Project Management Skills

1. Communication

2. Logical Thinking

3. Decision Making

4. Problem Solving

5. Negotiation

6. Influencing

7. Organization

8. Leadership and Management

9. HR Management

10. Team Building

11. Change Management

12. Budgeting

12 Project Management Skills

Project Management Skills

essential abilities and competencies required to successfully initiate, plan, execute, monitor, and close projects

technical knowledge and interpersonal capabilities

What skills do Project Management combine?

Communication

the process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else

90% of their time

How often do project managers spend time communicating?

• Seek first to understand, then be understood

• Every question deserves an answer

• Is it YES or NO

• Say what you mean, mean what you say

• Timing

• Make Sense

• It is not WHY you say, it is HOW you say it

• Be precise, concise

Here are some of the things that needs to be considered in communication:

Logical Thinking

a full process by it self, it is a skill that we should hone.

1. Investigate

2. Reason

3. Analyze

4. Review

Steps in Logical Thinking

Decision Making

process of choosing the best course of action from among available options

• Never decide under extreme emotions.

• Know thyself ( SWOT)

• When in doubt, leave it out

• Not too fast

• When everything is in chaos, go back to the basic

• Be logical, be rational

• Be realistic when you decide, not idealistic

things to consider in making decisions

Problem Solving

an orderly manner, for finding solutions to problems

1. Define

2. Explore

3. Act

4. Evaluate

four basic steps in solving problems

Reaction

unlearned response (instinctive)

Response

learned of intelligent actions

Negotiation

a process by which we consciously attempt to exert influence and resolve existing or potential conflict

• Be efficient

• Lead to a wise agreement

• Improved ( or at least not damage), the relationship between the parties involved

The process of negotiation should

1. Rapport

2. Examining Issues

3. Hard Core Bargaining

4. Closure and Agreement

Stages of Negotiation

Rapport

• Introduce or reacquaint negotiation

• Reduce anxiety and tension

• Establish communication

• Crete a positive climate

• Help all parties become comfortable with each other

• Identify a common association

• Refer to a belief, idea, or practice held by the other party

• Find an appropriate joke or story

• Talk about the weather

• Discuss anything but the topic of negotiation

Rapport Methods

Exploratory

• Exchange information regarding each party’s needs, values, and goals

• Discuss primary secondary issues

• Outlines positions

• Reveal conflict rang

• Ask for and provide information

• Practice active listening by paing attention, listening and asking question paraphrasing and summarizing, reflecting on feelings and showing empathy.

• Introduce issues

• Articulate positions without exerting influence o Explore the distance between positions

Exploratory Methods

Hard Core Bargaining

• Exert power and influence

• Selfie disagreements

• Resolves conflict range

• Achieve Objectives

• Show Assertiveness

• Use the bases of power to persuade and influence

• Gives and ask for concessions

Hard Core Bargaining Methods

Closure and Agreement

• Ensure that all parties understand the specifics of the agreement they have reached.

• Draw up a formal statements of the agreement

• Avoid tacit agreement

• Summarized conclusions reached on each issue.

• Define any new roles and responsibilities

• State expectations for future actions

• Put terms of the agreement in writing, it deemed necessary and appropriate

Closure and Agreement Methods

Influencing

ability to get people to do the things that wouldn’t do otherwise with no compromise

1. Format or legitimate

2. Purse String

3. Bureaucratic

4. Reward

5. Coercive

6. Technical or experts

7. Charismatic

8. Referent

Power Bases of Influencing

Format or legitimate

A Power Base of Influencing that Derives from one’s position or rank within an organization or from backing form upper management and uses terms such as: • Title (Organizational) • Position • Level • Accomplishment • Peer Recognition

Purse String

A Power Base of Influencing that Derives from one’s control of money or resources and uses terms such as: • Budget • Cost • Expenses • Allocations

Bureaucratic

A Power Base of Influencing that Derives from knowledge of the organization and he ability to use this knowledge and her organization’s policies and procedures. Uses terms such as: • Rules • Policies • Methods and Procedures • Processes and forms

Reward

A Power Base of Influencing that Derives from one’s ability to ensure positive consequence and provide something of value and uses terms such as: • Benefits • Recognition • Bonusses • Perks

Coercive

A Power Base of Influencing that Derives from one duty’s ability to ensure negative consequences or take something of value. Terms such as • Disciplinary Actions • Negative Feedback • Adverse Action

