Your mom’s best friend’s project manager! Key skills for a successful career in project management and management
Semyon Kolosov
The author with 10 years of experience in project management discusses the skills that make a project manager in demand and successful. The book will help you to understand the essence of the role of a project manager and develop a development plan to cope with challenges at all stages of a project. Relevant for beginners, experienced managers and executives seeking to master management, gain a competitive advantage and succeed in any field.
Your mom’s best friend’s project manager!
Key skills for a successful career in project management and management
Semyon Kolosov
In memory of a friend and like-minded person…
Dedicated to Dmitry Moroz.
Proofreader Irina Ignatyeva
Illustrator Dasha Shchegolyutina
© Semyon Kolosov, 2024
© Dasha Shchegolyutina, illustrations, 2024
ISBN 978-5-0064-3202-4
Created with Ridero smart publishing system
About the author
Before you start reading this book, I thought I’d write about my experience so you can better understand the context in which my thoughts and conclusions were formed.
My name is Semyon Kolosov. I am a management consultant in IT. I help founders, top managers and executives to organize effective management of strategy, projects, teams and business processes at all the stages: from idea generation to scaling. In addition as a mentor, I help people change their lives and careers for the better through developing soft skills and management development.
Prior to that, I was the COO of a design unit and center of expertise at a company that builds digital products and digital transformation for big tech companies. Even before that, I was there as a project manager and Head of Project Management Office in client projects for digital services development.
I was also engaged in developing and conducting internships and educational programs on people management, project and product approaches, problem-solving and change management, motivation and team management for IT-companies.
Overall, I have 10 years of experience managing projects and teams in digital products, education, consulting and marketing.
I consider project management a prioritized skill in today’s world, so I strive to ensure that everyone can implement a project approach in their lives to achieve the results they want.
To that end, I wrote my first book “System Life” about management for life and work, which has already helped many people. “Your mom’s best friend’s project manager!” – is my second book, and it’s already specifically for project managers and executives. I also run telegram channels about self and project management.
All links and contacts can be found at the end of the book. Subscribe, I will be glad to receive any feedback and new acquaintances.
Enjoy reading!
Prehistory
Inside the psychotherapy room, lost in the hustle and bustle of the city, was a comfortable leather couch filled with pastel colors and fluffy cushions. The room was dimly lit, bookshelves lined the walls, and sitting at a desk with books was Dr. Emily Milestone, a somewhat eccentric psychotherapist known for her unusual approaches.
Mr. Gregory Sprintsky, the CEO of a successful technology company, burst into the office, looking disheveled and agitated. He was breathing heavily, pouring sweat and radiating nervous energy.
Dr. Milestone, watching this show, raised her eyebrows and asked:
Doctor: Good afternoon, Mr. Gregory. What brings you here so urgently today?
Gregory: Doc, I had another dream last night. About the perfect project manager.
Please sit down and tell me more about it.
Gregory: Well, I dreamed of a project manager who could easily handle any project. He was riding a beautiful electric bike smoothly and silently on a quiet road surrounded by beautiful scenery. There was water all around and the people were transfixed with tranquility and harmony. He was organized, adaptable and had cool communication skills. He had a sense of humor. He knew how to make the team laugh and keep morale high even during stressful times. He was a creative problem solver, always coming up with innovative solutions to even the most difficult problems. And he wasn’t afraid to take risks and take responsibility.
Doctor: I understand. How did you feel after that dream?
Gregory: Encouragement. Hope. But also a little anxiety. Because I know that finding a project manager like that is like finding a needle in a haystack. His image is always with me. I can’t avoid him! He’s always there, like a ghost that won’t let me rest! When I walked into my office in the morning, it seemed to me that the furniture had become an exact replica of this perfect project manager’s workplace. My desk, my chair – everything was just as I envisioned it. I tried to change things around, moved furniture around, but nothing worked. That image always found me. In meetings with my employees, they would start talking exactly as I envisioned the ideal project manager in my head. They would say phrases that I had only heard in my mind. Even when I was resting, that image never left me. I saw his face in the clouds, in the fire of a campfire on the beach, even in the stars in the sky. It’s just crazy!
Doctor: Is this perfect project manager with us now, in this room?
Gregory: Yes!
Doctor: Gregory, I’m going to say a phrase that will make you feel better. Calm down, Gregory. Now that you’re calm, describe him more specifically. What does he do? What skills does he possess? What results does he achieve? What makes him the perfect project manager for you? What kind of image is that?
Session 1.
Self-management
Gregory started telling:
For me, the ideal project manager, or, as we tend to say, PM, is an independent part of the company. He achieves the result of the project in any understandable and incomprehensible situation. He is a team leader who broadcasts the rules of work. He sets the vector of movement, the right mood, the pace of work. He watches for deviations and corrects the direction. He is a project manager who chooses and applies the management technology. Keeps the situation under control, analyzes and makes decisions. Makes the process transparent and communicates decisions. Organizes a purposeful course of work and people to achieve the result. Simply put, this is the person to whom I voice a goal or say, “Do it right,” and he or she produces a predictable result. Without too much oversight, I’m always sure he knows what “right” means, that there won’t be any surprises before the deadline, and if conditions or the environment make the result unfeasible, everyone will know about it beforehand and the PM will come up with a solution to change those conditions. And sometimes we don’t even know the goal ourselves. We just want him to figure it out and do it himself. An ideal PM is not afraid of problems, does not whine, knows how to organize and negotiate, is responsible for the quality of the result and delivers everything on time.
