Before you invest time and money into the project management profession, check out these 4 must-have skills of a project manager and see how you stack up against them.
#1 – Do You Tolerate Enjoy Working with People?
If you enjoy interacting with people, then this might be the job for you. And by interacting, I’m not only talking about asynchronous communication like email, chat or tools like Jira, Asana or Trello. I am talking about honest to goodness face-to-face communication.
You can’t be afraid of communicating with people directly and if you are, you will need to learn how to get good at it. More and more companies are requiring employees to spend at least a few days working at the office again, so don’t expect to be able to hide behind a computer screen five days a week. (two days a week…maybe).
That said, it’s okay if you’re introverted. I’m biased but.. imo, introverted project managers are some of the best kind because they are selective about sending out communication and they take time to think about the contents of their message.
“Underrated Skill” by Work Chronicles
Talking with people can be enjoyable. And after all, part of your job as a project manager is to make their work lives easier. It feels good to help people and gain their trust and appreciation. People-skills are beneficial in any profession so even if you don’t take the path of a project manager, consider how you might improve your communication skills and get comfortable so it doesn’t stress you out as much.
If you enjoy interacting with people, or you are up for the challenge of learning how to enjoy it, then project management is a career worth investigating.
#2 – Do People Kinda, Sorta Like You?
This one is one of the most underrated skills of a project manager. Are you somewhat likeable? Can you get along with most personality types?
When you interview for a project manager role, one of the questions the interviewers are looking to answer is “will people like you”. Specifically, will the team like you and be able to take direction from you without major issues.
Project managers are often the most unpopular role of any project, it’s just a fact of life. There are a few reasons for this.
- No one likes to be told what to do. As a project manager, part of your job is to tell your team what to do and when.
- Most of the pressure the team feels, comes from the project manager. The project has a budget and a deadline and you are responsible for hitting those goals.
- Project managers don’t have the level of expertise that the team members have so they can come off as tone deaf. You aren’t expected to have the skillset of all the members of your team so understanding the problems they are working to solve on a deeper level will be difficult.
Regardless of positive characteristics and skills you bring to the table, above all, you must be likeable and easy to work with in this role.
#3 – Can You Withstand Pressure?
In project management, you will have get used to the pressure of timelines, managing financials and people’s constant expectations.
Typically you will have one large project, or several smaller ones. The large one will probably have a huge budget with half a dozen or more stakeholders that will be pressuring you at various times throughout the project.
The shorter projects may have less scope and money involved but since you have multiple projects with potentially multiple businesses, you’ll have more clients to report to, more stakeholders, and multiple teams to manage. If the projects share resources, then you’ll have the challenge of balancing one project’s priorities against another.
Whenever I’ve worked full-time at an agency, it’s common to have 4 or 5 projects running at the same time. Luckily, they will likely be at different stages and therefore don’t all require the same level of attention.
You need to comfortable with “multitasking”. In other words, you need to become efficient at task switching without getting too stressed out.
It’s easier said than done.
Switching your attention from one project to another throughout the day can be stressful and it makes it difficult to get any one task accomplished. You can’t always let the outside forces dictate your focus, otherwise you will feel so scattered at the end of the day and have little accomplished.
And of course, clients don’t care whether you have a hundred other projects or whether you’ve worked a 60 hour week.
The skills of a project manager involve balancing work that you accomplish on your own, with work that involves the team, the client and other stakeholders within your company and the client’s company. It’s a juggling act that can be stressful if you don’t develop a system to handle all the incoming work.
#4 – Will You Take the “Blame”?
This is one of the least discussed skills of a project manager: taking the blame (aka taking ownership).
When you “drop the ball” (aka screw up), you’ll need to own up to it. This could be anything from a miscommunication or no communication about something important like failing to report a financial overrun or a misunderstanding with the client about delivery dates, scope etc. The possibilities of screwing up are endless.
If someone on the team “drops the ball” and say, needs 10x longer than they estimated, you’ll have to find a tactful way to explain the situation while still telling the truth.
Sure, one perspective is, it’s the person’s fault for making a poor estimate. But if you’ve ever tried to estimate the time it takes to do anything remotely complex, you’ll feel some empathy.
I don’t really mean it when I say you have to take the blame for everything. Instead, think of the team, including yourself, as one unit and don’t throw a teammate under the bus.
How do you stack up?
Possessing any of these underrated skills of a project manager don’t require you to be extroverted, popular, or super organized. The point is, are you the polar opposite and can you see yourself eventually being this way?
You can make a good living out of working as a project manager, especially if you become a freelance project manager. But you also want a career that you will enjoy and find fulfilling. Every job has its downsides, but if the job is a complete mismatch to your personality and you lack the critical skills necessary, it’s best to think twice.
“Email reply” by xkcd