by It is vital that project managers possess a variety of skills to procure, plan, and execute projects, to ensure everything runs smoothly and that all involved parties fulfil their respective duties. If there are any delays, problems or issues, project managers are the point person to work with the company or clients to review how those issues will be fixed. Project managers aren’t involved with the nitty gritty but instead ensure that progress is made and that everyone is on task.
These professionals play key roles in the construction of new sites, development of new programs and launching of new products and play a crucial role in almost all industries. For instance, architecture companies need project managers to oversee the development of a new structure, while shampoo companies may require one to supervise the launching of a new product.
Required Skills
A project manager streamlines processes, ensures production is on time and manages the work dozens or even hundreds of people do. For a project manager to be effective, they require extensive soft skills, including organisation and communication, to succeed.
Here is a list of some of the necessary skills a project manager should possess:
• Communication: These professionals spend a major of their time reporting problems or progress to clients, negotiating with vendors, and communicating with their staff. Written communication and verbal skills are crucial to their effectiveness. Project managers may often be called on to make presentations, so it’s vital that they have customer experience training so they are comfortable speaking to large groups of people and skilled when it comes to using presentation software.
• Leadership: A good leader is one who not only oversees and coordinates processes and tasks as a manager but also outlines his or her company’s visions and defines a road map to success, encourages workers and motivates them.
It’s also crucial that project managers be people who can quickly and professionally analyse data – or given situations – and make sound decisions since, according to specialists, they are the ones who will have the final say and will be held responsible if a project fails or succeeds.
• Management: For effective work, how people are managed plays a crucial role. From holding individuals accountable for delegating work, it is a project manager’s responsibility to encourage collaboration, set goals and evaluate performance.
• Negotiation: A project manager, will at some point, negotiate with clients on appropriate schedules and the scope of work, and will have to bargain for specific resources and workforce. Having good negotiation skills is vital in ensuring that they get what they need to keep all involved parties satisfied and to succeed. Negotiation is a skill that is developed and honed over time through experience.
• Organisation: A project manager will likely be unsuccessful if they’re forgetful or sloppy. Considering that their work involves juggling many different aspects, it is important that they are organised in both their personal and professional lives. It is crucial for a project manager to come up with an organisational system, be it a paper planner or an electronic note taker, to ensure that all the details related to their work or project are always at hand.
• Problem Solving: Problems and issues that require attention on a regular basis will usually come up for a project manager. It is the manager’s responsibility to predict all potential problems well in advance and to brainstorm solutions in the event such issues arise. Having alternatives and backup plans can help keep things on track and circumvent costly delays. Most risks and problems aren’t urgent if they’re anticipated. However, not all issues can be predicted. For this reason, it is vital that a project manager be someone who can swiftly deal with any unexpected problems and ensure that minor issues don’t turn into costly setbacks.
• Budgeting: Every project will usually have a fixed amount of funding allocated to it. It is the project manager’s responsibility to come up with a budget for the awarded funds and ensure that expenditure is within budget. This is one skill that requires a lot of experience. It is only through spending time working on large projects that managers will develop the necessary knowledge to predict where costs might mount and where savings can be made.
