Every project manager must have these five skills if (s)he is going to be successful in the project management role in today’s world.
- Strong communication skills: The ability to communicate across the organization is a key skill. You’ll need to be able to effectively communicate – verbally and in written format – with every level of employee. You’ll also need to be able to communicate effectively with individuals from a different cultural background. I have found that getting to know those individuals you’ll be communicating with is essential for successful communications. You need to understand how people want to be communicated with, how much they want to know and when. I have often found that, when I pass a client in the hallway of their office, they sometimes want me to brief them right then and there! Be prepared! You can better learn how to communicate with individuals when you build strong relationships with them; which leads us to…
- Build strong relationships: The ability to build strong long-term relationships with others within and external to the organization is key to successfully managing projects. The best project managers develop relationships before they need them. Get to know others – introduce yourself and learn about them, share ideas, thoughts, best practices. If there are individuals I know I may be working with at some point, I try to get out to lunch with them or coffee so we can get to know each other on a personal level. If individuals I’m working with are coming from half way around the globe and we may never meet, I try to hold a virtual session with them so that we can “meet” via computer and get to know each other that way.
- Cultural understanding: Too often we think that only individuals who are born outside of the United States and recently relocated here, or are here temporarily working on a project, have a different cultural background than we do. Not true. Remember that there are so many different cultures represented in the United States and for many people, while at home – they speak their native language and observe cultural practices. I find it fascinating to learn about others and what is the “norm” for their culture. It ties back to helping me build relationships with them. When I know where they are coming from – I can more easily understand them and work with them. And let’s not forget that given today’s global, virtual environment for many companies – often we are working with individuals from around the world. Which leads us to…
- The ability to manage global teams: It seems that working on a global virtual team is the norm for many project managers these days. What is essential – and requires a bit of planning and flexibility – is figuring out how to work effectively when your team is not co-located and you are working with individuals from a variety of time zones. Too often those team members with the most members from their location seem to “win,” in that meetings are usually scheduled convenient for them. Don’t let this happen on your teams! Alternate times for meetings so that everyone has a “reasonable” meeting time at some point during the project duration. In addition to managing meetings, frequently you are not able to actually meet in person the team you will be leading when members are coming from all over the globe. If your company does allow an initial meeting with everyone in the same location to kick-off the project – don’t hesitate to take the opportunity. But let’s assume you cannot get everyone together – consider a virtual format – maybe Skype or another platform, using cameras so you can see each other – to “meet.” It’s always nice to put a face with a name. A team introductory meeting (see a previous blog post for some ideas: Kicking off the Project Team) is a great way to get to know each other on a personal and professional level. And you may also be interested in a past post on working with team members from other countries. Managing global teams requires much more time on your part in building strong relationships and really understanding the skills the team members bring to the project. Trusting others to do their job is essential – you can’t oversee every single activity being accomplished when the team is spread out. And frankly, you shouldn’t be doing this anyway as a project manager!
- Business acumen: Understanding the business in which you are working is a necessity to be successful. The best project managers have business acumen. Business acumen is having an understanding of the business to be able to make good decisions and good judgment calls. Want to be seen as a leader? Know how every project ties into the business’s strategic goals. By understanding this, you are better able to make decisions on your projects to ensure they are successful and will meet the needs of the business and the stakeholders. Start today by meeting with key executives in the business – learn about the business from them. Where do they see the business today? Where will it be in 3 years? 5 years? 10 years? The more you know, the better a project manager you are.
No doubt you could add to this list of “must have” skills. What would you add?
Thanks!
My opinion based on my experience: A project manager should ask: Are all complete, it is they who should be?. In terms of the staff and then initiate any necessary actions.
Rich,
I like the term “technical conversancy.” A great addition to a “must have” skill. I’d have to say if someone asked me to pick two really seriously important skills for PMs – I’d choose relationship building and communications. This reminds me of one individual I know who was co-project managing a technical project at her organization. She was good at the “technical conversancy” part; unfortunately her co-project manager was not. The project was not successful as, unfortunately, she couldn’t carry it herself.
Thanks Rich!
Best,
Gina
Thanks, Gina. Nice post.
I would say that there is a common theme to 1, 2, and 3 above – perhaps a “superset” skill, from my experience in the technical world.
Combining communications, relationships, and cultural understanding, in that technical context tranlsates into what I call technical conversancy.
It involves communications, of course, because one has to know the proper “channels” to be able to meaningfully exchange knowledge with a technical team.
It involves relationships, which for a project manager, will likely mean respecting the practice area and expertise involved. I have seen this relationship handled very well, with an eagerness to learn and mutual respect, and I have seen PMs wreck that relationship with one comment like “how is your little software doohickie coming along?”.
And, it involves culture, which in this case is not so much Hofstede’s comparison of Somali to Peruvian spatial distance but rather a technical culture (see Dilbert) that should be understood and appreciated.
So I combine these into something I call ‘technical conversancy’. And some of the most effective project managers I’ve ever supervised were devoid of technical background and yet they really “got” this concept and it made them wildly successful.
Great addition Tom – thank you. I think that at times project managers get worried and stressed when they don’t understand all of the “ins and outs” of the project (especially when it involves technology!). However, members of the team have expertise here as you so correctly pointed out and the project manager can learn from the team. Relying on team members does not make you a poor project manager – accepting others’ expertise will help the project to be a success!
Thanks for reading!
Best,
Gina
Project Managers also must have at least a minimal understanding of the work being done. Too little understanding of the project work, and s/he will not really be aware of what is happening. To overcome the lack of knowledge, s/he must learn about the technology and the work ASAP: members of the team will help.