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You Might Be a WordPress Project Manager IF…

Today our topic is what it means to be a Project Manager… specifically, a WordPress Project Manager.

I Just Want to Build Websites

I hear a lot of people complain, “I don’t want to manage projects, I’m not a good project manager, I just want to build websites.” Well, if you own your own agency, unfortunately, you’re going to have to be a project manager. But the good news is that you probably already ARE a project manager.

In a previous live training episode of “Can We Talk about Your WordPress Projects?” we talked about how just about EVERYTHING in life is a project. So many of the things that you do on a day to day basis are a project and you’re managing them just fine.

The WordPress Project Manager Skills Checklist

Within the WordPress Project Management 101 Roadmap inside the free membership to The WP Project Manager’s Academy, I have a project manager skills checklist for you that you can use to figure out if you have the skills to be a project manager. But I’m going to tell you already the answer is yes. Everyone has the skills to be a project manager, it just depends on whether you want to use those skills in the proper way to get your projects completed on time and within budget.

I Hated Project Management Too

When I worked at Wachovia as a retail banking lead training developer, I got really unhappy in that department. The leadership was changing, the rules were changing, and I was just not happy. The former head of the department (who I loved) had gone to head up another department focused on developing new computer systems. So I went to him, told him of my plight, and asked if there was anything I could do in his department. And he said, “Beth, I do have several openings, but most of them are project management.”

Believe it or not, my reaction was, “Well, I do NOT want to be a project manager. That is NOT what I want to do.”

But as life unfolded, and things happened, I ended up becoming a business analyst and a project manager for a very long time – not in his department, I would have loved that – but later I became a project manager and because I was taught the right way to do it, I loved it. I didn’t know that I had that skill set, I thought it would entail all kinds of skills I didn’t have and a lot of new stuff I would have to learn. And in some cases, there are new things to learn. But the good news is there is no there’s no inherent scale that says, “I’m a good project manager” or “I’m not good project manager.”

People often think they can’t manage projects if they are not naturally organized. But you can learn those things and use tools to help you. So if you’re not naturally an organized person, you can still be a good project manager.

Project Manager Skills You Likely Already Have

Self Motivated

People will say, “I procrastinate all the time, I'm not self-motivated.” Hey, if you started your own agency, you're ARE self-motivated.

Good Communicator

If you love keeping your client informed about what's going on, you're already a good communicator. And you can always learn and improve those communication skills. And… with all the things that I teach you inside the WP Project Manager's Academy, you don't have to learn what to say because I give you all the processes and everything that you need to communicate to your client.

Solid Understanding of WordPress and How Websites are Built

You wouldn't be here… you wouldn't have started a WordPress agency if you didn't already know how to use WordPress, and how websites are built. And if you don’t know enough… keep learning.

The Ability to Break the Job Down

Project Managers create project plans and even if you don’t have one in written form (which you should), if you’ve been serving clients, you’ve been following a plan.

The Ability to Explain Technical Details to the Non-technical

The Ability to Explain Technical Details to the Non-technical – This is something you just have to force yourself to have front of mind. Just continuously ask yourself, “What did I not used to know?” and explain those things to your client.

Do a Self-Assessment and Take Action

These are just some of the required Project Manager skills you probably already have. To do a proper self-assessment, you can download our checklist as a member of the WP Project Manager’s Academy. And if you find yourself lacking any one of the skills, you can attain them by either getting help from the experts, getting some training, or just reaching deep down and tapping into the skill set you didn’t know you had.

You may also want to watch the video on this page where I go into more detail about the other skills not listed in this article.

And if you want to LEARN how to be a better Project Manager, I invite you to join the Premium membership to the Academy where so much of what you need has already been done for you.

You CAN learn these things. You can learn some of those things from me and you can learn some of those things from other subject matter experts (including the subject matter experts who are guest instructors inside the Academy). Requirements management, risk and issues management, acceptance management, change management, and estimating best practices. The opportunity to learn ALL those things are inside the Academy.

The main point is this: Even if you think you’re not a project manager, even if it’s something you don’t think you want to do, you probably already ARE because everything’s a project. Anything that has a beginning and an end is a project, such as going to the grocery store or tiling your kitchen.

To be a good project manager doesn’t mean that you have to know everything. It doesn’t mean that you have all the answers. It doesn’t mean that you are always going to meet that initial goal that you gave the client. Being a good Project Manager is really about communicating with your client, making sure that you have good processes in place, and making sure that your client understands how those processes are going to help them.

Until next time…  stay productive, stay strong, and NEVER stop learning!

Want to learn how to consistently get your projects completed on time and within budget?

Join the WP Project Manager’s Academy – a FREE membership program where you can learn everything you need to know to consistently get your projects completed on time, within budget, with features that meet the client’s business requirements WITHOUT sacrificing profit.

You might also want to Join our Facebook Group  where we have weekly live trainings on all things project and productivity management as well as a Friday chat session.