INNOVATIONS AND INSIGHTS
PATRICK LEAHY | INTERNATIONAL YOUNG PROJECT MANAGER OF THE YEAR HOW COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION LED TO THIS PM’S SUCCESS
2019 IPMA “Young Project Manager of the Year” Award and 2018 National Future Project Leader Award from the AIPM, he shares with us his career experience, tips on change, risk and stakeholder management and ways to manage upwards.
THE ENJOYABLE PARTS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT LIE IN THE CHALLENGES You have been in this field for over ten years; what are the enjoyable and challenging parts of being a project manager? The things I enjoy the most are quite often things that challenge me the most. There are a diversity of issues that arise. Construction projects will always leave you saying, “I haven’t seen that one before”. Whether it be developing a design solution to a complex engineering requirement, tailoring a procurement activity to strict rules or uncovering unexpected finds on-site, you never know what tomorrow will bring. I find the challenge of developing a process for dealing with an unconventional issue and managing the process to a successful outcome to be very rewarding. People are key. As a project manager, you deal with many people with a diverse range of experience and backgrounds. You become privy to a huge amount of information; however, you need to tailor your communication and engagement approach to every individual to ensure that you get the best result for your project.
THE PROJECT MANAGER IS A FACILITATOR How do you define the role of the project manager to a newcomer? I’ve always struggled with this question. I remember trying to explain my new job as a client-side project manager to my grandfather, who was a lifetime electrician. Every time I explained my role, he would always respond with “so what do you actually do?” The title ‘Project Manager’ is incredibly broad and it will mean different things to different people. I like to describe the role of a project manager as being a facilitator. Primarily you are responsible for: 1. Identifying what needs to be done; 2. Resourcing each task with the appropriate team, and then 3. Making sure everything is completed in line with the projects critical success factors. Sure, there will be countless intricacies along the way; however, it generally comes back to those three main aspects. As a project manager, you must always challenge yourself to add value to every step of the process.
Patrick Leahy, Senior Associate at Conscia, is a clientside project management professional with experience in managing a variety of projects, from office fit-outs to large scale design and construction works including specialist security, training and laboratory facilities. As the winner of 12
As a project manager, you must always challenge yourself to add value to every step of the process.
