(^176) 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know
We Are Project
Managers, Not
Superheroes
Angyne J. Schock-Smith, PMP
Phillipsburg, New Jersey, U.S.
ThIS IS A TIP ThAT IS USEFUl if you’re a software project manager in infor-
mation technology environments, but is also transferrable to whatever type of
projects you manage.
“We are project managers, not superheroes,” is part of my introductory routine
when I deliver training on project management skills. When talking about the
characteristics of a good project manager, my favorite line is, “Get out your
capes, people! It takes a superhero to do all a software project manager must
do, and to do it well.” However, since this comes early in the training, I have to
offer some hope. So I say, “OK, some of us mere mortals actually become good
project managers. What’s the trick?”
I believe this trick has three parts:
• Know your personal strengths and weaknesses.
• Know the personal strengths and weaknesses of your team.
• Use this knowledge to create complementary partnerships with team
members who possess strengths where you have gaps.How can you get to know your personal strengths and weaknesses?
• Get out your copies of all the old personality or work behavior tests you’ve
ever taken.
• Be honest as you extrapolate data from these old evaluations. Were you
honest when you took the questionnaire? Does the “label” still fit, or have
you grown and changed since that time? Which of the label’s associated
strengths and weaknesses most accurately describe you right now?