Effective managers follow a set of behaviors that inspire loyalty and success. Project managers are a special breed of manager where organization and time management are top priorities for success. It’s too easy for a project to get out of hand or fall behind. If you do several of the following, chances are you are a bad project manager:

1. Allow meetings to go on forever – Every meeting should have a goal in mind, and any discussion that doesn’t go towards this goal should be side-lined. It may seem a little rude to interrupt, but meetings can be a huge time-waster for everyone involved. If something needs to be discussed, but isn’t important for reaching the meeting’s goal, continue it after the current meeting so others aren’t sitting around waiting.

2. Always say yes – Being a yes man may temporarily make a client happy, but it makes for a terrible project manager. Managing a project means always being aware of what tasks are needed for completion, and how long this will take. If more tasks need to be added in, then the deadline must shift. Cramming more tasks into the same deadline will almost guarantee sub-standard work, or even a missed deadline. If the deadline cannot budge, then you will have to say no to some things, or at least table some tasks for later.

3. Have little understanding of the technology or product – It’s amazing how many project managers have little to no understanding of the mechanics behind the project they are managing. Whether it’s due to laziness or lack of time, the result is usually unrealistic deadlines.

4. Never consult with those who will actually be executing the project – During the planning process, all factors need to be considered, which means in-depth knowledge of everything the project entails. Even if you are pretty knowledgeable, your developers (or whoever is executing the project) will have some insights you may not have considered simply because they are in the trenches every day.

5. Start assigning tasks before you have all the information – I know someone who, on a regular basis, has to do the same task multiple times because the project manager keeps “receiving new information” about it, making the tasks he did before obsolete. Time-wasting is one of the biggest symptoms of a badly managed project.

6. Avoid answering questions you don’t have answers for – I know a project manager who, when faced with a difficult question, skirts the issue and never really answers the question. An employee will point out something that the PM never considered, and the response usually only succeeds in confusing the employee more. Take time to really understand what the issue is so you can provide a helpful answer and allow the employee to continue working effectively.

7. Focus on details instead of the big picture – As a project manager it’s your job to coordinate everything so the project transitions smoothly. You don’t have time to worry about the details of how something is going to be done, that’s micro-managing, and it makes you less effective.

8. Never document anything – Unless you have an organized, photographic memory, chances are you’re going to forget a lot of information. What’s the network path for the project photos? Who is the point of contact for that client? What requirements were added during that meeting? If these things are not written down and filed away, you will become disorganized. Scattered project managers are never effective.

9. Give poorly explained project details – Whether the project manager doesn’t know all the details, is a poor communicator, or is just plain lazy, the project will have a hard time succeeding if the team doesn’t have all the information they need. Too many times I’ve seen assignments handed out in such a hurried manner that the crucial details needed to do it right are missing. Make a banner ad for this product? Great, where is it going? Does it need to be dark or light? Who is the audience? What “feeling” does it need to invoke? The more details you give, the better your team can deliver a quality result.

10. Never stand behind your team – One of the nice things about being a project manager, according to the bad ones, is there are always people “beneath you” that you can blame for mistakes or failures. In well-managed organizations, the phrase “shit rolls uphill” applies. However in poorly managed organizations, the opposite is true. Bad project managers are eager to take credit for success, and shift blame to others. If this is you, your team will have little incentive to do well.