What is the top challenge for Project Managers nowadays? and what is the best way to deal with?

Leading a project is much more complex than it seems as it is not only about managing technical issues, but also about leading people with different backgrounds and hierarchies including project team members and related stakeholders. Although it cannot be claimed that the responsibility of an unsuccessful project lies solely on shoulders of the project leader, it can be said that a good project leader increases the chances of an efficient project completion.

Based on my experience as a coach to countless project leaders, I have observed that the challenges in a project environment have similar characteristics and what matters is how the project leader handles them. Three main assets play a crucial role in tackling those challenges: 

1. Managing expectations: One of the most important tasks of a project leader is to get buy-in for the project among all stakeholders. Even though upper management approves the project idea, in reality there would be people from different hierarchies who might show resistance during execution of the project. Therefore, knowledge about leadership and change management and some resilience must be on the skill list of a project manager.
2. Communication skills: Many projects end without achieving suggested outcome because of problems in the team, such as people not attending meetings, tasks not getting done, inability to make decisions, people behaving badly, etc. Being a good listener and communicator not only helps for creating a common vision, but it is also critical for preventing and resolving conflicts in the team.
3. Analytical & disciplined approach: Goals of the project and milestones to measure progress must be clear from the beginning of the project. Roles and responsibilities of all team members must be defined and communicated them clearly as well and progress must be followed up in line with project charter also created at the beginning. Necessary decisions based on data should be taken timely considering related risks.