In previous posts, we discussed the roles and responsibilities of a project manager; in this post, we will discuss what are some of the most essential skills of a Project Manager. While there are many different skills that a project manager can bring to their role, we believe there are four specific skill sets that can help a project manager succeed. These are:
- Enabling decision-making
- Communicating and escalating
- Flexibility
- Strong organisational skills.
Enabling decision-making
Let’s start with decision-making facilitation. The ability to enable team decision-making or gather decisions from the appropriate leader is critical for keeping projects on track and achieving their objectives. This is one of the most essential skills of a Project Manager.
Many of the day-to-day decisions within a project will most likely be made by you and your teammates. You’ll keep projects on track by gathering information from teammates and using that knowledge to help the team make informed decisions.
You will also ensure that those decisions are communicated to the appropriate coworkers, whether members of the immediate team or company leaders. For example, you could provide relevant data or feedback to assist your teammates in making an informed decision between options A and B.
Making the decision-making process collaborative can help team members feel empowered from the start of your project. For example, state the objectives of specific deliverables and solicit feedback from your team on achieving those objectives. You may know how you want particular tasks completed, but your team members may have more creative or efficient methods. Allowing your team to express their opinions and make their own decisions frees up your time to focus on the big picture management tasks and prioritise them in order of importance. Furthermore, giving team members a say in decisions fosters an environment of responsibility, accountability, and team closeness.
Communicating and Escalating
As a project manager, you will use your communication skills in almost every aspect of your job. This could include documenting plans, sending emails about the project’s status, or holding a meeting to escalate risks or issues to stakeholders.
Project management necessitates the clear communication of project objectives and expectations, team member roles and responsibilities, and constructive feedback. Knowing how to communicate effectively and when to escalate issues to management is critical to keeping you, your team, and your organisation on track for success. When escalation is necessary, try to approach management with both the problem and potential solutions or suggestions. This demonstrates your initiative as a project manager. Ability to communicate effectively at all levels is one of the most essential skills of a Project Manager.
Flexibility
Knowing how to be adaptable when changes are required is essential for project managers. Even with careful planning ahead of time, plans will undoubtedly change. For example, perhaps your company’s goals change, or maybe a team member unexpectedly accepts a new position at another company.
A good project manager understands that unexpected moments are almost always unavoidable. By remaining calm under pressure, you will be able to adjust while also assisting your team in remaining peaceful.
Every project manager must be able to adapt to and overcome changes and challenges. Let’s go over why flexibility is an important project management skill and how it can help your team prepare for change, mitigate risks, and deal with ambiguity.
Flexible planning
Change is unavoidable, and as a project manager, the more adaptable you are, the more successful you will be throughout your career. These flexible planning strategies can assist you in managing your project during times of uncertainty:
- Assess external constraints. Consider external events such as national holidays, team member vacations, and sick leave when planning your project. Allowing extra time in the schedule for these unavoidable events ahead of time can help reduce the impact on your project.
- Plan for risks and challenges. If you think about the potential risks, you might be able to find solutions for them ahead of time. What if someone on your team becomes ill or decides to leave? Can you replace them within the company? Can you hire an independent contractor instead? Make a list of people who could join your team if one of your team members becomes unavailable. Looking at historical data can also help you assess risks. Examine your previous projects and the difficulties you encountered. Then, consider whether similar challenges may arise in this project and plan accordingly.
- Calculate “float” in your schedule. Float, also known as slack, is the amount of time you can wait to start a task before it disrupts the project schedule and jeopardises its outcome. Identifying float in your program can aid resource management, scheduling, and project management.
Handling ambiguity
Ambiguity can be a significant challenge in project management. Project managers frequently face ambiguity in project goals, requirements, schedules, vision, and other areas. Your team will look to you to lead during ambiguity and change, and flexibility is crucial in these situations and is one of the most essential skills of a Project Manager. Here are some ideas to help your team deal with ambiguity:
- Keep calm. Handling ambiguity with grace and poise will inspire your team members to do the same in uncertain times.
- Express empathy. It is critical for you as a project manager to understand what your team is thinking and feeling, especially during times of ambiguity. Make it clear to the team members that you care about their problems and are here to help them.
- Communicate what you know clearly. Define the aspects of the project that will remain constant. This helps your team understand what to expect and avoids unnecessary friction.
- Make decisions and stick to them. Avoid second-guessing your choices before your team, as this can lead to increased uncertainty. If you need to deviate from your original plan, explain why to your team.
- Trust the expertise of your team. Increase clarity by having everyone on your team discuss what they already know or believe to be true about project components, such as what is involved in specific tasks or the resources required, based on their areas of expertise. Then, talk about what you still don’t know and brainstorm ways to learn more.
Strong Organisational Skills
Finally, a successful project manager must be well-organised.
As you already know, the role of a project manager necessitates the use of numerous processes to keep the project on track. Strong organisational skills imply the ability to organise these processes and the core elements of a project so that nothing is lost or overlooked, which can and does happen. You could keep track of daily tasks in a spreadsheet or send out frequent status updates or reminders to avoid this.
Your team will follow your lead if you demonstrate the importance of staying organised as a leader through effective tracking and communication. One method is to make use of the numerous organisational tools available, such as:
- Softwares for planning and scheduling (templates, workflows, calendars)
- Collaboration tools (email, collaboration software, dashboards)
- Documentation (files, plans, spreadsheets)
- Quality assurance tools (evaluations, productivity trackers, reports)
You may need to try out various organisational approaches to see what works best for you and your team. You can further develop these skills by becoming acquainted with industry knowledge that applies to most project management roles. Knowledge of valuable tools and templates and experience with popular project management styles such as Waterfall and Agile can assist you in organising and documenting the project throughout its lifecycle.
There are numerous methods for staying organised and honing your organisational skills. The four core skill sets required for successful project management are decision-making, communicating and escalating, flexibility, and strong organisational skills.
Key takeaway
Having the flexibility and ability to deal with ambiguity as a project manager gives you an advantage in a rapidly changing business environment. Mastering these competencies, decision-making abilities, practical communication skills, and strong organisational abilities will enable you to innovate and grow as a project manager and leader.
