Over the last year and a half, I’ve seen some unique challenges arise over the years while managing projects for our clients here at drumBEAT.

From adjusting to changing timelines and client expectations to best working alongside the team to stay organised, each milestone comes with its own set of issues and wins

In this blog, I’ll be sharing some lessons I’ve learned through my experience so far as a marketing consultant that will be useful for other project managers.

Whether you’re working with in-house teams or an agency, these tips can help you when running efficient and successful outcomes for your final product!

Understand Your Team’s Strengths & Weaknesses

Digital project management requires more than just making sure tasks are completed on time.

It’s important to take the time to truly know your team and their skills, strengths and weaknesses. Understanding each team member’s strengths can help you assign tasks that will highlight their abilities while knowing their weaknesses will allow you to provide guidance and support where needed.

With this knowledge, you can implement strategies to maximise productivity and ensure the success of your project. Knowing your team may take a little extra effort (which is a win, as you can annoy them all the time like I do) but it will pay off in the long run.

Set Clear Goals & Timelines

Setting a clear goal and timeline is crucial to achieving success in quite literally anything in life.

Without a tangible target in sight, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds and lose sight of what you’re working towards. However, it’s equally important to ensure that the goal you set is achievable and realistic within the timeline you’ve given yourself.

No matter how motivated you may be, if your goals are too far fetched, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment and failure. On the other hand, if you give yourself too long to achieve a goal that could be accomplished much sooner, you risk becoming complacent and losing momentum. 

Take the time to look at each task and determine if it is necessary, what timeline works best for completion and whether or not you have the resources available to achieve your goal within that time frame.

Communicate Regularly

Effective communication is key to success in any team (even when you’re as introverted as me) and keeping those channels open is even more important.

Whether it’s between team members or clients, regular communication helps to ensure everyone is on the same page and can work together toward common goals.

By taking the time to communicate regularly, you can help to prevent misunderstandings and keep everyone informed of important updates or changes.

This will not only help to build stronger relationships, but it can also lead to increased productivity and better overall results. So don’t let communication take a backseat (and, if you need to nudge someone to get it sorted, please just do it.)

Utilise Those Project Management Tools

Whether you’re planning a small project or managing a team of people, a project management tool can make a world of difference.

For me, it’s Asana, a platform designed to help streamline the project management process. And, fun fact, one that I forced Chris to change to as soon as I started drumBEAT.

(Credit: Wavebox)

With Asana, you can easily keep track of tasks, delegate responsibilities, measure progress and provide updates to team members – all in one place.

This not only saves time but ensures that everyone is on the same page and has a clear understanding of their role in the project.

Track Progress & Adjust Using Data-Driven Insights

It is so important to track progress and adjust accordingly. This is especially true when it comes to business strategy.

By using data-driven insights, companies can gain valuable information about the effectiveness of their current strategies and make adjustments as needed. This type of approach allows for a more proactive response to change, as opposed to waiting for problems to arise and then reacting.

By utilising data to inform strategy, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive in an ever-changing market.

Review & Celebrate Successes

*insert cringe tagline that sums it up perfectly*

It’s essential to recognise that reaching success is a journey, not just a final destination.

You’re a team, life happens and tasks come and go, so it’s important to take a step back and review successes along the way.

It’s vital to not just keep your focus on the end goal but also on the process.

Celebrating small wins along the way gives you the motivation to continue and push further towards the final goal. Not to mention, it also brings a sense of accomplishment that is mega satisfying and motivating.

Take a moment to pause and acknowledge the progress you’ve made so far. Celebrate the benchmarks, achievements and successful outcomes that resulted from all of the hard work you’ve done together.

Ultimately, successful project management can be highly dependent on how well a team works together as a cohesive unit, and if you like each other, obviously.

But, joking aside, having an understanding of your team’s strengths and weaknesses can really help in setting up everyone for success.

With these tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to successful outcomes for any project!