…
• People don’t respect the bite of a dog with no teeth. Project staff and associates must know that there are repercussions for bad behavior. This will motivate them to get their work done on time, hit deadlines, be respectful and maintain quality. Don’t overdue it, though…
• There’s a spectrum to enforcing rules. You don’t need to be a silverback gorilla, pounding away at your chest in triumph. Use a measured, reasonable response. This will just be clearly stating when something is wrong, why it’s wrong and what needs to be done. No yelling, no insults! This is the solution in MANY cases.

Many of us have trouble being the ‘bad guy’ when needed and it’s certainly one of the more common weaknesses of Project Managers, but sometimes it’s just straight-up necessary.

Read Next: Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important In Project Management?

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4. Navigating Through Disputes

In project management, disputes will arise. Whether it be over what’s included in someone’s scope of work, additional money a company feels they’re entitled to, or a plethora of other reasons, these things will happen to some extent on the vast majority of projects.

For me, I felt particularly uncomfortable in these situations. Mostly because I found myself caring about my personal relationship with the other person or group. Being empathetic by nature, I can often see the other person’s side of the argument and recognize the ways that they’re right, too.

Of course, we also have our own reasons as to why WE are right, so this tug-of-war becomes nearly impossible to get past without some techniques.

Here are ways I learned to navigate through disputes with Clients, Subcontractors and Vendors as a Project Manager:

• Stick to the written agreements. Every purchase or hiring should be facilitated through a written, legal document. Not only that, but the scope of work, quality/performance standards, payment terms and any other requirements should be clearly expressed in these documents. When a dispute arises, look back to these documents first.
• Any person, even ones we like, can be wrong – and sometimes WE are wrong! I’ve heard it plenty of times: “we didn’t plan on that being in our scope of work“, but it’s written right there in their contract. Clearly, this person is not correct and they probably forgot, overlooked it or could be trying to take advantage. On the flip side, we’re capable of doing the same thing. People make mistakes, including us. It happens.
• Do as much work up front as possible. Really make sure the scope of work has been thoroughly reviewed, every question has been answered and prices reflect all key requirements. I’ve literally said to people before that I’m trying to avoid issues in the future by ironing out the details now.
• Offer solutions, even when in disagreement. It helps to bring solutions to the table, especially if they smooth out the waters. Ultimately, the project must move forward, so it can be finished, everyone can get paid and we all ride off into the sunset.

Read Next: Importance Of Negotiation In Project Management, With Examples

5. Being The Client’s Point Of Contact & Taking Responsibility For The Overall Project Outcome

It can be easy to forget, but at the end of the day: somebody is paying for the project we’re managing. Being a good Project Manager includes an element of customer service.

Take a restaurant, for example. We’re the Client there. We make a reservation and expect to have a table ready for us at that exact time. We read the menu and decide on our meals. We expect to receive what’s written on the menu, in the way we’ve asked for it. We expect a reasonable timeframe. Of course, we also expect to pay exactly what’s on the menu too. This is what the Client expects from your company, and as a Project Manager we get to be the host, waitstaff, kitchen supervisor and restaurant manager all in one!

While this is one of the most intimidating parts of being a P.M., especially with a tough Client, it’s one of the easiest to understand and get right.

Here’s how I maintained a good relationship with our clients as a Project Manager:

• Be the person you’d expect if you were the Client. This is a good metric when considering how to keep a client happy – if I were in their shoes, what would I want to see?
• Do exactly what you say you’re going to do. If you tell the Client you’ll get back to them at the end of the day, DO IT. Even if you have no real update, a brief call or email goes a long way. This is done in an effort to gain trust from your Client, which is paramount.
• Keep the Client fully updated with key information. This is best done via regular meetings, which should always include a written agenda beforehand, and meeting minutes afterwards.
• If the Client is difficult to manage, set boundaries. While it’s a bit different than #3 above, you still must stick to the contract, hold the line and protect your own company. Here’s an article we wrote about how to handle Client delays if you’re interested!

Read Next: Working For Difficult Clients As A Project Manager: Avoid These 5 Things

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6. Letting Go Of Our Original Disciplines & Embracing The Management

As we stated at the beginning of this article, we all come from different backgrounds and we all have things we like doing over other things. This is probably the hardest part of being a Project Manager – spending the majority of our time managing the project, rather than just doing the work we’re given all day.

For me, I didn’t get to spend all that time making spreadsheets, putting together bills, running reports and writing contracts. Don’t get me wrong, I DID get to still do these things, but they’re done on top of managing the team, coordinating moving parts, planning the next steps and chasing down open items. These are the things a Project Manager is ultimately needed for.

Some real talk: the people that I’ve known who WERE Project Managers, but aren’t anymore, made the change because they wanted to just do the work they liked and not worry about managing!

Here’s how I got comfortable putting my own interests aside and stepping into the Project Manager role:

• You can still do the work you like, you just need to manage the project first. I spent hours on the type of work I wanted to do every week. How? I got work, assignments, and follow-ups into other people’s court first, then I doubled back to my own work. The easiest way I’ve found is to spend my morning on other people, and the afternoon on myself.
• Upward mobility. Being a Project Manager means you oversee many people and parties, but you still need to answer to bosses. If you want to become an upper-level manager eventually or even an owner, the skills that are required to successfully manage a project are the same skills you’ll need to be a C-level position, business owner, etc.! Upper management will need to see what you’re made of, and owning a business will challenge you more than anything. P.M. skills are a must-have.
• I wanted to. In reality, we can’t force ourselves to enjoy a job we don’t want to do. Although I have my work preferences, I wanted to be a successful P.M. more than anything else. Overcoming the barriers felt worth it. If you truly don’t want to be a P.M., you don’t have to be. If this is a deal breaker at your current company, you might need to change.

Read Next: Managing Jerks As A Project Manager: What To Act On & What To Accept

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Common Weaknesses Of Project Managers: In Summary

This article ended up being longer than I thought. With that, I hope I’ve included the information you came here searching for. The above examples are unique to me, but are all fairly common weaknesses of Project Managers when they first get started. A couple of general take-aways:

• Evolving into a Project Manager is a marathon, not a sprint.
• Tackle one area of improvement at a time.
• The process of improving is easier than it seems.
• You can do a lot more than you might think.
• If you don’t want to be a Project Manager and wish to switch paths, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Thanks for reading!