【Haichuan EPC】Technical expert project managers go through three major transformations to progress from excellence to outstanding performance
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In terms of current enterprises, most project managers have come from technical or business roles, with the vast majority of them being former technical experts who have transitioned into project managers. There are certain advantages to transitioning from a technical expert to a project manager, such as the ability to act as a technical mentor for the team – anyone in the team can turn to them for solutions to technical problems, and they are available wherever issues arise. However, there are also obvious disadvantages to this transition, such as a lack of understanding of management concepts, along with a lack of emphasis on these aspects; the person in question does not know how to manage things or carry out project management tasks such as managing project objectives, project resources, the project team, project stakeholders, and project risks. Peter Drucker, known as the “father of management,” believed that: “Management is about managing people.” Its task is to enable people to work together in coordination, leveraging their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses, in order to achieve the greatest possible collective benefit. Therefore, project managers who are technical experts need to consciously improve their management skills in order to lead their teams to achieve project goals. Technical expert project managers typically go through three major transformations, evolving from excellence to greatness, from focusing on technology to taking overall control, and finally to becoming the core driver of value. 01 First transformation: from technology to management, becoming a competent project manager. A project manager must not only understand project management but also general management principles, transitioning from a technical expert to a management professional. Transitioning from a technical expert to a competent project manager can be achieved through learning and benchmarking in the following 6 areas, with continuous improvement through practice: shifting from focusing on solving problems oneself to focusing on developing people who are capable of solving problems ； From rational thinking to a combination of emotion and reason, emphasizing experience and intuition ； Shifting from the pursuit of perfection to compliance and satisfaction, focusing on the 80/20 rule ； From doing what one is interested in, to doing what one should do ； From striving to become a technical expert to becoming a project team manager ； From focusing on completing project work to focusing on the business value delivered by the project.
Second transformation: From management to leadership, becoming an excellent project manager. There is a difference between management and leadership, and many people confuse these two concepts. So what is the difference between management and leadership? Simply put, there are three points. Firstly, management is about handling tasks, while leadership is about dealing with people. Secondly, management is about control; for example, PDCA is a management process that shows how goals can be achieved through control ； Leadership is about motivation – it’s about finding ways to better inspire the team and each of its members to work together toward achieving goals. Finally, management is about maintaining order, ensuring that the processes and various rules and regulations within an organization are followed; everything must be done in an orderly manner, according to established procedures ； And at the core of leadership, especially that of a good leader, should be change and innovation; in other words, leadership is about change and innovation. Use another word; although it’s a bit harsh and extreme, I think it would be more vivid. If management is about maintaining order, then leadership can be seen as something that involves \"disrupting\" order, or rather, \"intentionally disrupting\" it. It can be said that there is a difference between management and leadership: one is about maintaining order, while the other is about \"disrupting\" order. What is change? What is innovation? Change and innovation mean stepping out of one’s comfort zone, breaking an old world, and creating a new one. It is essentially \"destruction,\" only this destruction is not negative or passive; rather, it is positive and constructive destruction. So, a very valuable question: for project managers, each of us should ask ourselves – are you a manager, or a leader? Or are you a project manager, or a project leader? This question is not enough; further inquiry is needed. What role does your company, your team, and your clients expect you to play at the moment? Do they hope you act more as a project manager or rather as a project leader? The latter would have greater practical value and significance. Only after understanding these can you better carry out your own transformation and leap forward. 03 Third Transformation: From Leadership to Strategy – Becoming an Excellent Project Manager. A good project manager, or a top-tier project manager, must understand strategy, as well as strategy design and strategy implementation. I believe that many project managers are underestimating their own value at the moment; therefore, raising their awareness and becoming strategic managers of a project is key to enhancing their value and position. To give a simple example, there is a large EPC engineering company that is working on a project in a certain region. It is their first time undertaking an EPC project. Therefore, in addition to delivering this project on time, to the required quality standards and in the required quantity, from a strategic and corporate perspective, the expectations for this project and its project manager go beyond simply completing and delivering the project. They also aim to use the successful completion of this project to create opportunities for further collaborations on other projects in that region, as well as to develop a business model and operational framework that can be replicated in other regions and for other projects in the future. At this point, project managers absolutely need to develop strategic thinking in order to deliver value to the project from a higher perspective. Therefore, it can be said that an excellent project manager must also possess strategic thinking, carry out the strategic planning and execution of projects, and ultimately deliver value through those projects.
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