Have you ever encountered project managers in construction who are very successful and at the same time always happy? How is that possible? What is striking in them which differentiates them from others? Along with this, it is proven that the project managers are definitely the key players when it comes to employee happiness and unhappiness at work. 

A general assumption is that the project managers are always working under tremendous burden and stress, as they are answerable and accountable for the profit and loss of the project.  

We usually say that a project manager should have 360-degree skills and we tend to name these skills as: 

• Technical skills
• Resource management
• Personnel management
• Communication 
• Time management
• Seeing things differently
• Seeing the bigger picture  

But in the disguise of all these big skills, there is one single most powerful quality that is capable of making the project manager successful is:

The art of influencing people's thoughts and actions

The qualities of a great project manager depend on the organisation culture as well as the behaviour of their teams. A project manager is surrounded by a lot of stakeholders before, during and after the project. Some of them are his/her subordinates, some top management, client and some external agencies.

Now every stakeholder (both upside as well as a downside in the hierarchy) in a construction project is having a specific role which s/he is fully competent to handle.

Also read: Are you a delegator or micromanager?

So the most potent quality of the successful and happy project manager is that s/he is somehow able to influence his subordinates so that their vision and goals align with the project's vision and goals. A project manager has to become a person that others will want to follow. It is noticed that teams with great managers were happier and more productive. It is also very important that as a project manager you need to be open to new ideas, which also help in improving the operations. 

Once, that is achieved, everybody working on the project will be equally motivated, dedicated and willing to work to their fullest potential with the common aim of pulling the project to the point of successful completion. There will not be any need to remind them of their duties and push them for working hard and responsibly. In other words, the project manager is influencing their thoughts and actions to achieve project goals. Good managers influence the employees they work with and will affect the overall workplace happiness of your company. 

Once this state of commonly aligned vision and goals is achieved, the success of the project is effortless.

The importance of a good project manager to the success of an organisation cannot be stressed enough. Finding manager candidates with a foundation of good leadership qualities and behavioural skills is the way to start. How do you educate yourself and leaders in your organisation? 

Also read: Are you a good boss? A checklist

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