Rising Star: How to build a Swiss army knife skill set (and keep your cool in a confrontation)

APM Young Project Professional of the Year Emma Simpson tells Charles Orton-Jones about her repertoire of tools, tricks and techniques to get any job done

“Oh no – they’ve come armed and ready.” We’ve all had that sinking feeling. For Emma Simpson, it came when local landowners turned up to a meeting to talk about flooding on the new £197m bypass near Knutsford, Cheshire. The bypass, built by Highways England, runs through low-lying fields, and the local opinion was that the project had triggered flooding.

Simpson’s job was to solve the flooding for Highways England and appease the unhappy locals. In her early twenties, running her first ever project, it was the sort of moment that might make you wonder if you’ve made the right career choice. “They were farmers,” she recalls. “They came with their own presentation, as they thought our fix would make the problem worse. They were very emotive.” Views were exchanged. The temperature rose. “It did get quite heated,” admits Simpson.

Keeping calm under fire

What the farmers didn’t know is that Simpson has developed a superb set of skills for moments like these – enough to be named Young Project Professional of the Year at the 2020 APM awards. Composure under fire is just one. “I’ve worked in retail, with confrontational customers,” she says. “That experience came in handy.”

She suggested a short time out. Tempers calmed. She engaged first on an emotional level, saying she understood their concerns. After all, her employer Highways England had barged in on their turf. Maybe they had a point. Then she got technical. “We talked them through our plans and the CAD model. We said we appreciated they don’t believe it, but it will work. By the end, they understood.”

Simpson’s career is a reminder that project management is about far more than Gantt charts and deadlines. Great project managers need a Swiss army toolset of life skills. “I have a One Team approach,” she says. “In a project, there are contractors and there is a client. Sometimes it can turn into ‘them and us’. I want one team. We are going to face problems together. We’ll go through the highs and lows as a team. I like to instil it from the start. We begin with a kick-off meeting. I explain how I want us to work together. But ultimately it’s about what you do. It means making calls rather than sending emails. It’s about being there and wanting to be involved. I’m not in construction, but I’m not afraid to go out on-site and ask questions.”

She says a One Team approach changes the entire dynamic of a project. “It makes it so much easier to solve problems when you work together. Problems are found early, rather than raised last minute.”

Youth versus complacency

Another strength is her desire to keep standards high, despite potential resistance. As a young project manager, Simpson is aware her age may be a problem. Let’s be realistic – old pros don’t always appreciate being reprimanded by someone half their age. “My favourite example is addressing a very poor health and safety site visit report,” says Simpson. “There was nothing drastically unsafe about the site, but there were a number of minor issues which, added together, were a cause for concern. The contractors on-site were very experienced and a little taken aback that a young project manager was pulling them up on health and safety, and reminding them of the dangers of the construction site.

“They admitted they were being complacent and letting standards slip, and I was proud to be taken seriously, as I had dreaded that they would mock me and not respect the messages I was delivering. This gave my confidence a real boost and enabled me to build on it throughout this project.”

Rip up the plans

One more virtue. The ability to reflect and revise mid-project. For example, the flooding project at the bypass ran into a hideous snag when the RHS Tatton Park flower show appeared on the calendar just as extra underground cabling was discovered. The flower show means a ban on roadworks for three weeks. The original timetable simply wouldn’t work. The solution? “The project was initially funded to £800,000,” says Simpson. “I had to work with finance to build an additional business case for £200,000 for the additional work and time.”

Her frank approach won her the money and support for a delay so that work could start after the show. Anything less radical risked interrupting work mid-stream, and then running out of money. But it takes courage and self-awareness to tear up a plan when it no longer works.

A final lesson courtesy of Simpson. Her stellar career may imply she’s always super-confident. Yet she’s happy to admit that when she took the project management job at the bypass she had the normal gamut of emotions. “I was excited, as I’d been at Highways England for a year, and wanted to put all I’d learned in the APM Project Management Qualification into practice. Normally at Highways England you are a small fish in a big pond. Here I was a big fish in a small pond. It was daunting. I said, ‘Oh my god, I’m in charge.’ But the team was great, my line manager was too, and in the end it was stressful at times, but wasn’t that daunting.”

Today she’s flying up the ranks. She’s working on some of the most complex traffic projects in the country. Her latest job is improving the Trans-Pennine Corridor section of roads. She’s looking forward to expanding her repertoire. “It’s really massive in terms of the learning curve,” she says enthusiastically. “My project manager is stepping out, and I’m moving up.” And then, bursting with delight: “I’ve got the power!”

Emma Simpson

Education: Business and economics, first class, Northumbria University

First job: Graduate project manager, Highways England, September 2017

Current job: Assistant project manager, Highways England

Emma’s top tips for up-and-coming project managers

1. Start with a workshop

Begin projects with an initial workshop to sketch out the aims. We map out stakeholders, the budget and how to stay within the timeframe. For the flooding project, we were given a year, but I said, ‘Let’s beat the winter.’ Potential risks are considered. 

2. Remember it’s taxpayers’ money

For any government-funded project, it’s always in the back of my mind that we are spending taxpayer cash. I have a degree in business and economics, so I know the financial side. I say to stakeholders, ‘This is your money we are spending. So can we do it cheaper? Or change the design for a lower cost?’ It’s in contractors’ best interests if there is money left in the pot. Remembering that it’s taxpayer money keeps you realistic. You can get carried away with the most glitzy, exciting plans if you aren’t careful.

3. Study psychology

I find it really interesting how people tick and how they work in a team. In one of the projects, we conducted the Insights personality test. Everyone answers 40 questions, and at the end you get a colour – Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Cool Blue or Earth Green – to label your conscious and unconscious mind. I am a Yellow Red. Yellows are sociable and enthusiastic. Greens are patient and caring. It was really helpful to show how people work. The more you understand about psychology, the less frustrated you’ll be. I’d recommend it to any young project managers.

4. Sharing lessons learned

After we finished the bypass flooding project, I presented the lessons learned to Highways England. I explained everything I’d discovered on the project. Knowledge is power. Sharing insights can save other teams weeks of pain. I also recommend talking to other project managers. I take time to talk to new graduates, to give them tips and advice on what placements they should do. Be an informal mentor. I got help to progress, and now I share my knowledge to guide them through.

5. Don’t be afraid to ask questions

This might sound simple and obvious, but when you are in a room, and you think you may be about to ask a stupid question, ask it anyway. I do! I can guarantee there will usually be someone else in the room who will be so glad you asked it. So have courage and ask it!

THIS ARTICLE IS BROUGHT TO YOU FROM THE SPRING 2021 ISSUE OF PROJECT JOURNAL, WHICH IS FREE FOR APM MEMBERS.