I believe that consistency is the most important soft skill that a project manager needs. Consistency is so important because it stretches a variety of domains. From the day-to-day work product employees must deliver to the necessity of management to rely on project manager’s reports to make forecast, consistency is needed from all project managers. Project managers need to be consistent in their project managerial style with project team members, duty to the company and the excellence of their final work product. When managing employees on a project, employees want to know they are being treated fair. Employees want to know that special exceptions are not being grossly mishandled and inappropriately distributed. Ultimately, this will affect their work product, and it may lead to retention issues. Next, project managers must show consistency, which in this context is reliability and responsibility to upper management. Upper management and leadership generally believe that the front-line project managers are the true stewards of the company. As goes the projects they oversee, so goes the company. Lastly, project managers must be consistent in the quality of their work product. Consistency with work product can even mean not over-performing unexpectedly. An example is completing a project in half the time forecasted. Such over performances can be frowned upon and suggest that a project manager does not know how to properly forecast.
@akshay-sakariya you make a good point. Communication, and I would probably say organization, are important skills for success in project management. Ensuring that goals are achievable in a specific time frame requires some organization, as well as communication with the project team. In order to reach deadlines, effective communication with team members will likely go a long way.
Organization. Without it, everything will crumble and nothing will be achieved. If a project manager is not organized, deadlines can be missed and work schedules can be thrown off balance. This can lead to a cascade of problems that ultimately lead to the downfall or cancelation of an entire project. In order to help stay organized, I believe a system of checks and balances are needed. This way, each person at each level has responsibilities that are checked by someone.
What do you think is one skill a project manager needs to succeed?
Personally I think one skill that is necessary for a good project manager is the ability to organize. This skill is actually more of a skill set because it affects so many other aspects of leadership. For instance, an organized leader will typically be one that is aware of the length of certain tasks and is a good time manager. Time management skills are something that is developed through the organization of a schedule. This skill is imperative to make any project successful and project manager can only go so far without having great organizational skills.
Organization. Without it, everything will crumble and nothing will be achieved. If a project manager is not organized, deadlines can be missed and work schedules can be thrown off balance. This can lead to a cascade of problems that ultimately lead to the downfall or cancelation of an entire project. In order to help stay organized, I believe a system of checks and balances are needed. This way, each person at each level has responsibilities that are checked by someone.
Agreed! Organization is essential for being a successful project manager. There are many things that you have to consider like the overall project timeline and deadlines. If things are thrown off balance it can potentially result in the downfall of the project as a whole. Being on top of things and being able to manage the team and complete tasks in a timely manner are important for keeping the system moving fluidly.
Excellent communication skills are vital in the workplace for project management because this helps with time management and efficiency. Being able to communicate well keeps the staff more focused on meeting deadlines. With doing so, staff will be able to manage their time in an effective manner and in turn make important progress towards project goals. It is important to understand the process of communicating, as it improves productivity and opens the doors to many other opportunities for the company.
Critical thinking is an underrated skill applicable to a Project Management position and everyday life. This skill allows you to make nonreactionary, unbiased decisions when problems arise in the workplace. Several things can go wrong during projects, and they may happen at the same time. Being able to assess the situation while keeping deadlines, cost, and consistent communication between departments in mind. Having a clear mind and executing delegations successfully in a managerial position is very important and necessary for a project.
Task management- This project management skill may seem obvious, but it can’t be left out. Task management is one of the most essential project management skills that every successful project manager needs to have. You need to be able to create task lists, delegate tasks, and help your team manage the tasks to drive a project to its successful completion.
I believe that project managers need a lot of skills in order to succeed. These skills can include leadership, cost management, risk management, critical thinking, and team planning. However, the most important skill is communication. As a project manager he/she must be able to communicate with team members on the projects, as well as stakeholders. The project manager must explain each tasks that must be completed. You also must be a leader and vocalize/communicate any problems that occur within the project. You can not be an effective leader if you are not able to communicate with the team members.
One skill that a project manager needs to have is a sense of humor. I think as a facilitator of people and the culture of the team, you need to ensure that your team loves to come to work and do their best. Yes, the 5 BIG SKILLS are important, but will that matter if you don’t like your boss or your working environment? I think now, with what is going on with the shift in the industry because of the pandemic, employees are demanding better work conditions and environments. What do you think?
In order to be a successful project manager, there are multiple skills that need to be portrayed and executed before, during, and after the project's lifetime. One of the most crucial ones by far is effective communication strategies. It does not matter what the size of the team is when working on the project. If a leader cannot communicate effectively with their team, then the project will not be able to get completed in the best way possible. To have clear and effective communication, planning and organization are also needed to make sure everyone is hearing the information they have in the right timeframe that they are supposed to be hearing it. Being able to get your point across to multiple people might not be the easiest task but it is important to realize that as the project manager, that is where the bulk of the responsibility of the project lies. As long as the manager is able to communicate with all levels of personnel that they work with, it will streamline the project and make it easier for everyone involved.
I believe that the most crucial ability a project manager should have is communication. A team is required to develop a product; one person cannot accomplish it. The project manager must be able to communicate with everyone in the group, comprehend the worries and emotions shared by the employees, and consider all points of view. The project manager must respect their team members during disagreements. One of a project manager's core competencies is problem-solving. Not every project will run smoothly, but they must be able to identify issues, come up with solutions, and implement those solutions. It is usually good when the project manager exhibits that strength because problem-solving is a challenging skill to develop.
I believe that consistency is the most important soft skill that a project manager needs. Consistency is so important because it stretches a variety of domains.
I wholeheartedly agree with this comment. Consistency above all is the most important skill that one needs to effectively manage a project. Once the outline is set, and the relevant members have their jobs and deadlines, all the PM needs to do is show up and be consistent. The job of the PM is to be there for coordination, support, & knowledge. As long as the PM is there every day, and is there for their team; not much can go wrong.
At my old job; our CEO was the only one who coordinated between our vendors and us: the employees. When he wasn't around, issues arose around workflow & prioritization. His presence is necessary for the smooth running of the company. Truthfully this is a bottleneck, but it is a good example of the necessity of consistency in a PM.
I believe, by having a comprehensive view of limitations such as the project’s budget and time span, a successful project manager should gain a realistic vision by collecting information about the team’s strengths, weaknesses and capabilities by providing an ambience to involve all team members for constructive communications. This also helps the project manager to know team members’ personalities while aligning them with the tasks they will be given
