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How to Build Project Management Skills as a Creative Project Manager

Updated: Jul 11

A person in front of a whiteboard teaching project management.
Source: Canva – Photo by davidpereiras

When it comes to creative projects, the unpredictable schedule makes project management unthinkable to implement. However, now that creative project management is slowly becoming a norm in the creative industries, creative teams will be able to focus on their work more and not the administrative work that comes with projects in general.


Although if you have come across the term ‘digital producer’, are they the same as a creative PM?


Table of Contents




The Role of a Creative Project Manager and Digital Producer

Although some perceive that creative project managers and digital producers are alike, they have some role differences.

 

Creative project managers focus on the overall project management, like timelines, budgets and communication between creative teams and clients or stakeholders or even between departments.

 

Meanwhile, digital producers are more involved in the creative execution and production process. They understand how it is to translate a brand into a quality digital product.

 

While their roles do overlap and they would often work together, a digital producer works on “how” the creative work is done, and the creative PM worries about “how much” or “how long.”

 

These roles tend to be called by each other’s terms, but their roles are distinctly different.


7 Project Management Skills Every PM Needs


Blackboard written the roles of ‘Project Management’, Complete, Execute, Tasks, Plan, Initiate, Priorities, Goal Settings and Monitor & Control
Source: Canva – Photo by cnythzl

Now that you have the rough idea of what creative project managers do and are thinking about how to become a project manager, what are the skills required for project managers in the creative industry?


1.      Planning & Scheduling

The first essential project management skill is that a creative project manager plans and schedules projects. They also need to recognise the need to buffer time between deadlines for creative work. They are equipped to be ready for the unpredictable nature of creative projects.


2.      Communication Skills

Your communication skills must be open and honest. But not brutal honesty; there’s a difference. Compassionate truth will build trust between you and your creative team. Plus, encourage them to speak during the discussion even if you don’t agree with them.

 

3.      Leadership & People Management

This doesn’t mean you should be holding your team's hands every time they need assistance. A good leader with people management knows how to bring people together. They know how to foster teamwork and collaboration while ensuring their team feels supported.


4.      Task & Workflow Management

This is essential so that you don’t overwork your team or underwork them. Understand your team’s abilities and limitations so you can better predict what tasks and deadlines suit them best.


5.      Handling Feedback & Revisions

When providing feedback and revisions, ensure that your comments are constructive and encouraging to prevent undermining your team’s creative ideas. Instead of rejecting their ideas, you can consider them for other projects.


6.      Time Management & Prioritisation

One of the most crucial project management skills is predicting a creative project timeline when you plan it out. You would have considered what part of the project needs prioritisation, whether it is because it might take longer, or the impact on the project is important.


7.      Adaptability & Problem-Solving

As we all know, creative projects are unpredictable, and anything could happen in the trends of the creative industries. So, a creative PM needs to adapt their project timeline or even objectives, finding solutions without overburdening their team or wasting resources. 


3 Recommended Tools for Creative Project Managers


A group of people discussing around a table with one person standing, pointing at sticky notes that are on the table.
Source: Canva – Photo by charliepix

 When looking for project management software that works with creative projects, not only does it need to fulfil the requirements of typical project management, but it also has to be flexible and customisable according to the needs of a creative project.

 

These are tools that are suitable for just that:

 

TESSR

This software is made with creative teams in mind. It has features like visual annotations and contextual comments to give feedback visually, to name a few.

 

Asana

Known for its simple and straightforward interface, it is a popular choice for creative teams wanting to adopt simple project management software.

 

Trello

A visually pleasing kanban-style board for creative teams who prefer visuals over wordy texts.

 

How Good Project Management Skills Help to Prevent Burnout for Creatives?

With well-executed project management, it will prevent burnout for your creative team. Here’s how:


1.      Help to Set Clear Expectations

When workloads are distributed and a goal is set, what is expected of the team throughout the project is visible and transparent. This prevents creatives from feeling overwhelmed or overworked, which can lead to burnout. With project management tools dedicated to creatives, such as TESSR, workloads are distributed evenly.

 


2.      Fostering a Supportive Environment

An environment with open and honest communication fosters creativity, helping team members feel comfortable sharing struggles that may impact their work performance. This can prevent burnout, so a creative PM could assist them in either giving them the resources to support them or rearranging their workload.


3.      Promotes a Healthy Work-Life Balance

When visible workloads and schedules are established, achieving work-life balance becomes easier, as team members learn to respect each other’s responsibilities. Additionally, this reduces the likelihood of unintentionally overworking anyone beyond their designated hours.

 

3 Mistakes to Avoid as a Creative Project Manager

Now that you are equipped with the right project management skills and tools to be a creative project manager, here are some things you should look out for as you lead your creative team.


  1. Working In Isolation and Poor Communication

Creative work often leads to accidental self-isolation. When combined with inconsistent communication, this not only causes burnout within your team but can also result in misunderstandings, missed deadlines, and project delays.


  1. Ignoring Risk Management and Not Exploring Multiple Perspectives

As a creative project manager, you need to predict any potential risks that could negatively affect your project. Pull in opinions of your creative teams, too, as you do, so you can see the different perspectives where risks could happen.


  1. Not Respecting Team Members’ Time with Poor Task Delegation

When tasks are not properly delegated, you risk overworking your creative team, pushing them to exceed their dedicated hours. This inadvertently disrespects the team by disrupting their personal rest time.


Suggestion of Resources & Next Steps

Here is a list of recommended resources that we encourage you to read for your creative teams and enhance your skills:


Conclusion

When it comes to creative project managers, what makes them especially unique is their ability to find solutions and adapt to the creative chaos of a creative project compared to the traditional counterparts.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


Is there formal education for creative project management?

While not for university courses, you can get a certificate in project management, such as Project Management Professional (PMP)®, to have better credentials for yourself or even to improve your current skills.


Do project management and leadership skills go hand in hand?

Yes, project management and leadership skills go hand in hand. While there are overlaps in the skills, to be a great CPM, you would need leadership skills to better manage your creative teams.


How do I know if I need project management training?

A few things you could do: Seek feedback from your peers or review the performance of a completed project. Either way, if you feel like you need to improve your skills for yourself, then we encourage that feeling of becoming a better version of yourself!


Author Bio

With a background in Arts English, Adilla has been a casual writer for various hobbies like parodies of animated shows and plots for board games. She loves to read anything and everything from fantasy stories to articles on tips and tricks. Now an advocate for mental health and effective project management for the creative industry. Currently, Adilla resides in Malaysia and is a creative writer at TESSR. To know more about her, check out her LinkedIn.

 


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