Organized and systematic
This is the base. A systematic approach to tasks and problem solving is the foundation in work. An unorganized person will not be able to organize others. The ideal PM effectively plans and organizes his time and workspace. He has his own self-organization system with his favorite tools from calendar to task manager. It’s without flaw, without cheating, as reliable as a couch spring. It evolves and adapts so that it never wastes time on uselessness. That doesn’t mean he’s obsessed with systematization like a maniac. When needed, he can unfocus or go into creative mode. But systematically managing your life, time and tasks is a masterstroke. It is always said about the ideal PM that he is a systematic person who has everything in order.
Punctuality and compliance to agreements
The ideal PM performs tasks on time, does not allow delays, does not break agreements and promises. The team and clients can rely on him because he always keeps his word. When he says what will be done, it really happens. And if he didn’t give us a heads-up and he didn’t show up for the meeting or he didn’t send us the paperwork, something really bad happened. The perfect PM exemplifies its punctuality and discipline to other team members. It sets high standards and ensures that all employees are accountable and comply with agreements. It helps create an atmosphere where everyone knows that their work is appreciated.
Working under conditions of uncertainty
Systemic does not mean bureaucracy and unconditional adherence to algorithms. The ideal PM is flexible, able to work in a changing environment, and able to develop solutions in the face of uncertainty. He knows that certainty exists only in mediocre projects. And not always. He is not afraid of uncertainty, he knows that projects can be subject to change, sudden shifts and surprises. He is ready to adapt coolly to new circumstances, to eliminate uncertainty or turn it into risks with all his actions. When it’s unclear what to do, there are many inputs or interdependent connections, he doesn’t panic, lose direction or call his mom in tears. The ideal PM is creative and goes beyond traditional methods and solutions. He is especially adept at communicating with the team and stakeholders to ensure that the situation is understood and changes are agreed to. Uncertainty for him is an everyday occurrence. No matter what happens, he will change the system to suit the conditions, just as sailors change course and sail position simultaneously when the wind changes.
Responsibility and reliability
In almost every job opening for a project manager you will find the requirement “to be responsible”. You don’t know the goals, conditions, team and atmosphere yet, but they already say that you will start working and you will be responsible. In short, the ideal PM is a responsible PM. But what does it mean to be responsible? I thought about this question for a very long time and decided that “taking responsibility” means making a decision and being prepared to experience negative emotions, suffering and pain if something goes wrong. To experience failure on one’s own, rather than being scared of it in the beginning and inaction. And if everything is clear with a person’s personal life, because there the consequences will inevitably come and it will be painful, where does responsibility at work come from?
In the workplace, it is commonly believed that to be “responsible” is to have a vested interest in the business, the project, the outcome, etc. But how should an employee have a vested interest in someone else’s business? Cultures of “ownership positions” are invented and “shared missions and values” are created, but it doesn’t work. Because the business owner, partner and employees have different goals. And they use their work in the company for their own purposes, not for shared ones. They don’t care no matter what they tell them in the interview. The interests of the employees conflict with the interests of the owner at every turn. The business owner risks everything every day, the workers risk nothing. Where would the consequences that the worker would fear come from in such an arrangement? There is no accountability. Even to fire an employee for a joint is very difficult, if he is employed by law. And even if there is such leverage, the employee will simply change jobs. For some people this is scary, so they tolerate, do not dare to change and do their job responsibly. And some do it irresponsibly, but take advantage of the unprofessionalism or softness of management. Spent someone else’s investment, sitting on a salary, and no result – oh, well, it happens, sent the payment to the wrong place – sorry, promised cosmic goals and did not do it – so the world has changed, we are not to blame. It won’t be a big deal, the money and resources are not spent by the employee. And an employee will not agree to risk something personal and his own. Why should he go out of his comfort zone for a paycheck? There is no accountability, just a line in the mission and in the dreams of the manager. Even if the owner thinks he’s paying fairly. We know we never have enough and we work like wolves. It’s always unfair by default.
Employees aren’t bad, they just have their own goals and motivations. That’s the way it should be. This needs to be recognized and understood, then the picture of what to do about it will become clearer. You just need to recognize that there is no premise for the birth of responsibility at work. Come down from the turquoise skies and stop imposing responsibility. Responsibility comes from within. And in the perfect PM, and in any human being. No matter where I’ve worked – from shanty towns to cool companies – there have been non-ideal processes, non-ideal salaries and non-ideal teams, but my employees have always been accountable. They may have complained and been disgruntled, but no one ever let me down. They were reliable. Their accountability came from not wanting to let me down specifically or let anyone down in principle. But in the beginning there was a desire to accomplish the goal, to be committed to achieving the goal and meeting the needs of the stakeholders, and to implement all necessary measures to achieve a successful bottom line. This is the kind of attitude that is valued in an ideal PM. It is always easier to quit than to change your attitude to that of a business owner. But it is this transformation that affects the application of all the skills of the ideal PM. Whatever he does, he will put his best effort to make the result. I mention this at the beginning because without an understanding of responsibility, the other skills are meaningless.
