How do you manage your projects?

Project management is an easy job if you learn how to manage your tasks and track them to determine the level of completion. So, here's a list of key skills for project management in 2024 that you should keep in mind and use wisely to excel.

Knowledge of company policies

If you have just been hired by a company or organization, you don't know its terms and policies. You don't know what motto the management of that company operates under and what style the owner prefers to apply in order to create a productive atmosphere for his employees while working. It will never do you any good if you don't try to find out and dig out minor information about the policies of the company. You should ask the owner of the company or the personal secretary to provide you with a written document that defines the company's policies in detail. This will enable you to find the right direction to work on that particular company's project.

The second thing to keep in mind when accepting a project management proposal is access to the company's mission statement. Most companies have written their mission statement very clearly and boldly, perhaps at the front door, but some still only have it in their documents. You should go and find it and read it carefully. Understand the words written on the page, on the wall, on the linens or on the digital screen, absorb their meaning and talk to the owner about what the purpose of that mission statement is. This will create a good impression and help you make your personal mission statement to successfully complete the project even during a pandemic.

Clearly write your mission statement on a piece of paper and stick it on the wall of your desk so that it is visible and reminds you. This will help you stick to your goal and do what you need to do to achieve it.

Develop a plan before implementation

Before you start putting your project plan into practice, have a visual meeting with all team members and the business owner and review their suggestions. This way, there is a chance of getting the best and most effective proposal. Determine the responsibilities or role of each team member and discuss it with them individually.

It is your responsibility to make sure your team knows their roles and responsibilities and to clear up any ambiguities they feel. Have healthy conversations with your coworkers and discuss a plan with them, whether it's time management or risk management.

Improve communication through technology

As stated earlier, we are not in a routine job as we visit our offices every day and perform our tasks as a team physically. Most people work as not everyone can physically show up to work and gather a crowd around them. A tricky situation arises: how do you get your team to work efficiently and how do you monitor their performance.

You are accustomed to communicating with your teammates through physical meetings, but now you can fill that gap with virtual meetings. Technology has made it easy to access your team members in a minute and discuss things like you used to in physical meetings.
You can communicate your ideas and your vision by developing strong communication skills. You can do this by preparing slides, giving a speech, or leading a discussion session.

You can make calls, video calls, develop online or Excel spreadsheets, develop an online attendance system and many other ways that exist to engage your team and healthy communication to fill in the gaps. Also share plans as Google docs on various apps and websites and ask your team members to attend, while you can check who has followed your instructions and who is neglecting them by looking at the views option.

Risk assessment and risk management

We don't do anything perfect, we face various risks while working on a project. These risks can be financial risks, health risks, credit risks, market risks and others. So, what is a project manager to do. A good project manager first identifies the risk, its nature and level and then assesses it on various parameters. These may be related to the company's finances, its reputation or the health of its employees.

The manager needs to know what is going on in the process, whether we are keeping up with market demands, whether we are within budget, whether the team members working in the plants are safe and whether they enjoy the work. All these issues need your attention and if you sense something worrisome, you need to identify it, assess it and take the necessary steps to address and manage the risk at the outset to avoid further inconvenience or loss.

Become a team player

For your project to be successful, you need to be a good team player. If you are new, study the background of your team members and discreetly work on the skills they lack. Be a part of your team, feel their emotions and give them a break when they want it. A good team is formed when members share a problem they are facing and the whole team agrees on a solution. Keep the doors open for team members to contact you, share the problems they face in the process, take their suggestions seriously, and remember to admire and thank them if you find them helpful. This will help boost your energy, and you'll work harder to find better ways to make the company project a success. Don't forget to celebrate small accomplishments as they promote self-motivation and give you a sense of integrity, which leads to the development of a strong bond and trust between you and your team members.

Conduct market research

Companies have adapted their way of working and set a new example of success even in the midst of a pandemic. Some countries are boosting their economy even in these miserable days by going for innovation and introducing new things to attract the public, showing that it is beneficial for them. You should do a detailed market and internet research about the famous and reputable companies and find out the reasons behind their success and reputation. Don't copy others, just take the idea and implement your plan to set a new example in the market. A good project manager follows research closely, conducts in-depth market analysis and keeps a record in the form of an analysis report or fact table.

Support your team when needed

Management is the backbone of the team. Project managers don't have to perform a specific task, they are hired to make a plan and implement it among team members, providing strong support to the team as they work on various tasks to achieve a specific goal. Like our brain, it gives instructions to every part of the body and each part performs its task according to the requirements chosen by the brain. It is our brain that warns us of risks, asking us to perform a voluntary or involuntary action. The same applies to failure management, you must work cohesively to keep your team members in balance with their work, preventing burnout.

You must keep track of how well you and your team are accomplishing the tasks assigned to you and your team. You can calculate this metric by presenting it on a graph and drawing a line of comparison to see where your project is going up or down. You'll find areas where you need to work harder. This will help you find your biggest rocks and most important goals and show you the path to achieving them.

In addition to your official duties, your personal life, your body and your mind also require your attention. You should make time for yourself and your family, as this will help you get rid of stress at work and keep you fresh and motivated to achieve your goals.

Be a leader and not a boss

If you want to achieve maximum and remarkable results from your project, you need to be a leader to show the right direction to your team members who are good at it and convince them that you are doing it for their well-being and then you are acting like a leader as your team will notice that you are doing the best for them. But if you demonstrate an overbearing attitude, they will not like you and do things that annoy you. You should also develop your writing skills. You should be able to write an effective and understandable report, using good English grammar and mathematical and analytical formulas to report your progress.

After the successful completion of the project, you should celebrate with your team by having a visual or physical meeting, talking about the team's journey through the project and thanking them.