Are you a Project Manager (PM)? Oh yes? Then you might agree with me that it is like wearing a crown that comes with a burden. As Project Managers, we need to adapt to different people, cultures, environments, and situations. Essentially, the project manager is accountable for the success or failure of a project. Thus, the pressure is all on the PM! That is why it is paramount that the PM has an extreme mindset.

Let’s look at 3 things that contribute to being an Extreme Project Manager.

#1 Flexible and Realistic

Firstly, PMs must accept that they can’t control everything. As one, we need to be in touch with the ‘reality’ of what is involved in bringing a project to fruition. When things change, as they often do, a PM must adjust to progress towards the project objectives (this is where the NLP presupposition, “Law of Requisite Variety” comes into play).

Moreover, we can’t please all stakeholders all the time; we can, however, work at reconciling differing views and align everyone on the shared goal.

Ultimately, the success of the project comes down to our stakeholders who decide whether to accept the completed project outcomes. Using this understanding as a guide to our communication with stakeholders will serve well in maintaining rapport.

#2 Logic, no emotions

We, Project Managers, are spending about 70% of our time communicating. In doing so, we should rely more on impersonal reason and logic instead of personal values and expressing emotions.

It would work well for a PM to adopt a ‘Thinker’ mindset, whereby the thought process is primarily of logic and reason. This would mean making decisions by stepping back and dissociating from feelings, and referencing thoughts in the mind, no matter the stress and pressure we are under.

Being compulsive; i.e. being detached from feelings and more task-oriented would be useful in potentially stressful situations. Especially when tackling seemingly challenging matters which calls for analytical thinking to improvise potential solutions.

#3 Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is a key determinant to a project manager’s success.

Using logic in your communication is one thing. Whereas the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, thereby handling interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically, is totally something else. This self-awareness is equally important for a Project Manager.

Self awareness means understanding ourselves and our emotions and is the fundamental step to gaining emotional intelligence. Extreme Project Managers are aware of own strengths and weaknesses and understand the influence of their emotions on their perceptions and decision-making process. Such a PM would be highly flexible in dealing with changing situations or obstacles.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to control our emotions so that they didn’t control us?

Closing

To be an extreme Project Manager, it is more than just the 3 things I shared above. Maintaining a Marvellous Mindset is key to the extraordinary achievements that a PM can reap.

Strive to be an Extreme Project Manager. Master your Mindset.

 

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