Part One

Project management is not something that I had really thought too much about

before this class. Somethings just come naturally to some people and I feel like I am

one of those people. As I have worked at different jobs, I naturally become a leader. I

have had people tell me that I would make a good project manager. I never thought

much of it because I was not totally sure what a project manager did. Now I take it as a

compliment after all that I learned in this class.

When I sit back and think about what a project manager looks like, from what we

have learned, the first thing that I think of is someone who is detailed oriented. When

every aspect of a project needs to be organized and figured out, being detailed oriented

is, in my opinion, the most important part of being a project manager. Each step needs

a detailed list of how things are to be done, who is supposed to do it and by when it

needs to be done. This means that the project manager needs to be on top of the

details to make sure that nothing gets left out of the project.

The next practice I think that a project manager needs to have is people skills,

every project manager needs to have some human resources skills. Every project deals

with people and with people comes problems. In our book HBR Guide to Project

Management it talks about in dealing with problems you may encounter and how the

project manager needs to thin about possible causes, potential impact, and

recommended actions. (Harvard 2012) As the project manager you need to listen to the

problems, listen to the people who are causing the problems and those the problem

affects and then make the decision of how to deal with the problem. So, having the
ability to listen to all sides and make the decision that is best for the project and not the

people can be hard but is a much-needed skill. Each project team is like its own

company and will have problems that is unique to itself and the manager needs to know

how to deal with each of those issues.

One more skill that I think a good project manager needs to have is the ability to

make sure the money does not run out. This goes along with the detail-oriented skill or

practice. The ability to make sure that the project you are leading is cost effective and

comes out either under budget or at budget is an important thing to have. If you

personally do not have the best money management skills make sure that someone on

your team does. The project sponsor will always appreciate the fact that you came out

in the project scope, but they also may want to hire you again if you do a good job.

Which in the end is an important thing.

A practice that I think is an important one is to make sure that the project

manager is someone who has been on a team and a team leader. This way they have

experience being on a project team and as the team leader they have gotten a taste of

what it takes to lead a project. In our book Managing Projects Large and Small it talks

about how a team leader needs to lead as an initiator, model, negotiator, listener, coach

and also a working member. (Harvard 2004) This is a lot of hats to wear. And this type

of experience is great for someone who wants to be a project manager. It really gives

them a taste of what being a project manager is about.

One of the best things I think that was taught was in module 7 with the lessons

learned log. (PM 2013) That as a team you take time through out the time of the project

to look at the things that are going well and working and the things that are not working.
Keep a record of it and then review it at the end of the project. But during the project if

something is not working then do not wait for the project to be over to stop doing it. This

is when you would stop doing this and find a new and better way to work through the

problem. And if something is working then keep doing that. Then at the end of the

project take the time as a team to review what worked and what did not work and learn

from the project of what to do and what not to do next time. Also have the team take an

anonymous survey of how the team worked together and how the project went. By

keeping it anonymous this helps people to be completely honest in their critics of how it

went as no one feels like it can come back to hurt them. Taking these surveys also

helps to learn what to do and what not to do during the next project.

Part two:

As I sit here and reflect on what I have learned regarding project management

and the organizations in which they exist, I have come to realize that there are project

managers in every type of business. Some are appointed by a boss and more formal

and some are self-appointed and not a formal project. I say this because in almost

every type of business almost everything can be considered a project. In retail every

time a pallet of new product needs to be unloaded it is a project. One person seems to

take control of how and where it will get unloaded. Or an office reorganization, it is a

project. For example, my current job is doing an office redo, things need to be

organized, moved, painted and the new items built and put into place. This is a project

and needs a manager to get it done. I have come to realize that projects can be hired by

an outside person or set up by an inside person.

 The areas in which I think that I would excel in being a project manager are being

a detailed oriented person. Making sure all the details are taken care of. Making sure

everything is organized and ready to go. I also think that when it comes people side of

things I would do well. I am a people person, and my goal is to become a human

resource manager. I think that would do well at handling the problems, as a mom of four

kids, this is something that I have a lot of experience with. The last one that I think I

excel at is keeping people on task. As stated, before I am a mom and that is what you

spend a lot of time doing, keeping people on task, and making sure they get things

done.

When I think about the areas that I will have a hard time is keeping the financials

straight. Mainly because it is the area, I have the least amount of experience in. I know

how to make sure all my families bills get paid, but beyond that in the bigger scheme of

things I do not have much experience. This is an area that I would have to do research

and make sure that there is someone on my team that would be able to get it done well

and I would just supervise. The other area I struggle in is getting up in front of people

and talking. I get nervous and then I start to cry, out of nerves. This is something that I

get better at the more I do, but when it has been a while, I revert back to being nervous

and then crying.

As I reviewed my first paper to answer this paper questions, I said that I needed

to decide what type of leader I needed to be. But after taking this class and many of my

other leadership classes I come to realize that each project may require a different type

of leadership depending on the type of project it is and the people who are on the team.

I know that no matter the project I will be a hands-on leader. But the style in which I lead
will depend on the type of project and the people who are on my team. Some people

need a little more hand holding and some need to be left to do their job. This class has

opened up my eyes on the subject of Project management. It has helped me to see that

project management is in every kind of job and it is something that I can do.

References:

Harvard Business Press 2012 HBR Guide to Project Management Harvard Business

School Publishing Corporation pg. 135-137

Harvard 2004 Managing Projects Large and Small Harvard Business School Publishing

Corporation pg. 19-21

PM 2013 How to Capture Lessons Learned at the End of a Project Project management
videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?
list=UUUr0u2WqDWBdxrHnM1nRZiA&v=DBUqW_ek4hI&feature=youtu.be