What Makes a Successful Project Manager?

Asking the question -- what makes a successful project manager? -- will usually result in a number of different answers that rely on general project management knowledge or character/personality/behaviour traits. That knowledge will usually involve well known methodologies such as PMI, PRINCE2, Agile or RUP and traits will usually include things like communication and interpersonal skills. These may be necessary but they are not sufficient.

Good Project Manager Skills

Good project manager skills will include:

• Understanding and possibly formal training in at least one structured project management (waterfall) methodology such as PMI or PRINCE2 and an iterative method such as Agile
• Effective leadership skills, primarily the ability to get things done through other people
• General soft-skills such as communication skills, problem-solving skills and so on
• General knowledge on related topics such as software development lifecycle, quality management systems, ITIL service management and the like

Beyond Project Manager Skills

There are many project managers that can tick the box with a long checklist of skills and relevant content knowledge. However, whatever the length of the list of good project manager skills, there is something missing -- what the project manager can actually do. It is sensible to consider project management competence in three levels, that the project manager knows:

1. What to do - knowing about project management and its tools and techniques
2. How to do it - knowing the leadership behaviours and skills that are needed to execute a project and how to work with people to achieve objectives
3. Able to do it - beyond knowing what to do and how to do is being actually able to do it. Theory becomes practice and practice becomes actual competence

This third level is where the knowing-doing gap results in project managers looking good in theory but not being able to deliver the desired results in practice. This is the final vital ingredient that makes a successful project manager.

Knowing-Doing Gap

The knowing-doing gap is like the keen tennis (or chess or project management...) amateur knowing what to do and how to do it but they cannot do it themselves or at least not to the standard that the professionals or world champions do. This knowing-doing gap is what really differentiates between those who can and those who think they can.

Successful Project Manager

The successful project manager knows what to do, how to do it and they can also do it. Whilst many may aspire to project management as a career path choice not everyone is capable of being a good project manager. This is exactly the same as not everyone being an engineer, artist or CEO. The project manager is essential to a successful project and so they must be selected [or developed] carefully. Of course, the project manager is not solely responsible for a successful project, or project failure, but they have a very significant part to play.