Team Member Minute: Project Management and its Importance

"Those who plan do better than those who do not plan, even though they rarely stick to their plan.” – Winston Churchill

Project management has existed for decades but has only recently gained popularity, bringing project management jobs to many new industries. But what is project management? Why is it important?

There are many different sizes of projects, but they all share a need to be planned, designed, and guided towards your goal. The purpose of a project manager is to be the designated person responsible for guiding a team of subject matter experts toward the goal while maintaining the scope of work and budget. As leaders in you company, your numerous responsibilities are required for making your business successful. Adding the need to manage a project becomes complicated and tiresome, leading to missed deadlines and an increased budget.

Finding the right project manager can take time. A successful project manager needs to not only have great documentation and communication skills, but also must be a strong and empathetic leader and have a strong understanding of what your company believes in and wants to accomplish. During the project, they must meet with many different types of people, bringing them all together with the singular focus of the current project. Managing many different personalities requires patience, active listening, and an understanding of where each individual is coming from.

Having a project manager that understands your company’s goals in business as well as the project allows them to design the project in a manner that reaches your overall business goals inside of the project. Instead of only opening a new location, your project is now extending your passion of helping the community by opening a branch that brings you closer to the people you previously were unable to see on a regular basis.

Project management is not just about completing a project. Project management is about guiding a community through a change, allowing them to come out on the other side stronger and more connected.