Revealing the Truth Behind Common Project Management Myths

“You can become a successful project manager only if you have a top-class project management certification.”

You must have heard this one sentence many a times from people around you. In fact, this is one of the biggest myths related to project management.

But we all know that it isn’t true. We can easily hunt for several examples of successful project managers without a PMP certification.

Likewise, there are many other myths related to project management which do nothing except waste time, hinder our growth and keeps us trapped in ignorance.

Through this article, I intend to make you aware of myths related to project management and ways to break the cocoon.

Myth 1: Project Management is all About the Process

It is an ancient myth according to which managers believe that project management is only about the process and not the people. But if you have ever worked on a project, you would better know that this is nothing but a myth.

It is nearly impossible to make a project successful without a well-coordinated team. Even if you have a flawless action plan, you would need skillful and experienced people at your end to implement it in the right way at the right time. A good team is as important as a good process for making things work successfully.

Myth 2: Plan B is a Waste of Time

Most managers feel proud in having a ‘Just Do It’ approach and also encourage their employees to do so. They feel having a Plan B is about doubting the Plan A. This is a myth.

Would you prefer losing a client just because there was no Plan B to handle the missed deadline? Certainly no. It is important to work on a contingency plan that can rescue you if your plan A fails. Having a backup helps you cope up with an emergency in a better way rather than easily giving up away to failure.

Myth 3: Project Management Is Limited to Paperwork

Yes, there was a time when project management was restricted to papers and emails. But this isn’t all that is required for making a project successful. Drafting the plan on paper or sending few emails cannot make a project successful. Do you agree?

There are an umpteen number of factors involved in making a project successful. Moreover, in today’s technological world one cannot really think of making his project work without using relevant apps and software.

It is easier to share an action plan with clients, stakeholders, and remote team members using technology than through paper work. Also project management involves project vision, timelines, tasks, and roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in a team.

Myth 4: Managers take decision based on Perception

Many project managers take decisions based their perception. This is another big myth. In a project, taking decisions based on perceptions and intuitions is surely going to invite failure.

A wise choice is always to base your decisions on facts and figures because they help you to reach out to rationale and practical conclusions. A good project manager will always ensure his decisions are based on trusted facts which help him and his team to successfully survive through the project.

Myth 5: Project Manager Orientation is Irrelevant

Most companies believe that a project manager has nothing to do with overall requirements of a company and thus doesn’t need to even know about them.

His work is only to understand the mentioned project task and work upon it. This is again a myth and not the truth.

A project manager should be dynamic, strategic and must know the inside-out of any organization. This helps him to work upon futuristic strategies of the organization, work on contingency plans, hire skillful professionals and head the company in the right direction.

Myth 6: PMP Certification Is Must

Many people think that only a person with a PMP certification can prove to be a successful manager. A PMP certification gives you a theoretical view of the project management. The real learning begins when you are in the battle field.

Dealing with clients, handling your team, managing deadlines, allocating tasks, assigning responsibilities and keeping stress at bay amidst all this can only be learned in a real project scenario.

A PMP certification may validate you for the position of a project manager but it certainly doesn’t make you capable of handling projects flawlessly.

Time to Break the Cocoon..

It’s high time we all should step out of such false beliefs which not only narrows our vision but also hinders our growth. In fact, such myths hold no relevance in such a digitally advanced era. Let’s allow wisdom to move our lives and not myths.

If there are any other myths you would like to share, feel free to share them as comments below.

About the author

Vartika Kashyap currently runs the marketing team at ProofHub  — a project management software for teams of all sizes. She is a seasoned marketing professional who is an expert in digital marketing and entrepreneurship. She’s been featured among LinkedIn’s Top Voices for the year 2016. Connect with Vartika on LinkedIn, Medium, and Twitter.