The 4 traits of a successful project manager

There’s no doubt about it – project management is a tough gig. There are few roles that require such a broad set of skills, knowledge and experience.

A good PM must be knowledgeable about her industry; must have strong skills in management and leadership; and must be an expert in the “hard skills” of project management.

But, as a firm believer in the 80-20 rule I think a PM can make some pretty solid progress in her career if she possess – and continues to work on – the follow traits.

A great communicator

We hear this all the time – a good project manager must be a great communicator. Good at speaking, a great listener, a strong writer, possess emotional intelligence and so on.

And in my experience this is true – and is arguably the most important trait of a successful project manager.

Politically savvy

Like it or not, politics exist everywhere and at all levels – from the ranks of the project team right up to senior management.
A project manager who actively observes the politics around her will be much more able to understand and interpret situations and people’s motives than a PM who choose to stay oblivious to company politics.

A positive attitude

A wise person once told me there are two types of people – people that generate energy and people that absorb it. Now, there’s no doubt about it – a PM must be an energy generator.

The PM is the person responsible for creating excitement in the team when a new project kicks off. Likewise, it’s the PM who must maintain momentum through the third and fourth quarters – both within the team and also when engaging with stakeholders.

This is a tricky one to fake. I really think that only those people with a genuinely positive attitude – or at least can manufacture a positive environment for others – can be successful project managers.

Process oriented with acute attention to detail

It would be remiss of me to list a bunch of good PM traits without acknowledging the importance of process – or discipline – or attention to detail. After all, a politically savvy person with good communication skills and a positive attitude is probably more suited to being an entrepreneur, or a talk show host, or a politician…

The fact is that for a project to run smoothly with a successful outcome the project manager must have a strong orientation toward designing, documenting and enforcing appropriate processes – and adhere to proper project management processes themselves.

So, these are my 4 traits of a successful project manager. I could list more such as some level of domain knowledge – but I think these are the most important.