What makes a good Project Manager?

When a project goes wrong the cause is often poor project management. 

So what makes a good Project Manager?  And are the best project managers those who have obtained a recognised qualification?

Without a doubt a qualification can provide a junior project manager with a set of tools that they can use to manage a project. But does that mean they are ready to successfully manage a project? 

What other skills should a project manager have?

Here are a few suggestions that as a Project Manager you need to consider: 

1. Are you comfortable with delivering bad news?
   This really is the kiss of death on a project if you aren’t.  Something will go wrong and the worst thing you can do is ignore it or even worse hide it. The sooner you make your senior stakeholders aware that there is a problem then the greater the chance of implementing measures to address the issue.
2. Saying ‘No’
   There are so many things you will need to be prepared to say ‘No’ to. It could be staff holidays, or working from home at a crucial time, or it might be negotiating with a stakeholder over changes that they believe are required.
3. Are you happy with telling people what needs to be done?
   Are you comfortable with giving instructions? Sometimes it is just not enough to ask. Sometimes you will need to tell a team member to do something. You need to be able to lead.
4. Team Building  
   It isn’t always the best team that wins the league or the worst team that gets relegated, sometimes it is the most motivated and the most committed and the one with the best team spirit which succeeds. It is the same with Project Teams. Your team might be made up of permanent staff, contractors and suppliers, all with different motivations.  You need to foster a culture so that when things go wrong, and they will, the whole team pulls together as one to deliver the project.
5. Are you flexible?
   Once the plan has been agreed do you doggedly stick to the plan?  The plan is only right at the point it has been agreed. Things will happen that will change the plan and you need to be flexible and adapt as changes happen. There is no disgrace in having to adapt as long as all involved understand.
6. Do you document?
   It is essential that all key decisions are documented. You never know when you will need to refer back to something. Particularly if the project starts to go wrong. Most people leave it too late or don’t do it at all.
7. Seeing the Big Picture
   It depends on the size of the project, and the devil is in the detail, but the project manager must see the bigger picture and when you micro manage you tend to lose that focus.
8. Relationships
   Probably one of the key skills that a Project Manager needs is the ability to build relationships. With their team, suppliers and also key stakeholders in the business. You need to know the people you are working with. Although everyone wants the project to succeed, they may all have different priorities and when those are conflicting you need to manage that and the best way is by having developed relationships.