PMO | What Are The Actions That Will Make You A Great Project Manager

You may wonder what distinguishes an average project manager from a great one. There are many aspects to consider. Today, let's discuss the deliverables that you can add to your to-do list to make your performance stand out.

1. Help your team know the current focus. You can only do this when you have the bigger picture and understand what it takes to prepare for their tasks. Clarify the steps and the end goals. Then, help avoid any distractions flowing in. Your dev team will appreciate that you set this up for them as they can be more productive and maintain a balanced work environment. Try to set a day without meetings or at least without a meeting with the developer. This will help them stay focused and have time to think and build.
2. Motivate the team. Everyone wants a fulfilling career. Therefore, it's important to help your team understand why their work is needed, what the long-term vision is, and how they can develop their skills and knowledge along the way.
3. Create a stakeholder registry—The stakeholder is the customer for PM service. Therefore, treat them with great attention. Create a registrar to know them by understanding their priorities, preferences, and what they are looking for. Align the effort to make things easier and achieve a win-win for all people involved.
4. Create risk registry—A risk registry or issue log is important for learning from past mistakes. The key is to specify the actions, not the issues.
   
5. Testing each deliverable: Ensure deliverables are checked before handover. This builds trust and credibility for your project team.
   
6. Collect performance data at the task level: You are the advocate of your team, so be ready for it at all times when people ask, "What does your team do?" or "Why are we doing this?"
   
7. One place: Keep the information in one place and update it regularly. This will benefit you in the long run.
   
8. Naming convention: Specify a naming convention to clean up the digital space.
   
9. Level up your time management skills: Time management is a big topic. If you are a project manager, this should be your strength. Then, use it to influence how your team uses time. The fundamental is focused.
   
10. Process Improvement: Great project managers manage tasks and processes. Design and improve the process for efficiency.
    
11. Sharpen tools constantly: Learn new tools to help the team boost productivity. Use AI tools to improve productivity and assist with ideas and review suggestions.
    
12. Organize deliverables with epics: Knowing the business value of the effort helps you stay on top.
    
13. Communicate: Understanding people, empathizing with their situation, offering assistance, and negotiating agreements are all part of the great project manager.​

Take a few daily actions to see if they make people perceive your PM job differently.