Introduction

The project manager is the person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives. Project managers play a critical role in the success of any project, and are responsible for the overall success of the project.

Project managers are responsible for planning, organizing, and executing the project. They work with stakeholders to define the project’s goals, develop a plan to achieve those goals, and then oversee the work of the team to ensure that the project is completed on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards.

The project manager plays a critical role in the leadership of a project team in order to achieve the project’s objectives. This role is clearly visible throughout the project. And similar to project management processes being tailored to fit the project, the project management role is also tailored to fit the organization that the project involves.

The project manager’s sphere of influence

Project managers fulfill numerous roles within their sphere of influence. These roles reflect the project manager’s capabilities and are representative of the value and contribution of the project management profession.

The project

The project manager leads the project team to meet the project’s objectives and stakeholders’ expectations. The project manager works to balance the competing constraints on the project with the resources available.

The project manager also performs communication roles between the project sponsor, team members, and other stakeholders. This includes providing direction and presenting the vision of success for the project.

The project manager uses soft skills (e.g., interpersonal skills and the ability to manage people) to balance the conflicting and competing goals of the project stakeholders in order to achieve consensus.

The organization

The project manager proactively interacts with other project managers. Interacting with other project managers helps to create a positive influence for fulfilling the various needs of the project. These needs may be in the form of human, technical, or financial resources and deliverables required by the team for project completion. The project manager seeks ways to develop relationships that assist the team in achieving the goals and objectives of the project.

In addition, the project manager maintains a strong advocacy role within the organization. The project manager proactively interacts with managers within the organization during the project. The project manager also works with the project sponsor to address internal political and strategic issues that may impact the team or the viability or quality of the project.

The industry

The project manager stays informed about current industry trends. The project manager takes this information and sees how it may impact or apply to the current project.

• Product and technology development.
• New and changing market niches.
• Standards (e.g., project management, quality management, information security management)
• Technical support tools
• Economic forces that impact the immediate project.
• Influences affecting the project management discipline.
• Process improvement and sustainability strategies.

Project manager competencies

In order to be successful, project managers need to have a wide range of skills and knowledge. These skills and knowledge can be classified into one of the following groups.

Technical project management skills

The knowledge, skills, and behaviors related to specific domains of project, program, and portfolio management. They are defined as the skills to effectively apply project management knowledge to deliver the desired outcomes for programs or projects. Some of the technical skills that project managers need to have:

• Project planning
• Risk management
• Communication and negotiation
• Problem-solving
• Financial management

Leadership skills

The knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to guide, motivate, and direct a team, to help an organization achieve its business goals. Project managers may lead their teams in many ways. The style a project manager selects may be a personal preference, or the result of the combination of multiple factors associated with the project. The style a project manager uses may change over time based on the factors in play. Major factors to consider include but are not limited to:

• Leader characteristics (e.g., attitudes, moods, needs, values, ethics)
• Team member characteristics (e.g., attitudes, moods, needs, values, ethics)
• Organizational characteristics (e.g., its purpose, structure, and type of work performed)
• Environmental characteristics (e.g., social situation, economic state, and political elements)

Some of the most common styles that a project manager can adopt.

• Laissez-faire (e.g., allowing the team to make their own decisions and establish their own goals, also referred to as taking a hand-off style)
• Transactional (e.g., focus on goal, feedback, and accomplishment to determine rewards, management by exception)
• Servant leader (e.g., demonstrate commitment to serve and put other people first; focuses on other people’s growth, learning, development, autonomy, and well-being; concentrates on relationships, community, and collaboration; leadership is secondary and emerges after service)
• Transformational (e.g., empowering followers through idealized attributes and behaviors, inspirational motivation, encouragement for innovation and creativity, and individual consideration)
• Charismatic (e.g., able to inspire; is high-energy, enthusiastic, self-confident; holds strong convictions)
• Interactional (e.g., a combination f transactional, transformational, and charismatic)

Strategic and business management skill

The knowledge and expertise in the industry and organization enhance performance and better delivers business outcomes. Strategic and business management skills involve the ability to see the high-level overview of the organization and effectively negotiate and implement decisions and actions that support strategic alignment and innovation. Strategic and business management skills may also include developing and applying pertinent project and industry expertise.

Conclusion

The role of a project manager is essential in today’s business world. With the increasing complexity of projects, it is more important than ever to have someone who can effectively manage the process.

A good project manager can help to ensure that a project is completed on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards. They can also help to identify and address any potential problems or risks.

In short, project management is essential for the successful completion of any project.

In this blog post, we have discussed the role of a project manager in more detail. We have covered the following topics:

• What is a project manager?
• The project manager’s sphere of influence
• Project manager competencies

We hope that this blog post has given you a better understanding of the role of a project manager.

Thank you for reading!