Team member qualities should include determination, communication, and creativity. In the project management environment, people have to be able to adjust to new or unexpected information. An individual that is determined will be able to adjust to changes quickly despite the difficulties that come along with it. Being a part of a team requires multiple people to communicate and understand what is going on. This way the goal and expectations are understood. Without communication, a project can end incorrectly without achieving its goals. A creative individual can bring new ideas to the table that the team can explore. These new ideas can help the project move faster or potentially grow larger in the future. A group of individuals with these qualities is good team members with the potential to grow into project managers. Managers know how to work in a team environment before leading a team in a project.
We all start as team members to be a project manager, and it takes time, effort, passion and determination to be a good project manager. However, what are the skills that we should be looking for in our team members and need to acquire to become a project manager in the future.
I think that in order to be an effect team leader and project manager you must first learn how to be an effective and efficient team member. This requires attentiveness, critical thinking skills and communication skills. Attentiveness from a team member can be very helpful to the leader because it will ensure that the instructions are heard and followed. Critical thinking is needed for brainstorming and problem solving which are two critical parts of the project management process. Finally, team members and project managers should have strong communication skills because without this skill no project can ever be completed efficiently.
As a project manager, there would be many skills that I would want my team to acquire as they prepare to become future project managers. The more critical three that stand out to me would be 1) emotional intelligence, 2) critical thinking, and 3) flexibility. With those top three skills, I believe they can be successful at almost any project that they lead. I would also be looking for them to be effective communicators, have creativity, excellent time management, passion, be a team player, have leadership skills, be hardworking, and goal-oriented. And a plus skill would be to be an active lifetime learner.
We all start as team members to be a project manager, and it takes time, effort, passion and determination to be a good project manager. However, what are the skills that we should be looking for in our team members and need to acquire to become a project manager in the future.
This is a GREAT question! Good listener, Open-minded, hardworking, dedicated, accountable, and Morals & Values to name a few. The way you carry yourself definitely rubs off on your team. Having a positive attitude goes a long way. I do believe the team you have can either hurt or help the project. If you constantly have arguments, disagreements, lack communication and show no effort the outcome of the project will reflect that 100% of the time.
I think a good project manager is definitely shaped through their prior experiences and roles. Ideally, having experience in all the roles the PM is managing would give them the greatest exposure to the time requirements and restrictions that are associated with specific tasks to develop the most efficient and effective structure. Oftentimes, someone with little to no experience can create demands that are not realistic. Having the prior experience also helps the PM help the rest of the team by serving as a primary point of contact to answer any questions or at least know the right individuals/resources to refer them to.
@ridmehta I agree with your points! I think the more challenges and situations you experience, the more knowledge you can pull from when faced with new situations. The more projects you have worked on, the easier it would be to correct and see issues before they become major problems. I also think soft skills, for example, the ability to listen to others concerns and communicate with people that are not in your field to get the job done are important for a project manager. This also comes with experience as you get to interact with more people. The last skill that I think is key for a project manager is organization; if the project manager is on top of the schedule and budget it is much easier to prevent problems and plan than if they do not know what is going on. As a leader it is important to set a good example to everyone on the project to ensure tasks are completed correctly.
A team works well when all of the members get along and can put aside personal differences in the work environment. I feel that anyone could become a project manager, but may not be the best at it. It all comes down to how they interact with others, knowing the team to set reachable goals, and guiding the team properly so the vision can become a reality. A project manager position isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay because what makes a team successful is having all of the people in their proper places so their strengths can really shine.
When it comes to working in a team for projects, I believe the best individuals to look for are the ones that are open and communicative but are also capable of independent work. By that I mean that once roles are designated to each individual member, they are capable of going off on their own to fulfil their objective without needing constant guidance, but at the same time they relay their progress or roadblocks to the team and are welcoming of feedback to see if they need to alter their approach. I feel if team members like these can take some of the weight off the PM's shoulders by taking some initiative and making sure to communicate and ensure what they are finding and working on integrates well with that their teammates are working on at the same time, while also adding meaningful contributions during progress meetings to keep the project going in the right direction would make wonderful project managers in the future as they improve on these skills with experience.
i think communication and listening skills are the most important to have as a group number. it is a foundation of an effective teamwork. communication can let others know your thought and questions and listening others can make you see things from another perspective and can make you see multiple sides of an issue and find the one you have never considered before.
