Hello everyone and welcome back to the Cognixia podcast. Every week, we get together to talk about the latest happenings, bust some myths, discuss new concepts, and a lot more from the world of emerging digital technologies. From cloud computing to DevOps, containers to ChatGPT, and Project management to IT service management, we cover a little bit of everything week after week, to inspire our listeners to learn something new, sharpen their skills, and move ahead in their careers.
In the wild world of project management, everyone tells you to be a tech whiz. Mastering fancy software, methodologies, and all that jargon is important. But you know what gets lost in the shuffle between spreadsheets and charts? Soft skills. We’re talking about what makes you a likable, understandable human, not a robot overlord.
Picture this: project management is like a delicious pizza. You’ve got the crust (the science) – budgets, schedules, costs, that kind of stuff. Important? Absolutely. But what makes a pizza truly amazing? The toppings! That’s where the art of project management comes in. It’s about keeping the team happy and working together seamlessly, which is the secret sauce to getting things done efficiently and exceeding expectations.
Here’s where soft skills come into play. These are the communication, people management, and personality traits that make you a project manager people want to work with. Imagine a project manager as an orchestra conductor. They gotta guide each musician (team member) to play their part in harmony. That takes serious people skills to keep everyone motivated and moving in the same direction.
Project managers also need to be communication chameleons. They chat with higher-ups, the HR and admin folks, and even customers, vendors, and other teams. Each interaction requires them to adjust their communication style to get the best results. Mastering these soft skills is key to becoming a project management rockstar.
Soft skills, now what are they? These aren’t skills you can learn from a coding tutorial – they are the people skills that make you a great teammate and a great leader. Think communication, collaboration, emotional intelligence – basically, anything that helps you work effectively with others. And let’s be honest, projects rarely succeed in a vacuum – you need a strong team to get things done, it always succeeds on the backs of the people working on it. This is why soft skills are becoming increasingly important, no matter which industry you operate in or what your job title may be. They are like the glue that holds everything together, even for project managers with the best certifications the market can offer.
Technical skills might lay the groundwork for your project, but soft skills are the secret sauce to smooth execution. Think about it – even the most recognized project management certification, the PMP®, highlights the importance of soft skills like critical thinking, managing conflict, and making tough decisions. These might seem intangible, but they’re the magic ingredients that turn a good project manager into a great one. So, before we dive into how to develop these essential skills, let’s explore why they’re becoming such a big deal in the project management world.
Project managers wear a lot of hats – they must interact with customers, keep the team on track, and update the stakeholders on the progress of the projects. This constant communication can be a minefield if your skills aren’t sharp! Imagine a project going south because the manager couldn’t clearly explain the problems to the stakeholders. Yikes! That’s why communication is a make-or-break skill for project managers. They need to be masters of both written and spoken communication, with a solid ability to get their point across clearly and avoid any misunderstandings.
But communication is just one piece of the puzzle. Project managers are also like team cheerleaders, motivating their crew and fostering a collaborative environment. That’s where people management skills come in. By leading by example and inspiring their team, a project manager can unlock everyone’s full potential. Think of it like this: a strong team is like a well-oiled machine, and the project manager is the one who keeps it running smoothly.
Yet another very important soft skill for project managers is conflict resolution. Projects rarely go according to plan. Disagreements, misunderstandings, and unexpected roadblocks are just part of the territory. That’s where emotional intelligence comes in handy for project managers. A project manager with a high EQ and strong conflict resolution abilities can not only sniff out potential conflicts before they explode but also resolve them like a boss. They can listen patiently to everyone’s point of view, understand the emotions bubbling beneath the surface, and come up with solutions that keep everyone happy. It’s like being a project management peacemaker – pretty impressive, right?
Managing people, managing resources, communicating well, and diffusing conflicts are very important, but there is one more soft skill that is critical for project managers – mentoring skills. There is an age-old saying in corporate circles that a good leader always prepares and mentors people to be his substitute so that when the leader takes a step up the corporate ladder and moves on to the next step in their career, their replacements are ready to take on the mantle and keep the things rolling. A good leader is never insecure to mentor and coach. A good project manager would be actively involved in mentoring team members, coaching individuals showing high potential, and guiding the team to navigate situations. Their role mandates a people-centric inclusive approach to everyday tasks and decision-making.
While this does make the case for project managers to focus on their soft skills, the equally important next step is to do something about it. Just recognizing that soft skills are important for a project manager will not help. If you are a practicing or aspiring project manager, you need to invest your time and energy in building these soft skills. They will, undoubtedly, give you an edge and help you be a better leader, a better performer, and definitely, a better project manager. Even if you feel your role is all about delivering a project on time, with the most optimal usage of the allocated resources, and meeting the scope defined at the start of the project, even to achieve that, soft skills are indispensable. They are usually invisible, but their lack can definitely be felt starkly, having far-reaching consequences.
So, we would highly recommend taking some time to analyze where you lack and how you can build your soft skills to excel at project management. Also, practice will make you perfect, so don’t just learn, practice it in everyday life too.
With that, we come to the end of this week’s interesting episode of the Cognixia podcast. We will be back again next week with another exciting new episode. We hope we were able to inspire you to learn something new today.
Until we meet again next week, till then, happy learning!
