A career in project management is not a career that you dream of as a child. I have friends that still ask me to this day what it is I actually do. I had not made the decision to pursue a project management career until I was well into my 20s. Working in the design/construction industry as an admin and CAD drafter, then as a coordinator naturally led me to project management and I loved it. The responsibilities of a project manager are unique and very specific. Problem-solving and having the ability to perform under high-pressure situations are essential skills to have in this profession.

I’ve been managing projects for over 6 years now and have identified the top five responsibilities of a project manager. If you’re considering a career in project management, this gives you a good idea of what is expected in the role.

Communicating

Knowing how to communicate effectively is the most important responsibility of a project manager. We spend 90% of our time communicating with stakeholders, vendors and internal teams to ensure project success. Crafting emails to keep the project moving forward and extracting weekly updates from the project team is a great way to communicate project status to stakeholders.

Knowing how to recognize and say no to scope and budget creep is very important, as this is a common way for a project to slip off track. Communicating to stakeholders about the change management process is the best way to put things into perspective as it relates to changes to the original scope and budget.

Leading

Project Managers are natural leaders. It would be really difficult in my opinion to be a project manager without solid leadership skills. The main responsibility of a project manager is to lead the project team.

Our job is to provide vision and a clear roadmap of how to “get to done”. I have never met a project manager who was not super optimistic and positive. A great leader has the ability to get the team motivated and excited about completing the project. I’m a huge fan of the servant leadership approach. I believe it empowers the team to communicate and collaborate more effectively.

Planning

Another important responsibility of a project manager is planning. Although the business leader is often the owner of the project, the success or failure of a project depends on the project manager’s plan.

A part of planning is knowing how to look 10 steps ahead and organize tasks. This does not mean you are a subject matter expert or a mind reader; it means you have communicated the requirements to the project team and set deadlines for each deliverable.

Documenting

Every project needs proper documentation to substantiate the project. A few documents most projects have is a project charter, business case, project plan, risk register and RACI matrix just to name a few. These documents should be ready on demand and kept for future references on new projects.

Meeting notes are also very important documents and should include key topics, actionable items with task owners and due dates attached to them. Notes should be taken during each status meeting and distributed immediately after. It’s a good practice to have all meeting notes for a specific project attached to the project plan.

Managing Time

If you are not managing time as a project manager then seriously, what are you doing? Most project managers are managing multiple projects and honestly, it is extremely easy to miss things. The ability to manage time can make or break you as a project manager. Being responsible for multiple projects, people and operational tasks can add up to a whirlwind of wtf; so if time isn’t managed correctly, it can be a disaster. Prioritizing tasks and time blocking is what helps me get through my projects.

Hear from our women of project management team on 5 ways to activate your power in project management. If you’re new to the pm world or true to the pm world, these are great ways to elevate your career!

By, Airess Rembert, PMP, Member of Women Of Project Management & Blogger at The Nerd Bae

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