Six Skills To Master If You Want To Become A Project Manager

Project management is a challenging work profile that needs leaders who can handle all sorts of situations. It requires leading a group of diverse team members and motivating them to achieve a common goal within a given time frame.

A project manager’s work becomes more organized by picking the best project management tools that not only makes creating projects a cakewalk, but also allows them to see project progress. Apart from this, project managers need various skills to efficiently perform their job.

If you are an aspiring project manager, here are 6 indispensable skills that you need to master:

• Strong interpersonal skills:

Project managers must learn interpersonal skills to be able to effectively communicate and convey their thoughts. Without these skills, it’s impossible to build connections with the team members or coordinate work with them.

Clear communication is the key to a smooth workflow and helps in avoiding any misunderstandings. Moreover, project managers should actively listen to what is being conveyed to them so they can offer relevant solutions. 

• Leadership skills:

Project managers are supposed to be leaders who are responsible for managing the project team and getting the best out of them. For an aspiring manager, it is crucial to learn how to motivate and lead a team to success.

To motivate a team, you need to understand their capabilities and inspire them to perform better. You need to ensure your team sees you as approachable so they can come to you for discussing issues.

• Conflict resolution:

Project managers need the ability to resolve conflicts with peaceful solutions and build a positive work environment. If your team is not on good terms, there will be poor coordination that can lead to project failure.

As a project manager, your team will look up to you to resolve all kinds of issues whether it is between team members or between them and the clients. These disagreements need to be handled skillfully by evaluating all the details of the dispute.

• Task & resource management:

Task and resource management are interconnected as you need to ensure the team members are allocated tasks as per their capabilities and given enough resources to fulfill those tasks well. 

It is your responsibility as a project manager to ensure tasks are assigned as per dependencies so no employee is left waiting for a task to be executed. Additionally, you need to learn how to get the work done well with available resources.

• Planning & scheduling:

Project planning and scheduling is a crucial part of a project manager’s profile that needs high attention to detail. Managers need to define the project with the understanding of deliverables and deadlines, and get the stakeholders approval before the project begins.

Once you have the agreement, you need to schedule tasks and assign resources for every task. With WBS you can convert complex tasks into small manageable sections that can be allocated to the team.

• Time management:

“The key is in not spending time, but in investing it” – Stephen R. Covey said it the best way. When you are the project manager of a team, it becomes necessary to know how your team is investing their time.

When your team manages their time well, the project stays on schedule. It will ensure they deliver quality work without getting stressed or burdened. If the manager lacks time management skills, the whole project goes haywire and can even get derailed.

Conclusion: 

Changes in projects are inevitable, which makes it necessary to ensure that project managers are prepared to adjust to the situation. For those intending to get into the project management field, it is necessary to focus on the above mentioned skills. They will help you to lead a team successfully and contribute to their progress.