Project management tends to be successful when the project is accomplished within the stipulated time and budget with the available resources leading to the satisfaction of all stakeholders involved. The roles and responsibilities of project managers are immense in determining the project success rate as project managers or leaders play pivotal roles in achieving project milestones. For this, project managers must possess both hard skills and soft skills as both skills are equally significant for a higher probability of project success.
Hard skills can also be regarded as the technical proficiencies that lay the stalwart foundation for the project operation and the hard skills may include technical know-how, skills of scope management, budget management, resources management, and many more. Whereas, soft skills indicate interpersonal abilities and interactions such as leading and motivating the project team members, managing time and stakeholders, preparing for any kind of immediate change in the project nature, and many more. Soft skills revolve around empathy, communication, conflict resolution, adaptability, etc that drive the project towards success as hard skills alone are not just enough for the voluble project management prospect. Hence, it requires a seamless blend of technical proficiency and interpersonal competence for the project success rates in the future.
While hard skills are often exhibited clearly in project management, soft skills are uncelebrated claims that every manager or team leader must possess. These are also necessary tools of a project manager’s toolbox that he/she needs to coordinate effectively with different stakeholders associated with the project. Let’s excavate some of the most vital soft skills that need to be possessed by the project manager and their importance for project success rates.
i) Communication skills
ii) Leadership skills
iii) Emotional Intelligence
iv) Negotiation skills
v) Time management skills
vi) Conflict management skills
vii) Stakeholders’ management
viii) Adaptability and Flexibility
ix) Empathy
x) Creativity and Innovation
Explanation:
Communication is the warp and woof aka the foundation of the project success rate as effective communication is a must in project management. When project managers are unable to convey ideas, tasks, deadlines, and commitments to the team members, both team members and project stakeholders can’t dedicate the desired efforts expected by the clients and project managers. To understand each other’s perspectives and expectations clearly, effective communication must be practiced. There should be restrictions on the one-door policy as both sides i.e. team leaders and project stakeholders should be able to articulate thoughts openly so that everybody falls on the same platform without any misunderstanding. Various project management software can be used for persevering effective communication styles in the project framework.
A sensible leader with strong influence and motivational grip can lead the team towards the common goal and objectives of the project. Leadership is not just about inspiring and motivating the project team members but also empowering the team members providing essential support and assistance in need. He/she should be able to incubate a culture of mutual understanding, trust, collaboration, and coordination among team members. Effective delegation of tasks and responsibilities should also be subsumed as a part of leadership ability. Organizational politics should also be steered with proper policies and planning.
Human beings are emotional. Emotions flow every time but a project manager must have the ability to understand, identify, and maintain one’s emotions including the feelings of other team members. When a project manager possesses the quality of emotional intelligence, he/she can handle challenging situations, stress, and hassles full of deadlines with proper guidance and instructions. Controlling emotions is an art. When others’ emotions are also understandable, a positive work environment can be fostered by identifying the emotional dynamics and interpretations of project team members.
When all the parties involved in project management are aligned on the same platform, the project can succeed efficiently. For this, a project manager must understand the interests, conflicts, and misunderstandings of all the parties involved and unite everyone on a common ground. A project manager should have negotiating skills to reach mutual conclusions of the stakeholders. Negotiation can be done on project scope, deadlines and available resources, conflicts between stakeholders, and many more. The differences in tasks and thought processes hinder the project's success. Hence, constructive resolutions should be determined to avoid the project being a failure.
A project is set with some specific deadlines. If a project is accomplished on time with the usage of available resources and budget, the project tends to be successful yielding positive outcomes. Time management is one of the crucial skills that a project manager should have to complete the project within scheduled deadlines. The tasks should be enlisted based on priority and urgency and tasks should be delegated with allocation of resources so that team members can complete the assigned tasks within the stipulated project timelines. This soft skill should be encompassed by all the project team members along with other soft skills.
Conflict arousal is inevitable in any organization or project as conflict can occur at any time. Disputes may swivel at any moment within the project timeline and disturb the harmonic and productive work environment of the company. Conflict management skills encapsulate the resolution of disagreements and misunderstanding understanding the perspectives of parties involved in the conflict. Open dialogue platforms should be initiated for mediating such conflicts accompanied by mutually understandable resolutions. Active listening should be highly preferred in conflict management.
The engagement and participation of all the stakeholders is a must in the completion of a successful project and it’s the responsibility of the project manager to ensure every stakeholder involved in project management showcases their participation with satisfaction. Their every demand and expectation should be addressed and they are to be kept well-informed about project development throughout the project lifespan. The feedback mechanism is to be applied for further planning and project operation. Regular effective communication is highly anticipated and strong relationships are to be built for collaborative project executions ultimately leading to project success.
There may be certain changes in project scope leading to disastrous scope creep situations, changes in stakeholder demands, crises, and many such uninvited challenges. A project manager should adapt new plans and priorities to adjust the already planned project. Such uncertainties may occur in any kind of situation, hence project managers should be adaptable to new changes and adopt flexible project planning structures whenever in need.
Technical expertise is a must in project management and likewise, interpersonal ability like empathy is also important for a project manager. The project manager should be understandable, aware, and subjective to the thoughts and experiences of other team members so that no hard feelings coexist amongst team members. Their ideas, perspectives, issues on task completion, work environment situation, and everything should be perceived positively by the project manager. The connection and strong bonding among team members lead the project to its ultimate heights.
This skill is to be developed by project managers themselves with research experiences and analysis. The project has to be completed with positive aftermaths with not only traditional approaches but also new ideas and innovative solutions. Like modern problems that need modern solutions, project managers must identify new methodologies for project accomplishments. New ideas with fresh perspectives can result in ultimate project success rates.
1. With these soft skills, the communication gap becomes null, strengthening teamwork and a positive work culture environment.
2. Misunderstanding and misinterpretations regarding project goals are minimized and tasks are executed aligning with common project objectives.
3. The ambiance of trust and collaboration is fostered when conflicts are resolved on time and every stakeholder’s perspectives are respected equally.
4. Positive and transparent relationships between the stakeholders are maintained ensuring 100% engagement of all stakeholders for project success.
5. Innovative solutions are generated as fresh ideas and perspectives are welcomed with open arms.
To develop the aforementioned soft skills, one should bring off continuous learning and development either through studying or experiencing such as Learning and Development programs, training and workshops, coaching sessions, real-life experiences, and self-analysis. If hard skills are the backbone of project management then soft skills are the foundational base of it. Hence, investment in soft skills is quintessential for higher project success rates.