Project_Manager_Skills

Introduction: Every organisation works hard to bring out a successful product which is an outcome of proper planning, design and implementation. Managing the human resource is an important key factor that lies in the success of the product. Thus these activities grouped together and called as project management. As Newton (2005, p-11) says "Project is essentially a way of working, a way of organising people and way of managing tasks". Project management is the act of working towards the success of the project outcome. An Effective Project Manager is solely responsible for building and managing the project activities. Project manager skill set is in high demand and in the case scenario we discuss about the required skills of a successful project manager and also how to overcome negative skills when identified. The report also generates success factors that define a successful project. Project Management Nutshell: Project Management is systematic way of organising working tasks and people activities for bringing the outcome of the project (product or service). As defined by Gardiner (2005, p.5) quoted from British standards institution (BS 6079-1, 2000:5), "Project Management is the planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time and to specified cost, quality and performance". A simple project management structure is described below, Figure: A simple Project Organisation Gardiner 2005 p-6 The Project Manager leads the project teams and the team leaders as shown in the figure. Thus Project Manager has to organise the team and team members by managing meetings to extract the work and advance towards each stage of project. The success of the project depends upon the project manager's ability of organising the work force. Analysis of Case Scenario: In the case scenario the previous project manager who was ineffective has left the company and the company is now looking to recruit a project manager within the organisation. Being the company's employee I compel a written report for my manager highlighting the skill sets that I possess to become a project manager. Beside the positive skills I also discuss the drawbacks or deficiencies within me and also the training required to overcome those drawbacks. A successful project manager should be aware of the vital success factors which lead to the success of the project which is discussed as well. Demanding Skill Sets of a Project Manager: Personal Skill Set: Soft Skills defines a person's characteristics involving his personal or emotional senses. This could also be known as personal skills. • Active Listening Besides many other important roles of a project manager it is very important to possess patience for listening. Any team member would grumble about the project manager who dint have time to listen to his problem or at least dint give space to explain his situation. This Listening skill brings a relief among the team leader and team members to gain confidence regarding their problems (Newton, 2005).This also implies in the case of customers while discussing about their needs and demands. It is very important to understand what the customer needs and clear their assumptions and confusions, which happens only through active listening. Improves - Customer Satisfaction -Relieves stress among team members • Communication The Project manager should develop effective communication skills which is the most vital trait over all the personal issues. He should think measure and plan each and every sentence he communicates. When he lacks communication with team people or customers there are chances o risks factors and misunderstandings to increase (Newton, 2005). Newton (2005, p.22) states the vital people with whom the project manager should have regular communications, “1. Team Members (staffs, team leaders) 2. Customers 3. Stakeholders“ Below diagram shows how important is communication trait, Figure: Project Manager Activities Boddy, 2002 Improves -Interactive workforce -Effective Monitoring of the Team leads to foresee or avoid faults -Obtain clearer picture of customer’s needs and also update their changing needs. -Building Rapport with the team as well as the customers • Motivation Motivation is a factor that boosts an employee’s concentration to work towards his goals. Boddy (2002, p.122) states “Understanding individual motivation is basis for understanding team motivation”. The traits which ensure motivation are, 1. Appreciation and rewards of the team members work 2. Respect 3. Recognising personal talents 4. Encouragement Improves -Happy Work environment -Accelerates people to work towards achievement of their goals • Strength of Character : This word has several other traits contained within. The strength of a character is judged upon the person’s determination and hard work. The qualities which represent strong mind are, Being straight forward - it’s a good practice to be direct and clear-cut about the problems and hurdles. Basically the way how it’s expressed is important which will be discussed further below Ability to face various stress levels – A successful project manager who reflects a strong mind would never panic under critical situations(under pressure) rather he would stay calm and poised to hit the right solution . Presence of Mind –He also should be able to foresee consequences and also link incidents from the past to overcome critical problems and overcome them. Ability to adapt – A project manager (Newton, 2005) should have the flexibility to jump from one project environment to another. He should be able to judge, adapt to different set of approaches and techniques (managing different kind of teams) of project management. • Leadership A successful leader influences others by standing as an example to people below him. Leadership is another essential quality which belongs to a successful project manager. Few necessary traits which reflect leadership are, Sincerity - The Leader who drives the project has to possess true dedication to achieve success. A sincere leader (Newton, 2005) should have the ability to inculcate that dedication into the team as well. Identifying Talent - He should never undervalue any talent of the team members. After the right talent is identified he should be able to implement it in the right stage. Decision Making Skills – As mentioned earlier the manager should be able to take smart and quick decisions both during critical and normal situation. Handling Emotions – A project manager should be able to figure out the problems of the team member and his needs by his activities. He can follow a patient and a lenient approach towards the employee to ensure them a friendly atmosphere. But he need not be the same all the time, which would lead to different consequences. The point here is hitting the right balance between a friendly manager and a focussed and effective project manager. He should know to be friendly at the same time extract work from the employees. Improves - Diplomacy within Manager - Positive thought flow - Friendly Support for team members Building Team spirit- The manager is solely responsible for making the group work together effectively .As Gardiner (2005, p.212) explains "Teamwork is the ability to work towards a common vision ".The project manager can arrange following sessions for team building (Gardiner, 2005), 1. Arrange Meetings targeting progress of project and also shortcomings 2. Manage Review sessions and provide equal opportunities for each member to express their views 3. Organise workforce into different groups and setting up targets 4. Arrange and handle Team Outings, leisure activities and games Improves - The vision of working towards the common goal (Gardiner, 2005) - To make every team member work in same direction (Gardiner, 2005) A simple team building activity is shown below [pic] Figure: Team Building vision http://www.accel-team.com/team_building/rev_0809/03_steps/index.html Technical Skills: Apart from the personal skills a project manager should have a good technical knowledge about the project he is leading. The technical skills required are, ▪ Theoretical and practical knowledge in the project area, project strategies, implementation, plan and design. In this case it will be easy for the manager to understand the problems (technical issues) which the team members report. It is always advisable to take required technical training if the manager is identified to have less knowledge in the project area. ▪ Advanced knowledge about technical specifications and working of management tools, risk management tools and other software tools. Newton (2005, p.140) states a list of vital issues that a project manager should be aware of, 1. The Deadline of Project Delivery and Means of delivery 2. Ensuring Quality at each stage 3. Ascertain if the project meets the customer needs 4. Making sure if the “Scope” of the project is met Management Skills: Management skills are those of which help a project manager to successful drive the project to its success path. The following strategies reflect excellent managerial skills (Newton, 2005), ▪ Risk Management. [pic] Figure: Risk Management Process http://leadershipchamps.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/little-booklet-of-risk-management-terminologies.pdf This diagram shows the stages in risk management process ▪ Assuring Quality ▪ Measuring Progress and Performance(Constant Monitoring, reviewing ) ▪ Plan and manage Changes to ensure high performance of workforce ▪ Managing and planning Schedules of activities and targets (Gardiner, 2005). ▪ Managing Budgets and cost control techniques (Gardiner, 2005). [pic][pic][pic] ----------------------- Project Board Project Manager Project Team Leader Project Team Directs the Project Runs the Project Day To Day Supervises the Project Team Carries Out the Activities Agreeing Goals Securing Resources Monitoring Progress Influencing Communicating