The success of a LIMS implementation is greatly influenced by the leadership qualities of the project manager. A successful project manager must possess the ability to lead the team in achieving their goals and ensure that all aspects of the project, including standards, culture, outcomes, and performance, are set from the top. The project manager should encourage and implement ideas from all team members, ensuring that they are accepted and implemented by everyone involved, including developers, testers, and QA.
From my two decades of experience, I have identified several key qualities that make a great project manager and leader:
Vision and Inspiration: A great project manager should set a clear vision for the project and inspire team members to reach new levels of performance by elevating their skills and talents.
People First: The project manager should prioritize hiring and retaining the best talent, even if it means spending more money. The best people will take care of everything else, and the project manager will have more time to focus on other important tasks.
Treat People Right: The project manager must treat team members who work on policies, testing, code development, and other tasks with respect and fairness.
Provide Adequate Resources: It is the project manager’s responsibility to provide or obtain funding, technology, tools, environment, and other resources necessary for the team members to succeed.
Take Ownership of Mistakes: A great leader takes responsibility for mistakes instead of blaming others. Success and failure ultimately come back to the project manager, who may have failed to empower, train, control scope, inspire, or otherwise support the team.
Hold People Accountable: Great leaders hold team members accountable for their performance. If some members are not performing, the leader must find the cause and make them accountable.
Inspire the Team: A great leader inspires the team by appreciating top talent and holding slackers accountable. Failure to inspire is the top reason why talented people leave a team. The leader must get ideas from everyone and make the final decision on the next step.
Empower and Delegate: A great leader empowers team members by inviting the best talent to contribute their work, avoiding micro-management, and communicating effectively to provide the resources needed for success.
One crucial aspect that every leader should prioritize is surrounding themselves with exceptional talent.
