If you are a beginner project manager in the interior design industry, this article is for you. It examines the nine golden rules to follow if you are seeking ways to improve your project management skills. They must be regarded as the top guidelines required to help ensure you manage your building construction project with ease.
The simple but vital rules will help improve your project deliverables and assist in approaching your project management tasks professionally. As an interior design project manager, you must satisfy your client’s needs by creating a comfortable and conducive environment for those occupying the interior space when the project is completed.
The Golden Guidelines
- Practice positive teamwork.
- Have a good client/project manager relationship.
- Have a good relationship with project team members.
- Keep project promises.
- Coordinate methodically.
- Work and learn as you go along.
- Always expect the unexpected.
- Collaborate with all stakeholders.
- Be a listener.
Practice Positive Teamwork
Adopt the practice of teamwork. For successful project implementation, you need to approach issues from various perspectives. As a project manager, you must realise that what you see visually is different from what you think in your mind. With teamwork, you will find that what you may miss may be observed by others. Endeavour to make it a habit to find out what others see that you may miss.
Have a Good Relationship with Your Clients
It is important to stay close to your clients and be aware of their feelings about the project. If you can, ensure you over-deliver than expected, to allay their reservations, fears, or concerns which may be major or minor. As their concerns continue to evolve through the course of the project, take advantage of that to give more than what is expected of you. Once you are in tune with your customers and stay in constant contact, they will see you as a gem.
Have a Good Relationship with Your Project Team
Your team members are important—almost as important as your clients are. You can't have a great relationship with your clients if you ignore your construction project team. With the right mindset, achieving a form of camaraderie-ship with team members should not be a challenge. Yes, there are some decisions you may take on behalf of the whole team, but for a wonderful working relationship, taking care of each team member as an individual is important.
Keep Your Project Promises
This is a top golden rule for project managers. Project management in the building industry can be challenging at times because it is easy to lose sight of what you are doing, especially if it is a large project. It is also easy to go off-track if you don't pay attention to details. You have to keep to your project promises and constantly remind your team of all promises made, plan on how to work them and plan how to fulfil them.
Coordinate Methodically
You must pay attention to critical details and discussions. Remember that a construction project is an ever-evolving network of obligations. To avoid drifting from the important issues, make sure that contractors, sub-contractors, and craftsmen/artisans are clear about their requests in writing, give you pledges that have completion dates, and share with you their opinions that advance the purpose of the project.
Be Prepared to Work and Learn
Couple your actions with learning because working on a construction project is a wonderful learning opportunity. It's like learning on a job because each project has its peculiarities. Inculcate the art of incorporating actions with learning in all your projects, large or small, and encourage your team members to learn as they work. They will appreciate this concern for their own good. While your clients will benefit from your smart insights, it will also make your job easier to accomplish.
Always Expect the Unexpected
A professional project manager must embrace the uncertainty that's rife in the building of structures. It is not always smooth sailing—far from it! Issues do rear their head while on a project, and you'll find that there is far more that you don't and can't know than what is expected. You must learn to be resilient to any unexpected occurrence and be aware that you and your team will learn something new about tackling challenging issues. There may be changes in promises to clients, altering of agreed concepts, or price changes, for instance, but what is important is how you solve them so you can still deliver on your promises.
Collaborate with All Stakeholders
Collaborate fully with all people and performers of the building construction project. Make this one of your golden rules. Waiting for the project to reach a critical stage without collaboration will result in disaster. Carry all along, and don't wait until the project has gone south to get their contributions. Start the collaboration process from the onset and continue throughout the project. This will guarantee that everyone has a focused purpose and will ensure a successfully implemented project.
Be a Listener
If someone on the project has something to say, as the project manager, listen attentively. This doesn't mean you don't have your own ideas or impressions, but listening is a quality that those you work with will appreciate. Some people can only voice what they feel in a flash of a moment with well-intended suggestions, so take the time to listen. Ask them questions and engage them. At times, ask for other opinions on matters relating to the project.
A Must-Have Book for Beginner Project Managers
What are the major challenges faced by interior design project manager, how can they be avoided, and what are their solutions? This interior design handbook – Interior Design Project Manager: Challenges, Solutions, and Golden Rules, will instruct you on how to overcome the challenges of managing interior design projects and how to avoid failures caused by unclear plans and objectives.
