Valeria Diakiv
Project Manager

If you were explaining who a Project Manager is to your grandmother or child, how would you describe the essence of the profession?

— I would say that a Project Manager is a person who manages all aspects of a project, just like a construction foreman. The PM organizes the team’s work, makes sure that all deadlines are met, and does everything to make the client happy with the result.

In general, any process is like a big construction project. Each team member lays his or her own bricks to create an incredible palace.

If there is no RM, then instead of a palace, you can set up a tent at most. But this is far from the level we offer at Solve Marketing. 

How did you get into the remote marketing team and what experience did you have before?

— Previously, I held the position of head of sales at a trading company. At one point, I began to get actively involved not only in sales but also in the overall business development. And I realized that I was no longer interested in the banal sales processes, I needed more action. 

Therefore, after researching information on the famous Google, I realized that my place was in marketing. 

By the way, before I became head of sales, I was engaged in SMM, but I wanted something else. Now I think that if I had known what a RM was at the age of 16, perhaps my journey as a project manager would have started much earlier. 

On the other hand, the experience of working in different positions now only helps me to communicate effectively and build work processes.

What achievement in your work are you proud of?

— I would like to talk about billions of millions of retained customers or a successfully launched startup that has overtaken the success of Elon Musk himself. But working with different projects, I realized that the best achievement is stability. 

When the team consistently demonstrates good results and the client is more than satisfied, what could be better?) 

Of course, there are certain force majeure circumstances that call this “stability” into question. So my task is to keep on the course of success that Solve Marketing specialists follow every day. 

And if I boast a bit, I consider my achievement to be the level of multitasking that continues to grow. When I started managing 7+ complex projects at the same time, I got an indescribable buzz from how much my skills improved. The feeling of such large-scale control inspires me.

What rule helps you manage projects successfully?

— My rule is quite simple: Think about yourself and the other guy. 

A RM’s job is not just to create work plans and set tasks. 

Each task has its own performer, and each performer is unique. That’s why I follow this rule to ensure the most comfortable working conditions and a personalized approach.

For example, I write short poems in the task description to cheer people up or use some jokes from personal communication with a person. I try to avoid templates, because it is more fun and, as experience has shown, more effective. 

And success lies not in these rhymes or jokes, but in attention to detail. Someone needs a specific technical task, someone would rather watch a video than read a document. Therefore, when describing a task, I always think “about the other guy” who will be doing it, in order to optimize their time as much as possible.

Share your secrets of successful communication with clients.

— The main secret of communication is to demonstrate maximum involvement in the project and a desire to achieve the goals that the client is striving for. 

Our agency has a cool habit of communicating proactively. I believe this is the golden rule. Only from the words of the RM or project marketer does the client understand what is happening. And it is through active communication that we demonstrate full control over the processes. 

When the client feels one hundred percent interested and sees the “fire” in the eyes of the team, then they will not care about the process and the result of the work. 

And one more tip for successful communication: never bring your own emotions into communication with the client. We are all people with our own problems. But I think it is very important to show the client that they are really welcome. Even if you’re having a really bad day, don’t “sweeten” your conversation. 

A warm atmosphere and interest always create a foundation for constructive communication and do not turn weekly meetings into a competition in the ring.

How do you manage to set up workflows so that they work like a Swiss watch?

— It’s very simple — I’m anxious 😉 

No matter how it may sound, it is my desire to control everything that helps me to keep my finger on the pulse in all processes. 

It’s very important for me to be aware of everything, because I can always pick up something if necessary. 

Of course, you need to know the basics of time management and process management, but anxiety is my treasure. By channeling all this energy in the right direction, I can keep a lot of processes in mind. 

By the way, I’m also not lazy to calculate things in advance. Living in the here and now is our reality, but I am in favor of considering possible scenarios. By choosing the best one, I save resources for the whole team.

What can motivate you and, conversely, demotivate you? 

— In fact, everything is trivially simple. You are always motivated by the result of your work. When you see positive changes, you work with more enthusiasm. 

As it is now fashionable to say, because of “I can’t,” because of “a little more time”, but if the client is satisfied, the team starts working at an incredible pace. 

As for the lack of motivation, I can confidently say that client distrust destroys all desire to work on a project. When communication and meetings are a kind of battle, you want to “leave the chat”. 

And I understand that trust needs to be earned, and expertise needs to be demonstrated in action. But when people don’t see you as a professional in your field, you give up very quickly. 

P.S. All our clients are buns 💖

What question do your colleagues most often ask you?

— Now we’re going to have a little melodrama, so get your handkerchiefs ready. 

Because the most popular question at Solve Marketing is “How are you?”) 

And it concerns not only work and workload, but also the state in general. I think it’s very nice. We take care of each other, and this is very important now. 

As for other questions, it’s hard to say. Every day the questions are as different as possible. I propose to stop at “How are you?” and let’s not interrupt this cuteness with anything else.

What does a typical Project Manager’s working day consist of?

— This is the first question that slowed me down a bit.

It is unrealistic to describe a RM’s day. It’s different every day. The only thing I can say is that every morning for about 1 hour I review all the tasks to update them in my head. 

And then — as the cards fall. Maybe I have a whole day of meetings or chatting. Or maybe it’s creating new work plans and reports or discussing a new strategy. 

It’s still a mystery to me 🙂

What character traits do you think a Project Manager should have?

— Multitasking, responsibility, and pragmatism. 

This is probably the main thing you need to get started. All Soft Skills are then automatically upgraded in the course of work.

What superhero can you compare the role of Project Manager to and why?

— Dr. Strange was the first thing that came to mind. And not because he can do magic, although all RMs are magicians in their own way. 

When Dr. Strange was trying to calculate all 14,000,625 possible outcomes, that’s where the match came in. Pragmatism and planning are the trump cards of every RM. 

I recognize myself in this, so I’m not afraid to choose this character.

Valeria, thank you for the interview! Perhaps it would be really difficult to describe the life of a RM at Solve Marketing better!