How to Anticipate Setbacks at Work Before They Happen as a Project Manager

In this day and age, the project manager is something of a staple- an iconic head that has evolved over the years to be something of an office guru.  But what makes project managers so special? So 9-to-5 nirvanic? It’s how they deal with issues as they emerge and stop them from trumping budget and timelines.

Here are some of the largest and most frequent issues that project managers deal with, along with solutions and tools that excellent project managers may use to anticipate, prevent, or at least lessen these issues.

The Inability of Team Members to Own Their Portion of the Project and a lack of Awareness of Their Roles Within It

The accountability issue and how a competent project manager approaches it- Good project managers clearly define expectations and let team members know upfront who is responsible for what. 

It is crucial to proactively build out the decision-making framework, including how all the major players fit in.

One way project managers can build a decision-making framework is by using a chart where each team member is given a specific role for the assignment.

Removing Important Employees from the Project Either Partly or Wholly

How a competent project manager manages problems with resources: The art of managing resources or supplies and demand is a skill that only the best project managers possess. For project managers to quickly make choices, re-allocate tools, and eventually decrease schedule fat, they need a project management system that offers resource transparency and visibility tools.

How else do excellent project managers handle the conflicting demands placed on team members? Persuading management that dropping an important team member may cause the project to be put off.

Making Sure Your Project Management Tools Help Fulfil Deadlines 

How a competent project manager manages timelines, which are frequently fluid: Give each team member a definite deadline for completing their portions of the project to prevent missed deadlines. The deadlines are always set considerably sooner than is necessary. This gives time for revisions and a second evaluation if something needs to be rectified.

It also helps if you can divide the project into digestible parts or milestones, with enough time between each one to allow for revisions preceding actual completion.

Not Understanding There Is An Issue or Possible Issue 

How a competent project manager monitors possible issues: A competent PM should have regular status meetings with the team on a weekly or more frequent basis to ensure that all tasks were completed on time, to identify any problems and resolve them, and to re-plan any necessary activities.

The use of collaborative work tracking software is another method that project managers may quickly identify possible issues and steer clear of pointless status meetings. You may spend your time talking to those who are behind schedule or who aren't reporting their progress while giving team members whose assignments are updated and on track more time to complete their work.

Team Members' Lack of Communication or Animosity 

A competent project manager prevents potential conflict by following up with team members frequently, either by phone or in person, to find out how things are going and whether any work-related or personal issues need to be resolved.

Task management and scheduling are just a small part of project management. You must be able to connect with each team member and communicate with them frequently. You will win the group's trust by doing this, and their commitment to the project will rise.