Criteria of a successful project manager

Question

What are the criteria that define a successful project manager? I know that he must be well organized, have an easy-going personality, and possess some leadership skills. Are there any criteria that increase the potential of having a successful project manager?

Note: We're about to hire two project managers in our company and hence the question (I need to know what I should look for in our prospective PMs)!

Answer 1

I think what you are describing are the characteristics of a successful project manager (see: http://www.projectmanagementquestions.com/1569/what-are-the-characteristics-responsible-project-manager ), and not the criteria, the criteria are somehow different. The criteria of a successful Project Manager are:

- Finishes his projects on time, on  schedule, and on budget
- Able to control changes
- Able to negotiate requirements with the client and/or the stakeholders
- Has acquired (grabbed) informal authority over his team members through his leadership skills
- Does not "break" under stress (in other words, able to handle stress)
- Maintains high morale even in the toughest situations
- Is organized at all times
- Does not treat (human) resources as just "resources", instead he treats them with respect, and caters for their needs in order to keep them motivated
- Handles risks and conflicts proactively
- Keeps his promises to this team members, his stakeholders, and his client
- Documents everything
- Is not afraid of slightly modifying the project management process in order to make it adapt to his current project (after all, the goal of any PM is to finish the project, applying the process is the mean)
- Does not get involved in (and nor dragged into) company politics
- Follows the project management plan at all times, and updates it when needed
- Communicates regularly with all the stakeholders on the project, as defined in the project communications plan
- Listens more and talks less