- Nikia Smith
- Jun 30
- 5 min read
Updated: 6 hours ago
Project Managers (PMs) are organized, goal-oriented professionals who use innovation, creativity, and collaboration to lead projects that make an impact. The are defined, according the 8th edition PMBOK Guide, as “the person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives. Project managers perform a variety of functions such as facilitating the project team’s work to achieve the intended outcomes and managing the processes to bring about those outcomes in order to enable value delivery” (The Standard for Project Management and A Guide To The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Eighth Edition., 2025, p. 5) They are also called project leader or project lead. In adaptive approaches, it is common for them to serve as product managers, product owners, agile manager, agile expert, scrum master, agile delivery manager, team lead, or agile coach.
They are the first tier of a larger project management profession. See Figure 1.1 below.
Figure 1.1 Relationship Between Portfolio, Program, and Project Management
Project managers lead and manage a project or a series of projects aligned with an organization’s strategy and objectives. They possess technical, leadership, and strategic and business management skills to perform temporary, non-routine, non-repetitive work, from start to finish. This is the opposite and difference between a project manager and an operations manager. They execute, lead, direct, plan, schedule, motivate, control, and communicate to get things done. See Figure 1.2 below.
Figure 1.2 Integrated Management of Projects
They decide the type of project life cycle, hybrid, predictive, or adaptive, is best for the project. They seemingly seem like the jack of all trades, and some in cases, they can seem to appear that way. However, while they are responsible for the success of the project, they cannot do it all by themselves. Work becomes difficult to manage without a team. Whether the team is internal or external to the project manager and the organization, PMs create a team where none existed before. Instead of only managing a set of processes, project managers also decide what and how things must be done to achieve the objectives of the project. Project managers are adaptable to the organization and can reflect an organization’s internal regulations and constraints. This inevitably leads to the practice of project management.
“Project Managers equip their teams with the tools to succeed and evolve through projects. And they use various project management skills to do so, including:
Leadership and adaptability
Organization and time management
Creative problem-solving
Effective communication
Motivation and team management” (What is a Project Manager?, 2025)
Project managers represent a fundamental shift from traditional management and its practices. Good project managers have the “project management mindset”. The project management mindset is composed of three dimensions: proactive, ownership, and value driven. As mentioned in the latest PMBOK Guide, it represents a “growth mindset” where that is fundamental for executing strategy, fostering adaptability, driving change, and generating value (p. 36).
Proactive. It is key and essential and helps effective project management for a project manager and helps them drive the team toward achieving strategic objectives.
Ownership. Being responsible and accountable for the intricacies of the project. Having the wherewithal to address problems with viable solutions is critical for a project to succeed. Without leading by example, the project manager places themselves at a disadvantage right from the start.
Value-Driven. A project manager that thrives on value, an added value, for their project, service, or outcome is a project manager worth seeking out and working with. They ensure projects are both impactful and sustainable. They align the processes, methods, and techniques with organizational values and strategies.
They strive forward with that mindset when practicing the seven project management performance domains: governance, scope, schedule, finance, stakeholders, resources, and risk management.
Project managers are change makers. They turn ideas into reality. They can conduct business formally or informally. They establish business blueprints, if you will, for CEOs, senior leadership of private and public organizations. And even with small business owners. They work in virtually all industries, from legal to finance, from professional services to healthcare, from strategic management to business management, from marketing management to operations management. They organize, plan, execute, monitor and control and close out projects in a systematic, organized fashion. They are invaluable to business leaders and management.
Project managers build bridges, construct homes, manage software development, create new systems, facilitate social initiatives, and design marketing campaigns, among others.
It is a meticulous, sometimes tedious, time-consuming, critical thinking, stressful, financially rewarding profession. They are responsible for the performance and success of the project, and in most cases, with little to no authority. They must use communication and leadership skills effectively while keeping an eye on the project. Being the liaison or the face of the project between the client and customer, or senior management and front-line management is common practice. Project managers perform projects objectively with supporting evidence. Ethically, they are required to advise if or when a project cannot or will not meet the requirements of a client if they are not feasible or reasonable. That alone brings value to most clients, customers, and individuals. Creating a system for value delivery is a standard and a practice for project managers, according to The Standard for Project Management and A Guide to The Project Management Body of Knowledge (The Standard for Project Management and A Guide To The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Eighth Edition., 2025, p. xi).
Project management rates can range from $40 to $300 per hour, depending on experience, skills, education, location, and project needs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2024 median pay for a project management specialist is $48.44 per hour. However, according to the latest published Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey Fourteenth Edition in 2025, the average salary in the United States is $135,000, or $67.50 per hour, for a PMP-certified project manager and $109,157, or $54.58 per hour for a non-certified project manager (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2025, p. 11).
In my opinion, seeing an individual or client realize more value, money, or improved relationships is how I measure success of a project and making sure they know they have a long-term partner in their corner is what makes my life as a project manager fun and gratifying! As AI becomes a bigger part of the American economy, people still matter. Project managers help teams make smart decisions, solve problems, and keep projects moving—things that AI cannot do alone.
References
Gray, E. W. (2014). Project Management: The Managerial Process, Sixth Edition. New York City: McGraw-Hill Education.
Project Management Institute, Inc. (2025). Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey. Fourteenth Edition. Newtown Square: Project Management Institute, Inc.
Project Management Offices: A Practice Guide. (2025). Newtown Square: Project Management Institute, Inc.
The Standard for Project Management and A Guide To The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Eighth Edition. (2025). Newtown Square, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute.
What is a Project Manager? (2025, December 31). Retrieved from Project Management Institute: https://www.pmi.org/about/what-is-a-project-manager
Meet Nikia Smith, the Director of Project Management Office (PMO), driving success at Business and Wealth Generations. With over a decade of advisory expertise, Nikia orchestrates strategy and operations, spearheading growth and innovation. Beyond his professional endeavors, Nikia actively participates in his community, having served on the Board of Directors at the Project Management Institute Florida Suncoast Chapter in different roles for several years. Recognized for his contributions, he received the PMI Florida Suncoast Chapter Award in 2018 for significantly boosting membership and retention and was also selected to attend the 2019 PMI North America Leadership Institute Meeting in Philadelphia. Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in management and organizational leadership with a focus on Project Management, alongside several business certificates from St. Petersburg College. He is also certified in CAPM and PMP by the prestigious Project Management Institute. For collaboration opportunities, reach out to Nikia at info@thebusinesswg.com.
