Bruce Tulgan, a management consultant with Rainmaker Thinking, responds to three of the most common complaints heard from project managers at architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) firms.

1. I don't have enough time.

First, don’t fool yourself. You don't have time not to manage people. If you don’t dedicate the time to providing direction and support every step of the way, things will surely go wrong. Fires get started that never would have started. Fires get out of control that could have been put out easily.

Managers who are convinced they don’t have enough time to manage, spend plenty of time managing people. They just spend most of their management time in fire-fighting mode.

2. I oversee too many people.

Do you have a “chain of command”? Let’s say you have four people who answer to you and each of those four people is responsible for managing someone else.

If you have a chain of command, you have to start using it. You need to focus like crazy on those who answer to you.

3. I manage people in a remote location.

Whenever you are in the same location with a remotely located employee, you absolutely must use that time to really do the work of managing that person.

Second, when you are not in the same location, you must create an ironclad protocol for doing remotely all the things you would do in person.

For additional project management tips, download PSMJ’s Guide to Empowering Project Management, a complimentary ebook designed to synthesize some of our most insightful and action-oriented advice for project managers.

Also check out these project management related blog posts:

What Are The Traits Of The Best Project Managers?

10 Things Every Project Manager Must Know

Are You a Project Manager or Project Admin?

Impact Snapshot: Measuring Project Manager Performance

How to Overcome Impediments to Effective Project Management

5 Tools Everyone in Project Management Should Be Using