Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Essential Qualities of the Best Project Managers

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Essential Qualities of the Best Project Managers Over at the American Management Association, Tom Kendrick, author of 101Project Management Problems and How to Solve Them, asked readers how to assess if they have what it takes to be successful project managers. We’ve been talking a lot about certification here, but Tom approached the issue from another angle: what qualities do the best PMs most frequently display? Here are the top ten. Extroverted The best project managers are people-oriented and quickly establish effective working relationships with their team members. Introverted PMs, on the other hand, may find their projects wandering out of control because they are insufficiently engaged with the people responsible for the work. Analytical Great PMs have a preference for observable data over intuitive information. Projects are usually best managed using facts that can be verified and tested, and they tend to proceed most smoothly when decisions are based on consistent, data-driven criteria. Organized The best PMs are detail-oriented and can keep straight many disparate activities at a time. Individuals who are more flexible and spontaneous are important for innovation, but as PMs they may lack a perspective on the big picture and projects may be chaotic and directionless. “Technical Enough” Tom commented that for large programs, project managers are seldom masters of every technical detail, but generally are knowledgeable enough to ensure that communications are clear and status can be verified. Unless a project is particularly small and technical, it requires an effective leader who can motivate people and delegate the work to those who understand the nuances. Pragmatic Great PMs understand that striving for perfection is fruitless. Instead, they focus on how to most efficiently deliver business value, recognizing that there will be trade-offs between time, scope, and cost. For the rest of the list, check out Intuits Fast Track blog.