Meet one of the directors of site development at inRange: Kyle Rightmyer. Learn what it takes to succeed in this role, supporting the team and also serving customers.
Q: What is your role, and what are you responsible for?
A: I am a director of site development, overseeing a number of our project teams. A typical day starts with reviewing our daily and monthly operating rhythm dashboards to review overall project health, identifying gaps in both finance and project milestone projections, and flagging potential roadblocks that might put us at risk of missing a monthly or quarterly goal to review with the Project Manager.
Our Project Managers are asked to hold daily stand-up calls to review goals for the day and any potential barriers to success. The daily stand-up also addresses any temporary reallocation of project resources to ensure goals are met, as well as goals that are currently at risk.
Q: How does technology factor into your job? What is the benefit to clients?
A: We leverage our technology team to assist with automation of the repetitive tasks on a project, and we marry data from our internal database with the clients, which allows us to focus more time on driving towards milestones. Using our unique technology to quickly translate site-level data into project-level dashboards allows us to remove a lot of the white noise happening day-to-day and have a big picture view of where the project stands relative to your baselined forecasts, identifying red flags and allocating time to addressing those issues. We can make these reports and views available to our clients, eliminating the need for cumbersome site-by-sites and diving into the issues that need real attention or escalation.
Q: What are the top three things you do on every job or project?
A: I come up with a written scope of work with the client that all parties agree to. That’s where we separate client needs from client wants. I draft a work breakdown structure (WBS) and Gannt chart to visualize the what and the when. And I define risks and have a mitigation plan in place ahead of time.
Q: What skills or expertise make you successful in this role?
A: Time management is important. Emotional maturity. You have to take responsibility when things go awry. Own mistakes when they happen, and dedicate yourself to course-correct and improve. It helps to have a thick skin and be able to accept criticism. I think self-awareness and honesty are crucial. You don’t always have the answer, but if you can acknowledge that and commit to finding the right answer, it’ll get you further than trying to come up with something on the fly.
It can be easy to overwhelm yourself with the various moving parts in any given project. An effective PM can remove themselves from the noise and see the big picture with a focus on maintaining the critical path. Finally, being a problem solver and being adaptable are important. Problems and roadblocks are inevitable. Even the most bulletproof processes can be tested and turned upside down. Being able to bring solutions to the table and work through issues is what makes a great project manager. If you are always seeking direction from the client, what do they need you for?
Looking for a team that offers solutions rather than more questions? Contact us today
