Ah, the early stages of a Project Manager’s career – everything’s so new and the possibilities are endless. Cherish these stages, because soon you’ll be an experienced, jaded Project Manager with a steel gaze! Half kidding. When a P.M. gets assigned their first project, they’ll likely feel many emotions at once – excitement, nerves, pride, anxiety, intimidation, disorientation and more. Like most promotions, becoming a Project Manager is a big deal, which requires a boost in performance and responsibilities. Is an inexperienced Project Manager truly ready? By following the list below, young Project Managers can maximize their experience on their new project while protecting themselves from the downsides! Let’s jump in.
Advice For The Inexperienced Project Manager…
If you’re an inexperienced Project Manager, you aren’t alone – everyone in this industry goes through the beginner phase. That said, here are a few pieces of advice that I wish I knew when starting out. Click the links to jump to a specific section:
- You Can’t Do It All Yourself: Delegate To Others & Emphasize Teamwork
- Be Realistic: Optimism Is Good, But Not Always Honest
- You Don’t Need To Know Everything: Keep Learning & Practicing – The Knowledge Will Come. Ask For Help In The Meantime!
- Learn To Prioritize: Know What Is Important & What Is Not
- Work Efficiently: Identify Time-Wasters & Maximize Output
- Put The Client First: That’s Ultimately Who We Work For
- Focus On “The Big Three”: Budget, Schedule & Quality
Let’s discuss each of these in a bit more detail!
1. Inexperienced Project Managers Must Learn To Delegate
New Project Managers often come into the project at full-force and full of enthusiasm. Neither is bad! Things can get dicey when Project Managers feel the need to do it all themselves.
After getting promoted, we’re all eager to prove ourselves as quickly as we can. This includes working extra hours and hustling hard in order to make our project a success.
After a long enough time, the inexperienced Project Manager will realize something important – it’s way too much work to do on their own!
Learning to delegate tasks to others is essential. When all team members are working together in harmony, a successful project is usually the result.
Read Next: Being Direct In The Workplace, Without Being A Jerk: 10 Simple Steps
2. New Project Managers Must Learn To Be Realistic
Along with the enthusiasm mentioned above is the urge to deliver only good news. New Project Managers want everything to go perfectly. In turn, it can be easy to get caught up in “overoptimism” – when the person’s optimistic outlook does not adequately reflect the facts as they are.
When a deadline isn’t going to happen, an inexperienced Project Manager may work extra hard and hold out hope until the final moments. Though hard effort and positivity are commendable, it’s important to not mislead our team, associates or clients in this manner.
No one likes to be surprised with bad news. When giving timeframes or estimates, be realistic. Account for things that’ll potentially go wrong. Factor in cushions as needed to provide realistic updates at all times.
Read Next: Importance Of Negotiation In Project Management, With Examples
PROMOTED
3. You Don’t Need To Know Everything
The position of Project Manager is a significant role – you are expected to be a leader and to take charge of situations as they occur. With this responsibility comes the temptation to have all the answers.
We’ve even written about “being the one with the answers” as an important trait for a Project Manager to possess. While that’s true, it doesn’t mean Project Managers need to know everything – it just means they’re responsible for getting the answers.
This means we need to rely on other people, too. As Project Managers, we might be serving the project best when we call on someone else to provide their input.
Read Next: Overwhelmed By Big Projects? 6 Approaches With Metaphors & Examples
4. An Inexperienced Project Manager Must Learn To Prioritize
The Pareto principle states that 80% of a project’s results come from 20% of its’ actions. A Project Manager must know exactly where every task falls in this division and make sure those tasks are getting done right.
An inexperienced Project Manager may feel they’re performing best when they spend time using their preferred skill. A Project Manager with an engineering background may gravitate towards the technical aspects of a project, for instance.
Instead, Project Managers must spend time on what the project needs, not what they do best. Whatever those top-priority items are, those are what need to be focused on.
Read Next: Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important In Project Management?
5. Learn & Follow Efficient Work Practices
A good way to think of efficiency is to consider the relationship between these variables:
- The amount of work that gets done
- The amount of time it took to get it done
- The amount of effort it took to get it done
The best way to think of it? Maximize the work getting done, while minimizing the time and effort required!
Looking for specific techniques? Check out some of our articles below!
- Project Acceleration In Project Management: 5 Methods + The Good & Bad
- Project Management Efficiency Tricks & Hacks: 10 Go-To Techniques
- How Do You Manage Multiple Projects Effectively? Our Top 10 Techniques
6. The Client Is Priority No. 1
With so much to think about, an inexperienced Project Manager may forget about what’s #1 – more specifically, who is #1.
That’s the Client!
The Client is the person or party that has conceived the project, initiated getting it going, is paying for it and is expecting a final result. The Client is the only reason the project is even happening in the first place.
Our company’s job is to complete the project per the Client’s direction, within a certain time, for a specific price.
As the Project Manager, the Client relationship is primarily in our hands. Putting their needs and desires first is of upmost importance.
Read Next: What Should A Project Manager Do If The Customer Delays A Project?
7. Focus On The “Big Three”: Budget, Schedule & Quality
As a new Project Manager, your time will be best served on monitoring the big three – budget, schedule and quality.
If you’re an inexperienced Project Manager, part of your first couple of years will involve a lot of learning. If you’re interested in learning about these topics, check out our articles below on these ‘big three’ subjects!
- A Project Manager’s First Day On The Job: Focus On These 3 Essentials
- How Do You Organize Project Documentation? A Few Must-Know Methods
- Project Acceleration In Project Management: 5 Methods + The Good & Bad
- Cost To Complete Template: FREE Excel Download (ETC, EAC, BAC)
- What Are The Basics Of Project Scheduling? 9 Essential CPM Steps
Inexperienced Project Managers In Summary
Last but not least, it’s important to remember that EVERYONE must go through these ‘beginner years’ in project management. Nobody is exempt. The best thing you can do as an inexperienced Project Manager is to learn. Just focus on learning and growing – you’ll be lightyears ahead of where you started in no time. I hope this article has been helpful, thank you for reading!
