A strong marketing project manager is organized, pays attention to detail, has good time management skills and is a good “multitasker” — someone who can juggle multiple balls at once. Putting these skills to good use in the frenetic pace of your average marketing department can be a challenge, even when everyone is physically working side by side in the same office. But how do you remain effective when everyone on your team is working remotely? Read on to find out.
When you’re at work, be at work
You’re not there physically, so be there mentally. This doesn’t mean you can’t hit the gym on your lunch break or take your pup for a walk. Block your calendar for your time away from your keyboard, but be available to help solve issues as they arise. The end of the day might be too late if your team is on a tight deadline. Don’t be the bottleneck.
Give respect, get respect
A good manager of any discipline can get more from their team by showing them the respect they deserve than by brute force. Let me explain. I used to work side by side with another project manager who literally told me that she got the best work out of people who “fear me a little bit.” I couldn’t agree less. In a cohesive, high-functioning team, no one person is any more important than anyone else. Your graphic designer will know how long it takes to say create a new print ad or a set of web banners. Your dev teammate can give you an assessment of how long it’s going to take to build a new landing page. Remember, your colleagues are as good at their jobs as you are at yours. If they trust that you have their best interest in mind, and vise-versa, your team will do its best work. Plus, being nice is easy.
Be a good listener
It’s called “interpersonal communications” for a reason. A good conversation goes both ways. To be a helpful coworker you have to fully grasp the issue that your teammate may be trying to solve. In a fast-paced environment it’s natural to want to speed the conversation up. But the best facilitators first have to understand — really understand — what their team members may need their help solving. Listen to them.
Turn your camera on (as often as possible)
Meeting online can be awkward. You may not feel like you look or sound your best on any given day. Perhaps you’re still in your sweatpants — isn’t that one of the perks of working from home? I’m not saying that you should always have your camera on, but turn it on as often as possible. An online meeting may be the only time that your coworkers get to see your face — and face-time is perhaps one of the most important ingredients in building a relationship with your teammates that allows for a sense of mutual purpose. You’re on the team. Be on the team.
Conclusion
From hard drives to Google Drive, from meeting rooms to meeting online, Mindgruve has championed remote work since the pandemic began. As tools and processes have changed to meet the demands of this new reality, so has the day-to-day life of a marketing project manager. Now when people ask me what I do, I say that I help facilitate work getting done — no matter if the people doing that work are in different locations, different time zones, and sometimes even in different countries.
At Mindgruve, the primary role of a project manager is to remove blockers so other members of our team can get their work done with the least number of distractions. Want to see how we can move your project forward? Get in touch today.
