3 Secrets the Most Successful Project Managers Know

Every project comes with its own set of challenges (okay, some of them feel like hurdles), but the most successful project managers know how to overcome them, irrespective of scope. Their secret? They understand these three things when it comes to managing projects like an all-star:

1. Squishing a square into a circle never works

Gantt charts are great for defining a project's scope, budget, and resources, but they aren’t great at adjusting once your project has contact with the real world. This study found that client-based change requests were the primary reason for projects going over time and budget—and traditional Gantt charts don't adjust well for those.

Successful project managers know they need a project tracking platform to help them identify risks as the project progresses—one that gives them real-time feedback with the flexibility to adjust as things come up. With over a third of projects running between one to three months exceeding their scope due to underestimated timeframes, you need a dynamic tool that can tell you when something isn't feasible—in time to do something about it. 

2. Take trends with a grain of salt

Great project managers don’t “copy and paste” ideas from thought leaders and insert them into their own strategy blindly. For instance, while the agile approach works for some, you might realize that on its own it doesn’t bode well for you (i.e. it’s hard to set real deadlines since you’re always trying to figure out how you’d like to accomplish tasks each week). It's important to figure out what parts of a trend or strategy work for you and then, make sure you have a project management platform in place that can adjust on a whim (like you) to get the job done efficiently.

3. Tweak the recipe

What works for some might not work for others—so successful project managers combine methods and create their own unique approach. Then, they build out those strategies on a project management platform that can work exactly the way they want to work (because there’s no one size fits all). Still, many project management solutions force you to run your project within their preset parameters (when it should be the other way around)—so it can be hard to make the tweaks you need to be successful.

Trying to manage and dynamically adjust to the realities of managing a project when the platform you’re using isn't flexible can be frustrating. If this is a pain you’re struggling with right now, then you’ll want to have a look at a platform that’s smart and flexible the way you are.