Three Best Practices Every Project Manager Should Know

I've been grateful to have the opportunity to lead the project management office of a nine-figure mid-market firm at the age of 25, a role where the average age in the US is 47. Although my experience may be brief, I believe it's the skillsets I've learned to implement that have attributed to any success I've created thus far and seek to share insight from my experience as a PM and entrepreneur for other project managers.

This article speaks nothing of chasing deadlines or staying organized as a PM and yet I'm confident it will help set you apart from other PMs because of the widespread success you create when you empower others to succeed: A rising tide raises all ships.

1. Leading > Managing

It's my opinion that the most difficult skill to develop as a great PM is the ability to lead a team which does not report to you as their true supervisor. People listen to a manager due to chain of command, but they follow a leader because they believe that person has their best interest in mind and possesses the ability to help them achieve more. As a young project manager, I may lead projects with team members much more experienced (in career and age) than myself who likely don't want to take orders from me, and shouldn't have to. My experience as an entrepreneur has been instrumental in overcoming this gap by pushing me to hone my soft skills (networking, public speaking, relating to different backgrounds, conflict resolution, crucial conversations, etc) so that I can demonstrate my competence and value from Day 1 even though I may seem less experienced on paper. Instead of reading endlessly about Agile I recommend picking up some books on people skills that will help you lead people regardless of your age; a couple of my favorites are "The Go Giver" by Bob Burg, "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect" by John Maxwell, "Crucial Conversations," and "The Courage to be Disliked" by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi.

2. Build Strong Connections

People won't care what you know until they know that you care. For this reason, Day 1 of leading a new team that doesn't know you can be intimidating even if you are skilled. One of the best things I've done when joining a new team was to grab time to chat over lunch/coffee (virtual if you must) 1-on-1 with my new team members to get to know them as people and learn more about the work they're doing so I can better understand them and support their mission. Not only will this help you get to know more about the person, but it equips you to help them succeed once you can identify what goals and priorities they are chasing in their role.

Building genuine connections with team members (especially if remote) also gives you space to take charge of meetings and respectfully challenge people without the fear you'll be creating an enemy. An exceptional project manager can pull others towards a common goal without pushing people inch by inch. I've found that I've earned more respect and buy-in from my team members when I can effectively navigate conflicts by maintaining standards with grace rather than being too skittish to rock the boat. "Crucial Conversations" is a fantastic book for this sort of skillset.

3. Keep It About Them

When the team gets a win it's important to call it out and acknowledge individuals not just for the outcome they created but for the effort and initiative they took also. Everyone is expected to do a good job, but not everyone gets the often-needed recognition for the actual effort it took to actually accomplish. Inversely, when something goes awry it is our role as the team leader to take ownership for our own shortcomings and not to pass the blame. No matter whose fault it may be, you will get much more long-term value and buy-in from your team by talking about what more you could've done than to chastise them in attempt to save face, and truly keen upper management will recognize that!

When implementing a new tool or strategy you will experience less pushback if you keep the narrative about how you are seeking to make your team's lives easier through this initiative rather than pointlessly adding another layer of complexity to their work. Many folks may naturally assume you have no idea what it is they're doing for their role, so doing a better job to highlight specifically how what you are changing will be beneficial for them directly will ensure you face less resistance and continue to demonstrate that you care about helping your team succeed.

Anyone can learn new technical skills to perform in a role but it's the art of working with people that separates good employees from great leaders. By continuously working to implement these three simple practices of learning to lead without micromanaging, developing genuine connections with your team, and putting others first you will inevitably create waves of success throughout your organization that someone simply chasing task deadlines will never recreate.