(Akiit.com) Managing projects is not easy. It may be exciting and rewarding, but it is also a challenge. In the beginning, you can expect to make a number of mistakes. Learning from these errors will help you to achieve greater success in future projects. Nonetheless, you, no doubt, want to try and avoid making as many mistakes as possible in the beginning. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what most new project managers get wrong, so you can make sure you don’t make the same errors, enabling you to become a better manager in 2019.
– They say yes way too often – There is only one place to begin, and this is with the critical mistake of being a people pleaser. It can be easier to say ‘yes’ all of the time and, of course, you want to ensure the client and all stakeholders are happy. However, saying ‘yes’ can often set the project up for failure. Instead, you need to be honest. Don’t commit to doing everything. Once you start the ball rolling by continually saying yes, people will want more and more from the project, and it will never end.
– They undervalue continual training – Another key mistake is overlooking the importance of continual project management training. No matter whether you are a project management apprentice or you have started to take steps up the career ladder, you should never stop learning. This doesn’t only mean courses but learning from other success stories, like Cynthia A Telles. There are always new theories and approaches to adopt.
– They don’t communicate effectively – This is another big error. Effective communication is pivotal to the success of any project. Reporting is not communicating. Instead, you must deliver the correct information, to the right person, at the right time, and in the right manner. Everyone on your project team should completely understand their role and responsibilities, and you need to ensure that you keep them up-to-date on the progress of the project throughout.
– They don’t plan for risks – Having a risk management strategy in place is vital. A lot of new project managers make the mistake of only reacting to risks once they occur. However, nasty surprises like this can derail the entire project. Instead, put a risk management plan in place to deal with such situations. This should also cover cyber security and approaches such as using an effective VPN, encryption, two-factor authentication, and teaching your team about safe web usage.
– They see the project as simply another job – This is where a lot of projects go wrong; the person managing the project simply views it as another job they need to do. They do not care about the project’s outcome, and so there is never the amount of effort or consideration that is required.
– They overpromise and under deliver – It can be very tempting to promise unattainable results simply because you want a client to choose your business or you want to keep an existing client. However, if you do this, you are only going to hurt your reputation when you cannot fulfil your promises.
There is no denying that your first few months and years as a project manager will be a learning curve. In fact, project managers are learning all of the time. Nevertheless, if you can avoid the mistakes mentioned above, you will have a much greater chance of being a success.
Staff Writer; Terry Brown