10 Lessons in Project Management: What I’d Tell My Younger Self

You know the old adage that you need to do something for 10,000 hours to become really good at it? That’s about seven years as a full-time job. I’ve done that three times over, so there are definitely some lessons I’ve learnt along the way. Here are the lessons I wish the younger me had known, in no particular order.

1. The value in reporting lies in the thinking required to write the report, not in the actions taken by people who read it. In fact, if you’re doing your job well, most people won’t even need to read the report, because you’ve been communicating effectively and kept them up to date as events unfold.

2. Communication is the most important skill. The very best Project Managers are the very best communicators. Learn how to communicate well. Study it. Become an expert in all the nuances and techniques to master communication.

3. Project Managers have very little authority. You don’t really have the authority to ‘tell’ people on the project what to do, and life doesn’t work that way anyway. You’re only borrowing the project team for a short time, and their loyalty is to their permanent roles, not the project, and certainly not to you.

4. A lack of authority is not an excuse for not delivering your project. Just because you don’t have authority doesn’t mean you get a ‘get out of jail free’ card when the project doesn’t deliver. It’s still your responsibility, and you’ll still be accountable if it doesn’t succeed.

5. You don’t need authority to get things done. You can achieve things through influence, negotiation, passion, persistence, appeal, and sheer determination not to let the project fail. Gandhi was a lawyer without any power of authority, and look at what he managed to achieve.

6. Risk logs are often a waste of time. Most people won’t take action just because you’ve identified a risk. Sure, be aware of them, keep an eye on them, but don’t expect anyone to take preventive measures just because you see potential risks on the horizon.

7. Planning in intricate detail for the full duration of the project and trying to keep that plan perfectly accurate is also a waste of time. Things will change hundreds of times before tasks later in the plan are even close to being acted upon. Instead, plan in just enough detail to minimise rework.

8. Most things can be done in less time than you think when you really try. When you’re saying the project can’t possibly be completed in the time left because every decision over the last six months has been late, you’re probably wrong. When push comes to shove, so much can be achieved in a short period, it’ll make you wonder why you can’t always work at that level of speed and productivity.

9. Contingency doesn’t help anyone. People use it as an excuse to procrastinate, do things other than the necessary project tasks, gold plate, or experiment. Giving people less time often results in more getting done, faster.

10. Lots of Project Managers aren’t great at managing. You’ll meet many in your career who sound like they know what they’re talking about, but when you see them in action, they’re just recording things and passing the buck. Truly good Project Managers who actually get things done are few and far between.

What lessons do you wish someone had told your younger self?