One of the most desirable skills in today’s corporate world is project management. The rise in project manager incomes is a reliable measure of their market demand. Project managers are often in charge of managing the entire project and executing crucial duties that contribute to its success.
On the other hand, project managers are not the only ones in charge of projects. It has become a competitive market, and you will need to continually broaden your proficiency and skillset across sectors.
Managers must have a mix of project management abilities, competencies, and essential soft skills, in addition to the necessary technical skills. According to recent research, having the right blend of technical and management abilities increases the likelihood of a project’s success by 40%.
It is common for line managers or seniors to conduct project management tasks without ever being given the title of a PM. We believe the following skills are essential for anyone involved in project management.
1. Leadership
This is, without a doubt, the most crucial project management skill that each aspiring manager should have. The PMI define the relationship between PM and Leadership as “the yardstick by which the performance of both the project manager and the leader is measured.” There are several leadership styles that you may use to lead and drive your team. When it is time to delegate duties to team members, and when it is time to take control, any good leader understands when to do both.
As a project manager, you must be aware of the distinction between managing and leading. Management follows defined processes, and project management techniques ensure that others follow.
On the other hand, leadership involves both project management and emotional intelligence. It is the project manager’s role to encourage and motivate team members. 80% of responders in a recent survey said they would quit if they did not feel they were receiving the leadership they deserve.
We wrote a guide on how to approach leadership in Project Management. You can read here
2. Communication
Effective communication is essential for a workplace to run smoothly and positively. As a result, it is critical to evaluate communication regularly for long-term success. Poor communication has been linked to project failure in roughly 30% of cases. However, well-connected teams have seen a productivity boost of around 25%.
General workplace communication is poor. According to a study, 57% of employees say they do not get clear directions, and 69% of managers say they are uncomfortable communicating with their employees. Improve your company’s health by improving communication, and you will notice the difference.
We have written about how to improve communication amongst your project teams. Read here.
3. Time Management
Rarely has a project gone by without at least a defined deadline. Everything worth doing must be finished in a reasonable amount of time. Falling behind on a deadline can affect a project’s momentum.
According to a recent study, meeting deadlines is the second most common challenge for team leaders. Likely as a result of this, another study found that time tracking is the second most popular function of project management software. While time tracking is essential, the capacity to mentally plan out project deadlines and timeframes cannot be overstated.
Any project of reasonable size will be broken down into pieces. The ability to sort these fragments, estimate their time requirements, and keep yourself and your team on pace to meet deadlines is a valuable skill.
4. Risk Management
A project contains a diverse set of RAIDs (risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies), and many of the project’s activities are potentially high-risk. Simply put, this is referred to as project risk. Every action entails some level of risk, which can impact a project. So, it is not just about being aware of the risks for any project manager; it is also about risk identification, risk monitoring, and risk response.
Risk management entails addressing risk, containing it, and mitigating it. Project managers must have a risk-prioritization plan to be ready for when one arises. If not, the consequence can be catastrophic; 62% of organizations have experienced a critical risk event in the past three years.
Risk management is an integral part of project management, and following best practices and identifying risks, as well as containment and mitigation solutions, will ensure that your project runs smoothly.
We wrote about achieving effective strategic risk management in a past blog. You can read it here.
5. Technical Proficiency
Today, a project manager’s ability to work with technology is critical. A recent survey found that 54% of workers feel they do not have the necessary skills to do their job. A project manager must draft business strategies, create budgets, and present information. As a result, you will need to be proficient in Office, PowerPoint for producing presentations, Word for authoring, and Excel for creating spreadsheets to manage data. You need to be able to have a grasp of project management tools in addition to soft skills. Project managers must manage a variety of technologies, including shared online calendars and visual resource planning software.
You will likely not ever need to know how to programme and maintain a website. Understanding the fundamentals of digitization, on the other hand, is always beneficial. It comprises project management technical abilities such as a basic grasp of web design and search engine optimization.
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