Since leadership is part of the foundation of being a successful
project manager, I will be writing a series
of posts about the importance of leadership and best practices that project
managers can utilize to grow from a manager to a leader.
Today, the CEO is the leader of the organization. In
order to be an effective leader, the CEO needs to be in charge of the company
in terms of where it’s headed, how it’s going to succeed over the year, five
years, and beyond. Not only do they have to understand today, but they also
need a complete view of the organization, the industry, the competitors, and
the economy. Sometimes, what makes the company what it is and what it can
be can fall through the cracks.
With that being said, according to Brad
Egeland, a business Solution Designer and IT/PM consultant and author, here
are the five things that most CEOs can learn from the project manager:
Customer Management
Most CEOs aren’t closely involved with each customer or with
customer management. Handling each customer properly, assessing needs, and
that their needs are met is what the project manager’s job is all about. The
CEO that takes look at his customer landscape - not just the ones who mean the
most to the organization’s bottom line - will play a role in those customers’
satisfaction and retention rate.
Financial Management
The CEO must be concerned about the bottom line financially at
a very high. With a staff devoted to the details, the CEO is typically only
making very broad financial decisions. So, the CEO could learn a lot from
the project manager who is responsible for the daily financial status of each project.
The ability to focus on problem areas and make decisions for today – not just
next year – could be beneficial for the CEO.
Resource Planning
Resource usage is another area where the project manager could
teach the CEO some lessons. Resources are at the disposal of the CEO, but
the project manager must plan resource usage so as not to cause harm to the project
budgets. Smart resource planning and management is a key aspect of
profitability for projects and for the organization.
Negotiation
Most project managers are faced with many negotiation points
during each project they are managing. It’s a skill and a great business
strategy and most CEOs could probably use a refresher course.
Asking Probing
Questions
In order to get the project started on the right course the
project manager must ask questions of the customer right from the outset.
It’s necessary to define the requirements of the engagement and to understand
where the project is going, what the customer wants, and what their end users
are expecting. The CEO is given lots of information, but to ensure they are
keeping the organization on the right path, they must ask questions.
CEOs see the big picture and have to always be thinking of
how that big picture affects their organization. And, the project manager is concerned about today and
the immediate future of each project he is managing. So, the CEO could learn
things from the project manager that would bring his or her view down from the
10,000-foot level to the day-to-day operations.
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