Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom How to Become a Better Project Manager

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom How to Become a Better Project Manager Upcoming demographic shifts mean that the majority of people in the workforce will soon be those who grew up using social tools to communicate and engage with each other. As a result of their input, a new collaborative workplace is emerging, transforming the way work is done and the employee skills that are required. Jacob Morgan, co-founder of Chess Media Group, Forbes.com contributor and “future of work” authority, has discussed how employees need to adapt in order to be successful in this new collaborative environment. One aspect of that change is “Everyone must develop some basic project management skills.” Here are some other ways the non-professional Project Manager can become a better manager of projects. Be Mr. or Ms. Fix It Just because your title doesn’t involve the phrase “project manager” doesn’t mean you can’t become one. If you see something that’s broken, take the initiative to fix it. Develop a realistic plan to solve your team’s most pressing problems and gather influential people and internal resources around you to make things happen. Most people cannot resist someone with enthusiasm and your positive energy will snowball. Understand What the Project Is This one sounds obvious, but the best PMs have a solid handle on why they are doing a project, who they are doing the project for, the resources that will be required, and the timeline from initiation to completion. They push back if senior leadership establishes a deadline that is unrealistic and doesn’t allow for the inevitable unforeseen delays, and before proceeding, they make sure that everyone involved is on the same page regarding the business rationale, budget, and success metrics. For more ideas, have a look at the full post at Intuits Fast Track blog.