How to Become an Agile Project Manager?

The foremost objective of agile project management is the systematic and frequent execution of valuable steps. These were brought into existence through collaborative planning and the adaptation of ideas collectively by the team.

This process often results in the development of minor conflicts within the team. Such problems are capable of affecting the bigger picture of the project. It is the agile project manager's responsibility to ensure that the teamwork's efficiency remains intact throughout the process.

Practical knowledge of handling a team is the major requirement to become an agile project manager. Today's readers will help you understand the qualities of an efficient agile project manager.

Qualities of an Efficient Agile Project Manager

1. Communication Skills: Impeccable communication skills are one of the major characteristics of a good agile project manager. Someone who knows how to express their ideas and verbalize them in the right way can easily get through challenging times. It's exceptionally important for the agile manager to be able to communicate with their team members effectively. Good communication comes hand in hand with the listening abilities of a person. They have to present in the moment, listen with open ears and analyze the data is constructed. Communication skills do not necessarily mean being exceptionally great at vocabulary. It simply means how well a person can address their opinions while also paying attention to those standing next to him. People usually misunderstand them for their speaking skills. However, this is not true.
2. Leadership Qualities: Needless to say, an agile project manager is responsible for leading the entire project team along with the planning and execution of ideas. A person is said to be apt at leadership if they swear by good communication, listening skills, innovation, confidence, honesty, empathy, and self-discipline. These skills are quite self-explanatory.
3. Decision-Making Skills: A project manager has to be prepared to handle unfavorable disputes between the team members beforehand. In such a situation, problem-solving and decision-making skills mark their existence in overcoming it. A single decision holds the power to make or break the case. The leader needs to inspect and evaluate the situation from multiple perspectives and lead to a conclusion.
4. Problem-Solving Skills: If every step of an agile project were to go as planned, there might not be a need for an agile project manager in the team. Any minor or major problem that arises during a sprint needs to be counteracted at the earliest. This is to ensure the easy functioning of the project in the longer run. A successful agile leader understands how to identify a problem and work it through.
5. Organizational Skills: An agile project manager should possess the ability to list down almost every possible outcome of a sprint. They should be apt in determining the correct priorities for the welfare of the project. They should know what aspect of the project deserves single-minded attention. Organizing everything in a single place is not recommended. It's important to distribute the tasks amongst various team members depending on their respective caliber.
6. Adaptability To Uncertain Circumstances: It's safe to say that the integrity of a team ends up collapsing when highly unfavorable circumstances show up. The agile project manager's responsibility is to make them realize that they share an ultimate goal that shouldn't be deterred. They know when is the right time to step out of their comfort zone and expand their perspective. A good agile project manager is familiar with constantly changing priorities. If the project's safety demands discarding the entire sprint and starting over again, they will do it. Someone who struggles while coping up with project failures can certainly be an inefficient leader.
7. Working Under Pressure: It's important to constantly remind the team of the 'why' of their project in order to push them into efficiently working under pressure. Agile project management is known to cut down on the complexities of a project. However, it also encourages increased productivity of the team. This may sometimes lead to situations where work pressure starts to take a toll on the team's mental health. Working under pressure does not always act as a threat to someone's mental peace. It's the perspective with which it's looked upon that decides. The urge to meet tight deadlines should remain intact in the professional life of an agile project manager.

Where to start to be a successful Agile Project Manager?

Which training program is better to start?

Scrum is the most popular framework, but we advise understanding agile fundamentals before moving to Scrum. Below is a few suggested training that may help in learning agile, the role of an agile project manager, and the required skills to be a successful agilest.

1. Agile Fundamentals Bootcamp: It helps in understanding why and what agile project management is all about. Explore the agile mindset in detail with the help of various agile methods like design thinking, lean, and Scrum.
2. Professional Scrum Product Owner: It is about exploring a product owner's role in Scrum and taking deep dive into its responsibility. PSPO training helps in understanding stakeholders' expectations, requirement management, backlog management, and release planning.
3. ICAgile - Agile Team Facilitation: Agile talks about a self-managed team, but we need a competent facilitator to facilitate team decisions. ICP-ATF helps to learn how to facilitate meetings, conflict, and retrospectives.
4. ICAgile - Agile Coaching: An Agile coach acts as a catalyst to the agile team by empowering the team to reach their goals by facilitating agile thinking and improving team practices. The coach provides focused guidance and enhances awareness of the business goals and objectives by acting as a role model, teacher, facilitator, mentor, and team builder.

Final Wrap-Up

Their role is not aligned to a single path of instruction but a wider array of possibilities. Abilities like resource planning, time management, analytical thinking, and critical thinking are more of the surface requirements. These should also be taken into consideration to become a successful agile project manager.