Three aspects of a Project Manager’s Role

We discussed who a Project Manager is here, a quick snippet below,

Project Managers keep the project team focused on the business value that the project is providing. They help the team members in understanding how their work impacts the project’s business value. Project Managers also ensure that the projects stay on track meeting all the milestones along the way.

There are three major aspects to the Project Manager’s role and they make up the PMI Talent Triangle.

1. Technical Project Management

Simply put, what you study in the PMBOK Guide, by and large, makes up the Technical Project Management. It should be noted that the word ‘Technical’ doesn’t imply something like coding, it implies the understanding of different aspects of project management right from the concept phase to closure which includes all the processes, the tools and techniques, the knowledge areas and other such project management subject matter.

2. Leadership

Project Teams expect the Project Manager to ensure that everyone understands the end goal of the project. A big part of leadership requires the Project Manager to inspire the teams so that they work together towards the common goal.

3. Strategic and Business Management

An important concept to revise here would be business value. The Project Manager ensures that the project delivers as much business value as possible to the sponsoring organization. This requires the understanding of strategic and business purpose of the project. In certain cases, the project teams need to work with different teams within the organization and as a Project Manager, you are expected to have a high level understanding of how these teams fit and together. Maintaining this level of understanding of the sponsoring organization and its strategic goals is the essence of Strategic and Business Management.

Understanding the Triangle

It should be noted that Technical Project Management, Leadership and Strategic and Business Management do not operate in silos. These are related to each other and thus represented as a triangle.

For instance, the better you are at technical project management skills, the more knowledge you can use to keep the project on track to meet its strategic goals. Similarly, the more you know about the functioning of the organization, the easier it will be to employ a certain leadership style.

While studying and clearing your PMP exam ensures you possess the required Technical Project Management skills, you should be able to assess your position in the areas of Leadership and Strategic and Business Management with experience. Some questions to ponder on could be,

• What is your leadership style?
• Do you understand the strategic and business goals of the organization?

The more you learn and with the experience you gain, you are likely to get answers to both these questions. This isn’t something that the PMBOK Guide can entirely help you with.

Once you are PMP certified, the continuing education program also requires you to earn PDUs in all three areas.

Check more articles on Project Management Basics