4 Types of Project Managers and Their Pros and Cons

Types of Project Managers

Type of project managers are classified based on the part of project management needs including the planning, organizing, controlling, estimating, analyzing, and proper execution of a project. 

Their typical work consists of responsibilities such as designing schedules, planning, estimation, assessing risks, recruiting team members, monitoring staff and subcontractors, budgeting, and tracking progress.

People who manage a project are known as project managers (PM). There are the professionals who overlook the lifecycle of a project. They make sure that project objectives are attained on time, through the right procedures, and within budget. 

Type of Project Managers

Like any other field of operations PMs are also of different types. They are differentiated or categorized on basis of the field of project management their expertise in. A PMr of a certain category has to have expertise in any of the fields. Different type of project managers is required to attain or lead a project to certain success. 

Executor 

The executors pursue the great cases wherever they might lie, inside or outside the business boundaries of a project. He is followed by many members of the company and always has trustworthy evidence and analytical support to back him up. There is no risk, no challenge, and no uncertainty. It can be seen as an easy way to succeed as it is properly documented and aligned with reliable data. 

Pros

The executor can easily point to a limited number of growth opportunities.

You get to be in control and have a full accounting of the entire process.

He relies on facts, documents, and trustworthy data. 

Cons

They cannot provide insights into the more radical and unknown business opportunities.

This role can lead to the overlapping of authority. There is always some difference in planning and execution. 

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Expert 

This type of PM actively pursues business opportunities that lie inside as well as outside the existing strategic boundaries but for which trustworthy data builds a solid business case. 

Experts rely on organizational members listening to their advice as they are utterly supported and followed by others. The expert is needed to challenge the existing strategy by pursuing well-supported growth opportunities that lie outside the organization’s current strategy. 

Although the growth opportunities are well supported and should therefore be feasible, the main challenge is to make organizational members aware of the need for strategic change and of the urgent need to act in this regard. An expert's view over a project is highly prioritized and respected. 

Pros

Your vision is supported by a solid business case.

This type of project management is extremely required in times like today as most things are technical-based now. 

Your priority is to align your team members on a shared goal, communicate the strategic change in favor of the project requirements.

Cons

Sometimes it is difficult to get proper rest as per your command.

There is always a difference in planning, expert opinion, and execution. 

Gambler 

This type of project manager follows or pursues business opportunities that lie within the existing strategic boundaries and limits but have no good business case attached, he emphasizes taking risks and bets. 

In this, trustworthy data concerning the likelihood of success is lacking. The gambler seeks to gain organizational followers for a big bet on a growth opportunity that is consistent with the current strategy but without trustworthy quantitative evidence. 

A gambler is more likely to make bets and take potential risks related to a project head-on. Gamblers play by the rules as they pursue growth opportunities, but they cannot predict the likelihood of success.

Pros

They can update the existing strategy by following analytically unseen growth opportunities.

The main ground is to realize the growth opportunity and execute it effectively.

This can be a highly effective strategy, so long as you factor in ongoing feedback.

Cons

They cannot predict the likelihood of success.

There is the possibility that the growth opportunities are not trustworthy and that they may therefore result in losses.

Prophet 

Prophets go consistently for development projects outside of the company strategy, boundaries, or limits where you cannot make a precise business case. The prophet experiences revelation and they try to find worthy disciples and followers in the organization who also believe in the project. 

Prophets seek the business opportunities that lie outside the strategic boundaries. The prophet seeks to gain organizational followers for a grand vision of a growth opportunity that is strategically different from the generally known strategies and without trustworthy quantitative evidence, consequently relying on organizational members leaping support of the vision. 

A prophet is needed to challenge the existing strategy and to pursue overlooked growth opportunities. Prophets seek to solve big problems using breakthrough technologies and radical solutions.

Pros

You can capture or see the hidden growth opportunities based on research and observation of market performance.

You can go far beyond internal business boundaries. 

You will easily be able to derive better results using external sources. 

Cons

It’s difficult for others to support your vision without quantitative evidence for success.

You do not have a numbers-driven, analytical base of your project team to develop a data-backed strategy for your project.

Understand why a project manager must go for a certification. 

Conclusion

Different type of project managers can analyze problems or solve them, think or make decisions, strategy and boundaries, ability to detain risks, or how qualified are they in their jobs. 

There are several types of project managers based on the grounds you want to evaluate them. But mainly, they are of four types. Just like any other category, they have their own sets of advantages and disadvantages. But when they function properly and in sync with one another, they surely can ensure the path of a project to success. They vary on the grounds alongside which they function, but their goal in the end is the same.

You can acquire one or more qualities of all the four project managers by attending a training in project management from StarAgile.