I've been in all roles of it. I've been the fall guy, I've been the go-to guy, I've been given carte blanche to be successful, and I've had my hands tied to the point of failure.
If you want to be successful in the PM world, and here is where I get philosophical, is that you need to understand the dynamics of each project, each organization, each project group and know that they are all different. What you do on one project may or may not work on another, and you need to figure that dynamic out very quickly. It's the unspoken risk management and politic dynamics. Then the ability to be flexible with all things is important.
Risk Management is vital in that it's the foundation you need to have documented to protect yourself, the team, and the project. Document, document, document. Meetings? Send email minutes and document.
The work itself should never be managed below 3 levels. Project >> Phase >> High-Level Task
To track a project, in my experience, to the specifics of each task creates a nightmare of busywork. You need to know what it takes for each task so you can call BS and drive the project and speak to it with leadership or clients. Status reports are a nuisance and necessity.
Also, last point for this post, build relationships with EVERYONE. Relationships are what make the successes great, shitty parts better, and help allow you to create a space for success. If they trust you, you can lead, if they don't, you're in for hell.
Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing.
PM BINGO!