A skilled project manager with the required skill set would aim to get the job done faster and with less effort.
Some of the crucial skills desired in a project manager are,
Leadership
Project leadership has been in discussion for a long time now. Project leadership is the ability to lead your team as well as manage them is a trend that shows no sign of abating. As a project manager it is extremely important to be able to inspire others, set the vision and lead effectively.
Negotiation
Project managers are required to have good negotiation skills as that proves to be an asset for the teams and helps them in resolving conflicts by finding the win-win scenarios for everyone.
Scheduling
Project scheduling is one of the core project management skills. Project manager are required to use the project scheduling tool used to communicate what work needs to be performed, which resources of the organization will perform the work and the timeframes in which that work needs to be performed.
Cost Management
One of the most important skills needed by a project manager is cost management as the budgets allotted are fixed. Therefore the project manager is required to deliver the project within the cost constraints and thereby managing the project finances intelligently.
Risk Management
It has been observed that more routine the project, the more it is likely to get outsourced or given to a functional manager who shows an aptitude for getting things done. But project managers are required to work on the more complex, transformative, and unique events that requires decent risk management. Note that project sponsors hate surprises and good risk management is one way that you can handle any threats.
Contract Management
One of the tasks involved in managing the project involves managing suppliers. Here, contract management refers to the ability to actively manage those procurements. Since in today’s time everyone under is pressure to do more with less, therefore it is falling to project managers to pick up the slack when it comes to procurement.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking involves making good decisions. The process of critical thinking involves analysing the pros and cons of solutions to problems before choosing the right way forward. This is a skill that distinguishes a good project manager who is extremely good at handling issues as compared to someone who blows issues out of the water every time.
Critical thinking skills can be adopted through practice and by equipping yourself with tools and approaches to help you structure arguments logically and observing everything from all perspectives before making the final decision.
Communication
This is a skill which is less stressed upon, as we don’t do enough of it. It is one of the most demanded skills which stakeholders demand for. We often fail time and again to meet expectations largely because of the failure to communicate effectively.
For effective communication it is important to think creatively about the various communication channels available including – Intranet, Newsletters, Emails, Collaboration and social media tools, Team meetings/face-to-face and Web and online conferencing. Thereby thinking about how we can apply each of these to actively serve the project next year.
Coaching
For a developing effective project management skills it is crucial that you are good at managing in a matrixed environment but also that you are good at coaching as most of the people on your project team won’t work for you as they may not have much project experience and so you will have to coach them to top performance.
For instance assist a child in doing their homework and help them come to the right answers then you are doing a form of coaching. Therefore, some training in this area will help to apply those skills in the workplace so as to help the team to perform their best.
Task Management
Task Management is the ability to create a task list, delegate work to others and keep on top of progress. In case a task does not come easy then you would be required to develop strategies so as to ensure that you are always on top of the To Do list.
Quality Management
Quality management is the process to ensure that the product to be delivered is a fit for the purpose. Quality is one of the processes and set of tasks that are overlooked as an administrative overhead. Thus, it is crucial to ensure better quality of deliverables, leading to better value offered to stakeholders.
