A PMI survey suggests that organizations that fail to properly integrate project management into their strategies will see their outright project failure rate increase by a factor of 2/31. This includes the selection of the right project manager for your medical device project. Whether interim, full time or an external consultant, your project manager must know how to optimize your company’s resources to reach project goals on time and within budget.
Let us help you look for a project manager with the right skills, temperament, and aptitude to lead your medical device project to success in a high stake, high-risk environment. We provide strategic-level project leaders and project management consultants for the medical device industry. Beyond essential project management skills, our highly experienced consultants know how to lead teams, manage in times of crisis, and influence change. Take a look at our work and see how we can help you get on the right track with our project management team. Get In Touch.
Below are the three parameters that help you identify if a project manager is a right fit for your medical device project.
1. Hard Skills beyond project management
A medical device may include a combination of electrical, mechanical, biomechanical, software, or pharmaceutical components. To manage such complex projects, education and experience in one or more of these fields are as important as project management training and experience.
Do they have experience in the medical device world as an engineer or a technical contributor? Perhaps in one of the following areas: Designing, testing, regulatory clinical studies, quality systems, or manufacturing. If yes, they’ll have a really good sense of the types of tasks that go into making a medical device product.
Do they have marketing experience in a medical device company? If yes, they’ll know the client + manufacturing side of things.
Not having all of these skills is not a deal breaker – we are not looking for a unicorn after all – but having at least one of them will ensure that your project manager is listened to and respected by the team of (probably) highly qualified people they will lead.
Different projects require different types and levels of technical knowledge. It’s up to you to understand what your project needs, and match the right knowledge and experience with the right person.
2. Soft skills:
A good project manager should be able to foster growth and creativity in their team. They can do that by creating a supportive environment where the employees enjoy being a part of the team. Where they feel that their opinions are valued. For that, they need to have the skills to:
- Understand people
- Effectively communicate with other team members
- Have a high emotional quotient
- Motivate people
- Lead people to individual and team success
- Manage Employees Across Skill-Sets And Performance Levels
A good medical device project manager also needs to have self-awareness, integrity, and accountability in spades. They should know their personal ‘why’ and be able to take decisive action while communicating clearly and timely.
Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, believed that business leaders need to embrace the “spirit of performance” by displaying high levels of moral and ethical integrity in their actions, focusing on results, empowering employees, going beyond financial obligations to shareholders, and ultimately serving the common good.
3. Project management leadership Style
To find the right fit project manager for your medical device project, you need to be aware of the different leadership styles and understand what style would be the best for your project needs.
For example, the autocratic leadership style does not work for all projects. But if a project is in crisis, and decisions need to be made quickly, an experienced project manager can successfully employ this leadership style to benefit the project.
In most cases, a project manager needs to transition across roles and project management styles as needed seamlessly. Especially if they’re responsible for multiple projects with different team members. They need to be the captain, manager, and cheerleader of their team, depending upon the situation at hand.
It’s up to you to select a project manager that ensures that the project is a collaborative effort and not just a transactional one.
Looking for a ‘right fit’ medical device project manager or a project management consultant to lead your team to success?
Our mission at Waddell Group is to provide exemplary project management consultants to clients in medical device and other regulated industries. This gives companies access to great project leaders on an “as needed” basis, and an opportunity for gifted project leaders to work on projects outside an organization’s politics and other “non-project” related issues. If this is something you’re looking for, get in touch.
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