Who Should You Trust to Manage Your Firm's Projects?

There are many ways a firm can spend money, but only one way to make money – on projects managed by your designated PMs. And your firm’s PMs are the primary contact point with your most important clients.  

So, what’s the best way to select these critically important people?  Most firms select PMs based on how well they perform as engineers, architects, planners, etc.  But when we asked a group of 40 clients of A/E firms for the Top 10 traits they look for in a project manager, technical/design expertise came in at Number 10 – barely making the list.  And when we asked 600 principals of A/E firms about the most essential traits of their best PMs, technical/design expertise didn’t even make the Top 10 list. 

So, can someone with zero technical/design expertise be a good PM in your firm?  Probably not.  An effective PM doesn’t need to be the firm’s top expert on the type of project that is being performed, but they do need to have a solid technical understanding of all aspects of the projects they manage.  However, having only technical/design expertise doesn’t guarantee that someone will be an effective project manager. 

A few years ago, PSMJ partnered with Harrison Assessments to develop a profile of traits to look for when selecting someone to become a PM.  We studied hundreds of project managers from a dozen well-respected A/E firms.  The result was this list of the most important traits to look for, listed in order of importance:

1. Tempo:  Enjoyment of work that needs to be done quickly

2. Team:  Enjoyment of work done in a cooperative team effort

3. Tolerance of Structure: Tolerance of the following rules and procedures established by others

4. Wants to Lead:  The desire to be in a position to direct others

5. Teaching:  The enjoyment of instructing or educating others

6. Provides Direction:  The tendency to provide others with clear direction or guidance

7. Collaborative:  The tendency to collaborate with others when making decisions

8. Takes Initiative:  The tendency to perceive what is necessary and to proceed on one’s own

9. Prolific Quality:  The tendency to be productive while still paying attention to detail

10. 5ystematic:  The enjoyment of tasks that require careful or methodical thinking through a series of steps

We also found that some PMs were unsuccessful despite possessing the above traits.  This led us to a list of traits to avoid, listed below in order of importance:

1. Avoids Communication:  Lacks the combination of frankness and diplomacy

2. Uncertain Disinterest:  Lacks confidence in one’s own opinions while at the same time not reflecting on different ideas and opinions

3. Precise but Slow:  The tendency to be exact or precise without being sufficiently productive

4. Blindly Optimistic:  Focuses on the possible benefits of a plan or strategy without sufficiently analyzing the potential difficulties or pitfalls

5. Cautious Inattention:  The tendency to be cautious about risks while at the same time paying little attention to the potential difficulties or pitfalls of a plan or strategy

6. Rebellious Autonomy:  Seeks freedom from authority without taking sufficient and appropriate initiative

7. Careless Pessimism:  The tendency to take risks while at the same time believing that the future is bleak

8. Cool Permissiveness:  The tendency to lack warmth while at the same time enforcing necessary rules

9. Laser Logical:  The tendency to solve problems by emphasizing analysis over intuition

10. Authoritarian:  The tendency to make decisions independently without sufficiently collaborating with others

So, next time you decide whether to promote someone to become a project manager, consider the above lists.  We’re sure this will improve your success rate.  For a complimentary example of the Harrison Assessment for Project Managers, please send an email to Diane Constantine at dconstantine@psmj.com.