What I Discovered About Leadership in Project Management

As a project manager, there's going to be a lot you don't know By nature, PMs are eager to lead. Especially when we're new or new to a project. As a new PM, I feared not being the SME in the room. I thought I needed to have all the answers or I'd lose the team's respect. Over time, I realized, Knowing everything isn't the key to success. Supporting your team is. Here's 3 tips that helped me: ☝ Ask more (better) questions Don't pretend to have the answers. Ask more and better questions. "What challenges are you facing?" "How can I support you better?" You gain valuable insights AND leverage your team's expertise. ✌ Be transparent It's okay to admit you don't know something. Be open with your team about information gaps. Focus on problem-solving together. Not only will you develop solutions, You'll build trust. 🤟 Rely on the team's expertise PMs - you're not expected to know every detail. That's why you have a team of specialists/SMEs. Lean on their knowledge and empower them to own their areas. This allows everyone to thrive. Being a great PM isn't about having all the answers. It's about fostering collaboration, Asking the right questions, And creating a supportive environment for your team. Do those things and the answers will take care of themselves. 🤙

Why is the role of a Project Manager so often misunderstood? Too often, it’s seen as just managing budgets, schedules, and contracts. While technical execution is critical, it’s only part of the job. The real challenge, and where projects often succeed or fail, is in managing people, expectations, and relationships. As PMs, we’re aligning teams, navigating conflict, and communicating across stakeholders with competing priorities. That’s where the real leadership happens. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is this: Every mistake anyone on my team has made is interesting, because it’s my fault. I hired them. I set the expectations. I built the structure. That shift in mindset changed the way I lead, for the better. It’s easy to look good when everything is running smoothly. But show me how you lead when things go sideways, that’s what defines you. Most people are peacetime generals. I’m looking for wartime generals. That’s why I’ve leaned into what I call the PR Principles—Project Relationship Principles—inspired by Dale Carnegie’s timeless ideas and sharpened by field experience: 1. Make people feel seen, heard, and valued 2. Lead with clarity and consistency 3. Stay solution-focused under pressure 4. Recognize contributions at every level 5. Build the team, not just the timeline Strong teams and healthy project cultures aren’t accidental, they’re the result of intentional leadership. When you combine technical execution with emotional intelligence, you don’t just deliver projects. You build momentum, loyalty, and trust that lasts beyond the job.

That moment when a manager learned the real meaning of leadership. Rishi had always believed that good leadership meant being involved, deeply involved. So when his team began missing deadlines and their energy dipped, his instinct was to step in. He doubled the meetings. Started reviewing every deliverable. Sent frequent reminders. He called the support. But underneath it all… was fear. Fear that things would fall apart if he let go. Fear that his team might fail. And at its root? A lack of trust. Then came the moment that changed everything. One afternoon, after a tense project review, one of his most thoughtful team members quietly asked, “Do you trust us?” It wasn’t asked with anger. It wasn’t rebellious. It was reflective and genuine. The kind of question that pierces the ego and goes straight to the truth. That night, Rishi sat alone, thinking. He realized something that many leaders never do: > Micromanagement isn’t about high standards. > It’s about low trust. He had unintentionally sent the message: “I don’t think you can handle this without me.” And that message had eroded his team’s sense of ownership, creativity, and confidence. So he made a bold shift. He gathered his team the next morning and said: > “You don’t need my constant oversight. What you need is my belief. > You have it now. I trust you. Take the lead.” What followed was extraordinary. The team didn’t just perform. They thrived. Ideas flowed. Energy returned. Accountability skyrocketed. They launched a new product that exceeded every metric the company had set. Not because of pressure. But because of permission to lead, to own, to grow. Here’s the deeper truth: * Trust is not passive. It’s a strategic asset. * Empowerment is not about stepping away, it is about stepping aside so others can rise. * Micromanaging speaks to insecurity. Empowering speaks to vision. When a leader says, “I trust you,” they’re not relinquishing control. They are creating a culture of belief. And when belief takes root, performance becomes personal. The team no longer works for you. They work with you with pride, purpose, and full engagement. So the question isn’t, “How do I make my team perform?” The real question is: “Do they know I believe in them?” Follow Makarand Utpat for tips on leadership, branding, marketing and AI. #leadership #micromanagement #trust #teams #selfawareness #EQ.

I’ll never forget my first project failure. Early in my career, I was eager to prove myself. I studied every detail, checked every box, and ran every meeting. I thought I had it all covered. But then things started to slip. The team grew quiet. Dependencies fell apart. Stakeholders went around me. And by the time I raised the issues, it was too late. We delivered something. But it wasn’t aligned or useful, and trust was gone. That experience crushed me. But it also changed me. I realized I was so focused on managing the project that I forgot to lead the people. I was chasing perfection when the team needed presence. Delivering updates when stakeholders needed alignment. It wasn’t just a project failure. It was a leadership failure. That’s when everything shifted. Project management isn’t a checklist. It’s a responsibility. To speak up. To ask hard questions. To lead through uncertainty. That failure taught me more than any success. Now, when things go quiet, I lean in. When alignment slips, I stop and reset. And I never wait for permission to course correct. Because great project managers don’t just deliver. They lead. They earn trust. They bring people together, especially when things fall apart. What’s one project lesson that shaped how you lead today?

The hardest lesson I learned as a project manager? You can’t make people motivated. I used to think great PMs were the team’s personal hype squad. “Let’s go team!” “Crush those milestones!” (I may or may not have sent a GIF of a dancing cat in a cape.) Turns out, I was wrong. Great PMs aren’t cheerleaders. They’re obstacle removers. They don’t say, “You got this!” They ask, “What’s in your way?” and then actually fix it. They don’t give pep talks. They give clarity, context, and a quiet “I moved that blocker. You're good.” Because real motivation doesn’t come from inspirational Slack messages. It comes from being unblocked, trusted, and left alone to do great work. So if you’re spending your energy hyping people up... Maybe spend it clearing their path instead. Your team will thank you. (Probably not with words. But with actual deliverables.)