1. Develop a Standard Project Planning Guide

At the very start of a project, mapping out the route it will take can be a cumbersome, lengthy and ultimately static process—one that many agile teams do away with entirely. But without any kind of plan, it's difficult to set appropriate goals, divide the workflow, evaluate efforts and change course.

Project managers can speed the pre-planning process by preparing a template planning guide ahead of time. The guide should include strategies for identifying appropriate team members, winning executive buy-in, and setting, reporting and evaluating goals and objectives. With this checklist and template in hand, project managers should be able to more quickly pre-plan for projects while ensuring they're covering all of the appropriate bases.

2. Consider the Human Factor

At their heart, teams are made of people, not job titles. An adept project manager will have a unique ability to identify team member skills, talents and limitations, assign individuals to the best suited roles, and provide the kind of individually-specific support that will help each team member fully realize their potential. This is something that should be incorporated into the pre-planning process, when you might even consider listing out all of these factors and matching them to roles requirements.

Keep in mind that considering the human factor also means thinking of external factors, like a team member's outside life, or the unique ways in which each person communicates and feels validated. The best project managers embrace the fact that some team members will respond better to an email while others do better with direct conversation, that some need a lot of space while others need more hand holding, and will adapt accordingly.

3. Plan Iteratively and as a Team

Even if you're not using the agile process, borrowing the concept of iterative planning can be an effective strategy for keeping everyone motivated and on track. Iterative planning means working in intense 1 to 4-week bursts on specific goals, rather than on a diffuse and overly large goals over a series of months and years. This will help increase cross-collaboration both within your team and with outside teams, focusing each team member on producing a working product rather than achieving perfection. What's more, the analysis at the end of each iteration will help you test your assumptions and further refocus your goals as you go, so there are no surprises later on in the process.

As you complete this planning phase, make sure that you've created very clearly defined roles for each team member, and that everyone is on board or even contributed to the plan. This will create maximum buy-in and keep motivation high, and a team with high motivation is one of a business’s most valuable intangible assets.

4. Focus Attention and Avoid Distractions

Once you've created these intense sprints, it's important to keep team member attention focused in order to avoid deadline disasters. As the project manager, your role is to be a hybrid bodyguard, therapist and motivator. Your team will, for example, focus a lot more effectively if you act as the liaison between the customer or even other teams and your own. You can also evaluate in daily standup meetings how much every person has on their plate and redistribute tasks wherever you see someone getting overwhelmed. This will help keep each team member feel respected and ready to produce.

5. Evaluate and Adapt Frequently

To avoid delays and budget overruns, it's important to evaluate your efforts frequently (sometimes as often as once a week) and adapt your efforts as you go. This means regularly reviewing the work plan, checking off tasks completed across team members and monitoring the budget by comparing planned estimates and benchmarks with the current budget reality.

Keep your eyes peeled for warning signs, like ballooning budgets, the growing need for overtime in order to meet deadlines, and a decline in morale and quality of work. Don't be afraid to hit the brakes and readjust. Set up some form of big data analytics so you can track and iterate when the numbers are suggesting you should adjust your strategy.

The Takeaway

Project management can be a difficult task, but its importance can't be overemphasized. You're the leader, and that means you have to lead. That means making every person in a meeting feel listened to, and then making an executive decision. It means ensuring meetings end not with a diffuse set of floating ideas but a firm roadmap of the week's goals in every person's hand. It means taking responsibility when things go wrong, and adjusting to fit the data until everyone is working in the most optimal ways. It's a fine art, but great leaders are often the sole difference between successful and dysfunctional teams. Good luck!