I help project professionals level up in their careers | PMO Director | Healthcare IT professional | Hospital information systems expert
Most PMs hide behind status reports while elite PMs build in the open. The difference? ... It's not advanced certifications or agile methodologies. It's radical transparency. I've guided hundreds of projects to completion, and here's what I've noticed: - Average PMs share updates on a need-to-know basis. - Elite PMs make visibility their competitive advantage. Let me show you what I mean. When managing deliverables, the typical PM keeps tracking documents in private folders. → They send status reports once a week via email. → They control information flow. But the elite PM takes a different approach. → They maintain a publicly accessible project dashboard that stakeholders and team members can check anytime. See the difference? The first PM creates information bottlenecks. The second PM creates informed teammates who feel trusted and aligned. Or take status meetings. The average PM jumps straight into issues and action items. They rush through updates, highlighting what's off-track and who's behind. The elite PM begins every call showcasing the dashboard and celebrating wins. They heap praise on team members delivering results (and occasionally those who need encouragement). The first PM trains their team to dread status updates. The second PM creates an environment where progress is visible and contributions valued. This pattern transforms how the team handles inevitable obstacles: When facing delays, the typical PM uses vague terms like "𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴" or "𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯." They downplay issues, hoping executives won't notice. The elite PM directly calls out what's not going well and what's falling behind. They name the problems precisely because you can't mitigate what you won't acknowledge. The common PM breeds uncertainty and backchanneling. The elite PM creates 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 and 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴. Why don't more project managers embrace this kind of transparency? Three reasons: 1. They fear being judged for variance from baseline plans 2. They mistake information control for project control 3. They underestimate leaders' ability to handle reality But here's the truth: Your stakeholders already sense when projects aren't on track. By being transparent, you're not revealing failures—you're demonstrating that you have the confidence to lead through complexity. That's what separates elite PMs from the rest. Not perfect execution, but perfect clarity even when execution isn't perfect. So next time you kick off a project, resist the urge to gate information and manage perceptions. Instead, build dashboards for all to see. Celebrate openly. Address issues directly. ~~~ PS- Are you still using slide decks to convey status? Or do you leverage real-time tools to provide just-in-time answers? . .