Project 2030: Skills We Need to Cultivate Now

 

by Dave Wakeman

As a project manager, it is easy to get caught up in handling the situation right in front of you.

Do the tasks needed to complete the current project.

Put out the fire that is consuming all your time. (“Oh crap, I need this stakeholder report…”)

But what if we moved our gaze ahead a little bit and thought about the skills needed to be a successful PM in 2030? What would that look like?

From my vantage point, the 2030 PM will need to focus on three key ideas:

• Being a strategic leader and not just a project facilitator
• Having master communicator vibes.
• Acting as a tech conductor and not just a tech user

1. From Facilitation to Strategy

This is probably one of my key themes in these posts: the importance of always having an eye on the big picture.

The rise of concern about AI stealing “everyone’s” jobs has given this idea a new moment of urgency. Why? Because jobs that can be outsourced to computers and machines are likely to remain in danger.

We are seeing that already. Businesses are trying to offload things like customer service to chatbots. Sometimes, this works. Other times, it doesn’t. The failures will be swept under the rug. The successes will be used to increase the “need” for automation.

This is why keeping an eye on the big picture is key. You can anticipate what is going to matter to your organization. You can be the leader of what comes next.

You can focus on value. Strategy.

2. Communication Mastery
Here’s another topic I return to. Why? It matters a lot.

I have always had a few rules about communications that I’ve taught:

• It isn’t what you say, but what the other person hears that matters.
• If the person you are communicating with is confused, that’s on you.
• If you aren’t the one communicating, someone else will fill the void in your absence…and you won’t like the results.

Effective communications isn’t a skill that’s going to go away. Not even close.

In fact, the more that technology takes over the role or the task of communicating with people, the more important it is to be an effective communicator.

Just think about the frustrations you have dealing with customer service menus if you must call a company for support. How about when you deal with an AI service chatbot online? Sometimes, they work great. Other times, you just want to talk to a person. Then when you get to the person, you are so frustrated that you can’t even put together your thoughts.

Think about that in terms of managing complex projects.

• Your team may be getting instructions from AI.
• Your stakeholders may be frustrated because of a challenge finding the information they need in your tech stack.
• Or you could just encounter a situation where your tech or team isn’t dealing with the right tasks.

All of these will stress test communication skills.

Because of situations like this, the 2030 PM is going to need to be a master communicator.

3. Tech Orchestrator

I wrote about whether AI was taking everyone’s jobs a few months back. I’ve offered you a warning in this piece.

The honest answer about AI and jobs is that none of us know the answer, but we know that technology can be disruptive. I would never advocate ignoring a tool or idea that has gained purchase in your business. I would always advocate taking a contrary viewpoint.

That’s led me to believe that the 2030 PM is going to need to be an orchestrator of technology and not just an implementor. This goes beyond knowing how to input prompts for AI. It goes beyond being good at spreadsheets or whatever other technology your team is using for tasks and tracking.

Being an orchestrator means conducting the business of your projects by understanding what tools you need, how they can amplify and assist your team, and checking the quality of the work being created.

This idea of a “tech orchestrator” feels like the ultimate outcome of the marriage among strategy, communication and tech. Because the PM of 2030 will have demands that are different than today. How different, none of us can say with certainty.

But using these three skill ideas, I think you can be better prepared than a lot of your contemporaries.

Let me know what you think in the comments.