The following post is directly influenced by a publication by Rita Mulcahy called "What makes a project manager successful, " a paper presented at Project Management Institutes Annual Seminars & Symposiums in 2002. Rita Mulcahy was the founder and CEO of RMC Project Management and an internationally recognized expert on project management. According to Rita, there are specific traits that make the best project managers. The best project managers possess the following traits:

• Second-Guess Themselves

• Prevent Overtime

• See the Big Picture

• Get Buy-In

• Know They Don't Know Everything

• Have an Informal Network

• Understand the Art of Asking Questions

Second-Guess Themselves

The best project managers engage in the habit of second-guessing themselves by consistently asking themselves questions concerning the status of a project, such as:

"Is everything alright with the project?"

“Has the major decision I made last week been proven to be correct?”

“What did I miss in the last team meeting?”

“What one thing can we change about how this project is managed?

“What one thing can I change about how I manage this project that will make the project easier to complete?”

Project managers who second-guess themselves are never merely satisfied with the condition of a project that appears to be right on track within the project plan. A great project manager challenges his project's position and asks team members and other stakeholders questions regarding what changes he should make to the project. A benefit of a project manager who second-guesses himself is that he can drastically improve project performance which otherwise would not occur.  

Prevents Overtime

According to Rita:

"A lot of overtime is an indication of a bad project manager."

Overtime can be dangerous to a project manager. When everyone is forced to work overtime, there aren't any opportunities to handle problems that weren’t planned for. When everyone works overtime all projects are delayed due to the relational nature of sequenced project work. The best project manager understands that overtime results from something that's not right with the project. Rita claims:

"When one does not control the amount of overtime and investigate causes of overtime, one loses control of the project productivity, performance, credibility with team members, and buy-in."

Sees the Big Picture

The best project managers focus on the big picture and see themselves and their team members from this perspective. Being a project visionary helps a great project manager prioritize, pay attention to the future and know what's going on with all stakeholders on a project. He is perceptive and understands the project objectives. A great project manager knows how to position the work adequately in the team's mind. He also understands how the project helps to accomplish the organization's strategic goals. A great project manager knows how to communicate with the project team to achieve these objectives.

Gets Buy-In

Buy-in helps a project manager avoid problems and inefficiencies and often is a contributing factor to project success. Rita says:

"Buy-in combines skillful communication, influencing others, gaining upper management support, fostering relationships, providing exceptional customer service, satisfying management, and knowing top management."

Getting buy-in means making things happen to gain project support from stakeholders.

Knows They Don't Know Everything

For a project manager to be exceptional, he must learn from his mistakes, continue his education and admit he’s wrong. Great project managers are able and willing to admit to errors and take on the responsibility of fixing these errors instead of hiding them from the project team. A great project manager admits to his areas of weakness and asks project stakeholders to explain these areas of weakness to him. 

Has an Informal Network

Informal networks form organically when project managers are committed to continuous improvement, dedicated to ongoing learning, and are willing to pass along their knowledge to other like-minded people. An informal network challenges people who seek other people they can trust, trade information with, and gain assistance from. This kind of informal network helps a project manager avoid problems on his project. Members of an informal network usually work within different departments of an organization and at varying positions and levels. This informal network serves as a way to share ideas about project successes and failures, which proves to be extremely valuable in connecting a project manager within an organization. 

Understands the Act of Asking Questions

A great project manager seeks out problems instead of waiting for them to surprise him. He realizes that he doesn’t have all the answers regarding his project, especially when it comes to technical work. A great project manager aims to help others rather than simply telling them what to do. Successful projects often require a project manager to ask a myriad of thoughtful questions, such as:

"What are the top 5 risks on the project?"

"How can we prevent them?"

"How can we handle them if they arise?"

"How can we help you make the problems run smoothly?"

"What options did you consider before coming to that conclusion?"

"What are the best ways to handle this situation"

"How will this affect the project risk?"

Asking questions proves that the project manager values the opinion of others and that he understands that he isn't all-knowing already. Gaining valuable information from others comes in handy when a project manager needs to make an informed decision.

According to Rita, the soft skills of project management are more highly valued and sought out than any others. Rita ranks these traits with personal skills ranking the highest and technical skills ranking the lowest. Becoming one of the best and most successful project managers in your field may very well come down to how successfully you embody the traits mentioned in this blog post.

References:

Mulcahy, R. (2002). What makes a project manager successful? Paper presented at Project Management Institute Annual Seminars & Symposium, San Antonio, TX. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.