There are various different skills that project managers look for when assigning team members to a project. Effective communication, negotiation, and scheduling and time management are critical skills that team members should exhibit in order to successfully operate on a project team. Communication is essential because projects involve a lot of team work. Negotiation is important because members may have differing opinions and perspectives. As such, team members need to be willing to cooperate and negotiate in order to achieve an effective outcome. Scheduling and time managing are extremely important because project teams need to meet the deadlines they communicate to leadership. Otherwise, the project could be negatively impact and there could be financial burdens involved with missing deadlines/deliverable dates. Additionally, scheduling is important because team members end up meeting very frequently. If one team member misses a meeting, it could set back everyone's time and might even cause the team to have to reschedule- thus wasting the time of the team member's who made it to the meeting. It is important that team member's exhibit these skills in order to successfully participate on any project team. There are many other skills that team members should display, however some of them might differ depending on the type of project. For example, if a project team is working on developing an antimicrobial coated hip implant, a valuable skill a team member could possess is a strong understanding of biomechanics and biologic integration. This skill set might not be as important for a team member to display if he or she is working on a project to develop a new formula for shampoo, for example.
To lead the team you first need to understand how to be apart of time, which comes with experience and also when in charge still understanding although youre in charge you are still apart of a team. Skills a project manager needs in order to be a successful one are having efficient/effective communication, leadership, time management. If they have effective and efficient communication, they are able to express ideas, thoughts, concerns, across the board. Having strong leadership skills means to be able to delegate any tasks, set goals, meet standards, be able to give feedback to a team, make sure they are working efficiently. Finally, they need to be time efficient, which includes knowing to do handle schedules, handle any bumps along the way, prevent the bumps, and also how to overcome any adversity. By creating a schedule and knowing how to manage time, it creates a more organized work environment for everyone.
As mentioned by many individuals in this thread, soft skills and the ability to effectively communicate are critical to any team based role especially one where you are the one leading the efforts. While I would agree that is one of the most important facets to a good project manager, I wouldn't discount having a strong technical background in the project topic and the roles of those working under you to be able to adequately answer any questions or concerns anyone may run into when completing their tasks. In undergrad, I was the president of an organization that required me to have an understanding of the roles of the secretary, senate liaison, treasurer and others to help support them in any issues that arise and take over for any reason (personal emergencies, etc). I believe this translates to the workforce as well as the principles are essentially the same just towards a different project.
@leshan I do like how you mentioned that communication AND listening is the most important part because no matter how good the project leader is communicating their ideas, it is still dependent on the other members of the group to listen to what they say and act on it. The whole point of being in a team is working with each other and listening is a very big way on how each member can show that they respect each other and what they have to offer. Working in a team can generate greater ideas than individuals working alone, but in order to reach that point, there needs to be effective communication and listening skills to build on the existing ideas.
There are various different skills a project manager should look for in their team members. One of the most important skills is communication. When team members are working towards a common goal there is a lot of communication involved. If team members cannot communicate effectively it can negatively impact the project progress. Another important trait to look for is leadership and technical experience. Time management is another important trait to look for when selecting team members. If team members do not exhibit this skill it could negatively impact project progress. Lastly, another important skill that team members should exhibit is negotiation. It is important that team members are able to understand different opinions and work through conflict. What are some traits that are important to avoid when selecting team members, if any?
I have spent my career so far as an engineer only. However, I often think of what attributes my project managers are looking for in me. There are many things that contribute to being a good team member: determination, knowledge, leadership. Most of these will be developed out for your career.
There is definitely one thing that project managers look for: the ability to hit deadlines. Most of a project manager's function is to ensure project activities are completed in a timely manner. As a team member, anything you can do to meet or improve the timeline, will be noticed by your project manager. Sometimes delays to the project are inevitable. Have an idea of what is coming next for the project. There is often time to shift activity around to meet deadline. If you can communicate that to you project manager, you are speaking their language.