Technical or experts

A Power Base of Influencing that Derives from the knowledge skill training or background in particular field and uses terms such as: • Technological • Methods • Approaches

Charismatic

A Power Base of Influencing that Derives form the force of personality characteristics that motivate and inspire other and is based on: • Positive self-esteem • Self confidence • Perceived genuineness or sincerity

Referent

A Power Base of Influencing that Derives from one’s relationship with another and may be based on: • Associations • Affiliations • Connections • Membership • Relationship

Organization

not using this skill overloads your senses, making you fees stressed and impairs your ability to think creatively

1. Being Organized

2. Knowing the Organizations

Organizational Skills may be defined in two ways

Leadership

The ability to influence people to set and accomplish goals willingly while, at the same time engendering their respect, loyalty and cooperation.

Leaders

impart visions, gain consensus for strategic goals, establish directors, and inspire and motivate others.

Managers

focus on results and are concerned with getting the job done according to the requirements.

Managers

• administers

• maintain/utilize

• control

• have a short-range perspective

• ask “how” and “why”

• maintain the status quo

Leaders

• innovative

• develop

• inspired trust

• have a long-range perspective

• ask “why”

• challenge

1. Directive Behavior

2. Supportive Behavior

Two Kinds of Leadership Behavior

Directive Behavior

The extent to which a leader engages in one-way communication, spells out the followers(s) role and tells the followers(s) what to do, where to do it, when to do it, and how to do it, and then closely supervises performance

Supportive Behavior

The extent to which a leader engages in two-way communication, listens, provides supports and encouragement, facilitates interaction and involves the followers(s) in decisions making

Leadership Style

Is a leader’s unique manner of guiding and encouraging the efforts of the followers may or may not meet the needs.

1. Supporting

2. Coaching

3. Delegating

4. Directing

Four Basic Leadership Style

Supporting

Leadership Style that’s High Supportive Low Directive Behavior

Coaching

Leadership Style that’s High Directive Hight Supportive Behavior

Delegating

Leadership Style that’s Low Supportive Low Directive Behavior

Directing

Leadership Style that’s High Directive Low Supportive Behavior

1. Autocratic Management Style

2. Laissez-Faire Management Style

3. Democratic Management Style

Management Styles

Autocratic Management Style

• May be effective in highly routinized projects i.e. what needs to be done in clearly spelled out step by step

• May be effective when decisions are needed quickly

Autocratic Management Style

• May be demoralization of staff if they have no input into decision making

• May lead to arbitrary decision making

• Insufficient factors may be taken into consideration when making choice

Laissez-Faire Management Style

• May be effective in high -flux, state of the art projects

• May yield high morale among must creative workers who do not like close supervision

Laissez-Faire Management Style

• May lead to ship-without-rudder syndrome

• May lower morale if staff is bottered by aimlessness

• May be disastrous in situationa where quick decisions are necessary

Democratic Management Style

• Is efficient way to achieve consensus

• Can reflect a broad spectrum of viewpoints

• May result in high morale if workers feel that their views counts

• Is effective in most projects management situations

Democratic Management Style

• May lead to “tyranny of the majority”

• May not be effective in using the wrong Minusess “voters”

• May be ineffective when quick decisions are needed

HR Management

primarily concerned with the management of people within organization, focusing on policies and systems.

Abraham Maslow 1943, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

a theory in psychology that is represented as a pyramid with the more basic needs at the bottom

Douglas McGregor 1960, McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

models of the type of employees that manager may encounter in the workplace. These models are used to prepare tactics and protocols on how to deal with employees to maximize production and profit

Frederick Herzberg, Herzberg’s Theory of Motivation

theorized that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction act independently of each other

Team

a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose and who are working interdependently to achieve a specific performance goals using an approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

1. Functional Teams

2. Self-Directed Teams

3. Cross Functional Teams

Types of Teams

1. Honest Communication

2. Active Listening

3. Shared Leadership

4. Good External Relations

5. Style Diversity

6. Self Assessment

7. Appreciation of Individual and Team Efforts

Characteristics of a Successful Team

Change management

an approach to transitioning individual teams and organizations to a desired future state

Change management

refer to a project management wherein changes to the scope of a project are formally introduced and approved

Budget

a plan for your future income and expenditures that you can use as a guideline for spending and saving

Budgeting

establish and manage budgets and therefore need some knowledge of finance and accounting principles.