You’ll understand the unique value a project manager brings to their team by the end of this post. You’ll also be able to describe and list a project manager’s roles and responsibilities. It will also assist you in identifying new skills that you may need to learn to prepare for your new career.

Ready? Let’s get started.

We discussed project management earlier in the previous post. We talked about how project management varies by industry and company size, from large corporations to small businesses.

Let us now define a project manager and explain how they add value to their teams and organisations.

Let us begin with a definition. Project managers oversee projects from start to finish and serve as guides for their teams, relying on their exceptional organisational and interpersonal skills.

As previously stated, project managers typically follow a process that includes planning and organising, task management, budgeting, and cost control to complete the project within the timeframe specified.

In subsequent blog posts, we’ll delve deeper into these topics. You should be aware that project managers play an essential role in their organisations. Prioritisation, delegation, and effective communication are how project managers add value to their teams and organisations.

So let’s dissect these. First, we’ll talk about prioritisation.

By prioritising tasks required to complete a project, project managers add value to their teams and organisations. They specialise in assisting team members in identifying and breaking down large tasks into smaller steps.

There will be times when a project manager will be unsure of which tasks to prioritise. They will connect with their teams and stakeholders to gather information and plan to determine which ones are the most critical to the project’s success.

Stakeholders are individuals interested in and affected by the project’s completion and success, such as an organisation’s leader.

You’ve most likely used prioritisation to get things done in the past.

There are tasks with varying priority levels in any project, personal or professional. For example, let’s assume you’ve decided to rent a house and intend to repaint the rooms. You’ve chosen your paint and are eager to get started. While it may be tempting to start painting as soon as possible, you must prioritise tasks such as laying out drop cloths to protect the floors and furniture and applying blue tape to the room’s edges. etc. These preliminary steps are critical and must be completed before painting. Other related actions, such as selecting new faceplates for your light switches, can be done later or dropped entirely if you run out of time or money.

When you choose to complete these preliminary steps before cracking open the paint can, you prioritise your project’s tasks or efforts. You’re also increasing the likelihood of being pleased with your newly painted rooms.

This procedure is similar to that of professional projects. When you effectively prioritise critical tasks, you set yourself and your team up for a successful project outcome.

Now, let’s discuss delegation. 

Project managers use delegation to add value to their teams and organisations by assigning tasks to individuals best suited to complete the work.

Let’s go back to our house painting example for a moment. Painting multiple rooms can be time-consuming, so enlist the assistance of a few friends. Perhaps one of your friends has professional painting experience. With that in mind, you could delegate the more challenging aspects of the project to her, such as painting the ceiling or creating detailed moulding.

You could also have her paint the moulding while another friend paints the walls. So, by delegating this task to the person with the necessary skills to complete the work and correctly order the job, you’re applying knowledge of your team’s strengths to project planning.

That makes sense, right? 

Finally, let’s talk about effective communication. 

Project managers add value by communicating effectively with their team and key stakeholders. This refers to being open and honest about plans and ideas and making information readily available.

Project managers communicate with their teams regularly about the work status and assist in identifying areas where a teammate may require assistance.

In our house painting example, you might regularly check in with your friends to see if they have enough paint or supplies to finish their tasks. By checking in regularly, you’ll know if you need to buy more paint before the can runs dry, keeping the project on track.

In addition to staying in touch with teammates, project managers maintain regular contact with people outside of the team, such as company leaders who are invested in the project’s success.

For example, you could talk to your landlord about painting permission and the days you’ll be working on this project. Though your landlord isn’t directly involved in the project’s execution, the results will affect her property, so keep her updated.

Without your project management skills, you could run out of paint halfway through the project, paint your walls without drop cloths to protect the floors, and catch your landlord off guard about your plans.

So it’s a good thing you’re here to ensure that the project runs smoothly and efficiently. Great. You should now be able to define what a project manager is and how they use prioritisation, delegation and effective communication to add value to their organisations.