8 Practices of Great Project Managers

At my organization, we pride ourselves on doing what we say we are going to do. A big part of living up to that value is to be great at setting an ambitious vision for impact and then doing the day-to-day work to realize that vision. Below are practices I have seen our best project managers bring to their work on a consistent basis.

1. Define success. Before you start building out action items and timelines, clarify and communicate what you are trying to accomplish (and why it matters). True success with many projects often includes multiple parts (for an example, an event might be successful because it achieves a certain number of attendees, has smooth logistics, and secures action commitments from a certain percentage of people). Success can often be defined quantitatively, but not always - work to establish a bar for expectations so that reasonable people would agree on whether or not the goal was met. Ask those who have done this type of project well in the past for their suggestions.

2. Clarify roles. Who is the “quarterback” (owner) of the project? Who approves major decisions within the project? What role do others play, and at what times? How will you work together, and how often will be check in on progress? Clarify these roles up front - one framework I’ve found helpful is the MOCHA framework. For larger projects, it can be useful to define owners of different goals or areas of the project.

3. Get a written plan in place. I love Asana, and there are so many other great options for organizing a project from very simple to incredibly complex. At a minimum, your project plan needs to include action items, who is responsible, and deadlines. It might also include a place to keep track of sets of project-related information (lists of materials, guest lists, agendas, open questions that need discussion, etc.).

4. Be realistic about timing. Once you’ve clarified the steps that need to happen, build them into a real calendar. Start with the end in mind and work backward from there, with your best understanding of how long various parts of the work will take. Watch out for things that could impact your timeline - a major event that will take your attention away, a key project stakeholder being on vacation, etc. Build in time to get input on drafts and ideas along the way, keeping in mind that others are not likely to prioritize your project quite as much as you are given competing priorities on their own plates.

5. Keep stakeholders updated. Provide updates along the way to those that are involved or need to be kept updated. This might look like a weekly email during the project, for example, with updates on what we accomplished last week, progress towards project goals, and what is coming up in the week ahead. This is especially important as things change - they always do - and you need to update your plan or approach and bring others along with you.

6. Consider templates. Many projects happen over and over again (board meetings, house parties, employee onboarding, phone bank nights, etc.). In those cases, build a template project plan that you can then modify with specific dates and owners each time the project happens. As you learn best practices for that project over time, improve your template so that you are benefiting from your good ideas over and over again.

7. Appreciate, and then appreciate again. Appreciate those that are supporting the work - shout them out publicly, drop them a nice email, share with their manager how helpful they have been, get them a small token of your appreciation as the project wraps up. These efforts take minimal time and resources from you and go a long way in building strong working relationships which result in greater impact over time.

8. Debrief and Preserve. At the beginning of the project, put a debrief conversation on the calendar for key stakeholders after you anticipate the project will finish, and then use that time together to identify what went well, what you want to do better next time, and any next steps in the immediate. Consider putting out a survey to a broader group of constituents (event attendees, staff members, fellowship participants, etc.) to get their input to inform your debrief (and add the survey creation and sending to your project plan!). Finally, capture the artifacts (documents, plans, pictures) from the project into a shared place where that institutional knowledge can be preserved.

So, to recap, here are 8 practices of great project managers:

1. Define success.

   • Create a written vision and goals for the project.

   • Communicate these with stakeholders.

2. Clarify roles.

   • Decide on project roles and owners.

   • Decide how you will work together.

3. Get a written plan in place.

   • Create and share a written project plan.

4. Be realistic about timing.

   • Working backward, put your plan into time to set deadlines.

5. Keep stakeholders updated.

   • Consider weekly emails and/or regular meetings.

6. Consider templates.

   • If this project will be replicated, consider creating a template.

7. Appreciate, and then appreciate again.

   • At multiple points, appreciate the contributions of team members.

8. Debrief and Preserve.

   • Schedule a debrief conversation.

   • Make time to archive your documents.

Sign up for my weekly email newsletter with 5 simple tips for making life more joyful and easy here.