Coaching Skills to Become an Effective Strategic Project Manager

Ana Isabel Jaramillo López is a Project Management Professional (PMP)® and industrial engineer with a master's degree in administration with an emphasis on innovation, technology, and sustainability. She has 15 years of work experience, and is currently working as a consultant for innovation management.

  Career Development   Communications Management   Leadership   Talent Management   Knowledge Shelf  

Abstract
According to a study by Bersin by Deloitte (Garr, 2011), organizations whose senior leaders make an effort to coach others have 21 percent higher business results. Additionally, the project managers have to be strategic in their decisions and must have behaviors to help achieve the project’s objectives. They also have to coordinate strategic communication initiatives with the team. Empowering and encouraging each team member to improve their skills, attitude, and customer empathy in order to obtain better results is another key success factor. For those reasons, project managers should implement coaching methods in their routines in order to be successful in the project. They should improve at least four skill sets that would help them to coach other people. These are active listening, powerful questions, direct communication, and creating awareness. Those tools help to solve problems effectively and serve to empower each team member.

Introduction
Every moment, project managers have to face different events where they have to solve problems, present ideas, and show results. They spend most of their time communicating with team members and other stakeholders—who can be internal (at all levels of the organization) or external to the project. They also have to motivate their team when they do not see any alternative to solving a particular problem. It is …

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