5 underrated skills every project manager must develop

A study report by the Project Management Institute states that 5 years or less from today 15.7 million project management roles will be created in project-intensive industries like Manufacturing, Information Technology, Oil & Gas, Construction, Utilities, etc.

Titled the ‘PMI’s Industry Growth Forecast: Project Management Between 2010 + 2020’ the reportdoes reveal some staggering facts that aspiring project managers take notice of. The project management profession is poised for a double digit growth (estimated 12%).

However, on the flip side, The Talent Gap report by the Project Management Institute states that there is a serious dearth of talent in the profession. The talent gap is so grave that bridging the demand to supply is proving to be a challenge for the professional body.

As an employer what skillsets will be expected of a project manager? We delve into that question and its answer in this brief write up. Here are some 5 widely underrated skills that present day project managers and aspirants must develop in order to become industry-ready.

Skill#1: Technical knowledge

Project managers will invariably be required to develop in-depth technical knowledge and comfort in using industry associated terms. Each industry uses its own metrics for measuring and interpreting progress and efficiency. A project manager must get comfortable using them as a primary language to earn the trust of his/her inferiors.

Luckily, these skills can be easily fostered through self-learning and development from the part of the project manager. Further going, project managers must become adept in monitoring metrics, choosing the best decisions when presented with multiple variables and so on through application of technical knowledge.

Skill#2: Leadership skills

So generic that you might wonder why this is even stressed about. The PMI confirms that at least 66 percent of organizations rate leadership skills as the most valuable trait of a successful PM. Sadly, the true state of affairs reveals that not all qualified project managers are particularly strong in this area.

75% of the project managers feel that their projects are doomed right from the start. Inadequate leadership is definitely the cause for this lack of direction. Connecting the dots, for a PMP qualified project manager, leadership skills is what is going to put them in the fast lane of career growth.

Skill#3: Risk identification & management

Project managers handling large-buck projects and teams of large sizes with several layers must cultivate a strong risk management mindset. Risk being inherent in every sphere of a project, it is the responsibility of the project manager to identify risky areas, take measures to mitigate them and ensure that processes do not fail as a result of these risks.

Skill#4: Conflict handling & resolutions

A project manager is primarily a people manager. And where people are involved, conflicts are bound to happen.  Keeping such sticky situations at bay through timely resolutions is the responsibility of a project manager.

All internal conflicts must be resolved before they become burdens that slow down the project execution. This calls for developing interpersonal skills like negotiation, mediation and using authority in moderation whenever required.

Skill#5: Change management

The project management profession always depicts a scene of constant change. Say for instance, the new change happening is the migration towards hybrid projects that take the best of both Agile and Waterfall methodologies.

Project Managers must inculcate that ability to adapt to changes. They must also become change agents who can keep the team from going berserk with the rapid changes. Carrying out a smooth transition to new methodologies or culture and simultaneously achieving the project goals are must-have skills.

To wrap it up

The modern project manager has to go beyond the usual set of skills to set a proper work ethic. The constantly changing technologies require her/her to stay abreast with technical knowledge that will steer the project team in the right direction.

Similarly, leadership has always been considered a desired trait of any project manager. A project manager who lacks leadership skills will weigh down the efforts of the entire team and might cause project failure.

A modern day project manager must build the above mentioned underrated skills in order to perform at par with business expectations.