OT: Field Startup project manager RFC

For those of us who have been on long (>30 days) construction and startup/commissionings, I have a question, or perhaps, a Request For Comment.

Project Managers are like all other people in the workplace...some seem naturally good at what they do, and some not so much.

So, if you've experienced a very talented Project Manager (or Controls Lead or similar), what about his or her running of the project that made a lasting POSITIVE impact on the project, or the workers of the team.

We all have horror stories, and most of us would prefer to forget THEM, but, what about the good ones?

How are good (i.e. effective) project managers differentiated from bad ones?

jdbrandt said:

For those of us who have been on long (>30 days) construction and startup/commissionings, I have a question, or perhaps, a Request For Comment.

Project Managers are like all other people in the workplace...some seem naturally good at what they do, and some not so much.

So, if you've experienced a very talented Project Manager (or Controls Lead or similar), what about his or her running of the project that made a lasting POSITIVE impact on the project, or the workers of the team.

We all have horror stories, and most of us would prefer to forget THEM, but, what about the good ones?

How are good (i.e. effective) project managers differentiated from bad ones?

Click to expand...

I was on a 4 - 6 week project in RSA that turned into 4 - 6 months, with a 1 month break inbetween month 2&3 . Lost most of my life in 1992.

Project Manager was great. He led by example.
First guy on the site every day and last to leave.
Never asked anyone to do something he himself was not willing to do.

How are good (i.e. effective) project managers differentiated from bad ones?

Click to expand...

A Project Manager needs to be a natural team leader, a person that others will follow not because they are ordered to, but because they want to. A good project manager makes his orders seem like they should be done becasue they are the right things to do. Dictator-managers give orders and expect to carry them out with force, coercion, and extortion. A good team leader rarely resorts to force, because he doesn't need it in most cases. A good project manager plans ahead, anticipates problems and has solutions for each problem that may come up, because he has done the job before and knows what works.

Experience is a big factor, but not the only factor. A good personality, fairness, an open door, being responsive to questions with valid answers - all these make up a good project manager.

I have worked for many good project managers, and I know a good one when I see one. I have managed a few projects myself in a pinch when the first guy got sick or had to quit for some reason, but I am not a good manager, because I am not someone that others want to follow.