Self-Confidence in Projects

The modern project manager is self-confident

When I started managing projects, it always worried me to not seem confident enough. I often asked myself what if I cannot complete this project? what if I do not get along with my sponsor, team or stakeholders?

Many concerns always crowded my head and made me think that I might not be capable enough to take on the project responsibilities.

Some of those concerns were:

• not being knowledgable enough
• being new to a project or organization
• not having enough authority
• being concerned about what others in my team would think or say about my leadership

Even though, all these were valid concerns, they made me doubt about my capabilities as a project manager to successfully deliver the project.

It took me a while to identify the tasks that I needed to work on to become more confident as a project manager.

They are not easy tasks to practise and follow but they are required. Some of them will take time to accomplish but be sure that they are worth it. Some of those tasks are:

1. Put in the effort to learn as much as you can about the project and the organization:
   This includes learning as much as you can about the project requirements and working side by side with your project's stakeholders and team to understand the details of the project.Collect requirements and do as much research to understand the needs the project.Understand the project and develop a plan that can help you and your team track the project and keep it aligned within scope, timelines and budget.
2. Certify your knowledge in the profession: Getting certified can help you prove others and show that you are invested in the profession. Moreover, a certification will show that you have the required knowledge, tools and techniques needed to perform the job.
3. Build rapport with your stakeholders: Your stakeholders need to trust you and know that you can get the job done. Your must establish a meaningful relationships with your stakeholders for them to trust you. You also must understand their expectations of the project and they level of influence.
4. Trust the process, your team and stakeholders: In the same way, you must trust the process, team and stakeholders. The process is there to guide you and you must trust your team and stakeholders to provide you with insights that can help you achieve results.
5. Realize your strengths and weaknesses: It is hard to acknowledge what we are not good at but it is important to think about our weaknesses. It is also important to think about our strengths as recognizing what we are best at will help us increase our self-confidence and achieve the results we want.

In order to persuade and influence your team and other stakeholders in your project, you must be self-confident.

You must understand the process, have a positive attitude, know your audience and work to get the knowledge required to command the project.

Trust that you are capable of doing the job and know that you can rely on your team and stakeholders when you do not have  the answers to all questions.

Also, you must work on your physical appearance and emotions in order to convey confidence. Be truthful when dealing with your team and stakeholders.

Be transparent communicating the status and progress of your project.

Build rapport with your sponsor and other stakeholders.

All these actions can help you become more confident.

Your team and stakeholders are looking for leadership and confidence, show them yours!