Project manager's skills

Last updated Jun 5, 2023

Skills for successful project management:

• Enabling decision making
  • Gather information from within and outside the team to make informed-decisions
• Communicating and escalating
  • Documentation
  • Project status reports
  • Escalate risks to stakeholders
• Flexibility
  • Flexible planning
    • Stay cool under pressure and change is inevitable!
    • Assess external constraints (national holidays, sick leaves). Leave extra time in the schedules
    • Plan for risks and challenges
    • Calculate “ Float or Slack" in your schedule
  • Handling ambiguity
    • Keep calm
    • Express empathy
    • Communicate what you know clearly
    • Make decisions and stick with them
    • Trust the expertise of your team
• Strong organizational skills

A project manager’s ability to guide teammates to complete their assigned work without acting as their direct managers

• Influencing

• Communication
  • E.g., effective communication to explain and describe project goals
• Negotiation
  • E.g., to balance stakeholder needs and project outcomes
• Conflict remediation
  • E.g., to resolve internal team conflicts
• Understanding motivations
  • Figure out what pushes teammates to do their best work