Project manager skills

Here is a detailed documentation based on the video transcript:

Introduction

Project managers are the face of the project and the point of contact for any questions or concerns. They are accountable for all tasks performed by other people, even in areas where they may not have direct experience. Project managers must manage experts performing work and ensure they deliver as per expectations. They must also successfully relate with professionals at all levels of seniority, from junior team members to heads of departments and high-level managers like CEOs.

Power and Accountability

Project managers must own their projects and every component within them, as they are accountable for all aspects of the project. This accountability comes with the power to make decisions and take action. What makes project managers worthy of this power? Their skills, knowledge, attitude, and practical experience.

Technical Skills and Knowledge

The first set of skills includes technical skills and knowledge, which are the fundamentals and know-how of project management:

1. Understanding of the Project Management Triple Constraint: Scope, time, and cost, and the link between these elements.

2. Theoretical Framework: Key definitions and the five phases in the project life cycle.

3. Ability to Apply Critical Project Management Tools and Documents: Project Charter, Project Plan, Gantt Chart, Critical Path Method, Project Budget, Status Review Materials, Risk Log, etc.

4. Personal Organization: The ability to order one's own tasks.

5. Task Management: Structuring work into tasks, prioritizing, assigning, following up, and bringing tasks to completion.

6. Critical Thinking: The ability to filter useful information from the not-so-useful and make the right decisions based on this.

7. Efficient Use of Basic Software: Creating clean tables and slides for plans, trackers, and presentations.

Interpersonal or Soft Skills

Projects are performed by people and for people, so project managers will need to build trust from scratch as the people involved and the dynamics will all be new for each project. Key interpersonal skills include:

1. Communication: Project managers spend about 90% of their time communicating through regular and ad-hoc project meetings, written communication (emails and chats), and daily conversations with team members.

2. Team Management: Clearly articulating tasks, timelines, and responsibilities, supporting team members, and maintaining team motivation throughout the project life cycle.

3. Leadership: The ability to influence the organization and stakeholders in the desired direction, negotiate with managers, and mediate conflicting situations.

4. Social Skills: Adapting communication style, language, and behavior to the individual, discussing personal interests and hobbies to build rapport, and using appropriate humor to relieve stress and build team morale.

Business-Specific Knowledge or Industry Experience

Experience in a specific business or industry can help project managers plan better, predict certain risks, and communicate more easily with stakeholders initially. However, being a great expert in the field does not guarantee the successful completion of a project. To achieve success, project managers need to be experts in project management itself.

Conclusion

Project manager must have a set of specific hard skills (triple restriction knowledge, project lifecycle, tools and documentation knowledge, time and task management, critical thinking and basic software knowledge) and soft skills (communication, team management, leadership, social skills) to manage the project and teams more effectively although industry knowledge can be a plus it doesn’t guarantee success

What are the six most important hard skills to learn as a PM?

🔻 Triple restriction knowledge ️

🔄 Project lifecycle

🛠 Tools and documentation knowledge

⏱ Time and task management

🧠 Critical thinking 💡

💻 Basic software knowledge

What are the six most important soft skills to learn as a PM?

💬 Communication

👥 Team management

🧑‍✈ Leadership

🤝 Social skills