Project Management 2.0

Situation: You Just Don't "Get" People... 

How important is it for a Project Manager to be able to "read people", picking up on those non-verbal cues that are so very important to real communication?  As we've all heard over and over and over, "project management is all about communication".  Various publications also quote the inevitable 75% of communications is nonverbal.  So it seems to me that this is an area that's important for all of us to work on.  Many talk about the four elements of Body Language Code.  Others talk about specific tell-tale actions that give people's real feelings and objectives away.

There are a number of web based resources that are often fun (see youtube video below) and/or instructive:

- How to Read People from Life Training online
- Texas Hold'em Poker: How to Read Physical Tells
- How to read people's body language? in Yahoo Answers

Situation: You're a Career Changer in Need of a Differentiator... 

Within IT and Construction, PM skills and sometimes certification are almost always considered a requirement.  While in other disciplines and functional areas of the organization, PM experience and skills are "preferred" or lower priority.  Yet when it comes down to brass tacks, most hiring managers value "getting things done" a lot more than is reflected in the typical job description.   This makes moving from PM-heavy professions to PM-light professions much easier than it has been in the past.

Project Management skills are a hidden strength that not every applicant possesses.

To me, this means that if you have basic domain skills in an industry and a very strong track record of PM accomplishments, you are probably in a better position than you think to make a lateral move.  I hear a lot of success stories in this area and basically the PM characteristics that really get you the job are:

1.  Proof Points - success managing projects, documented and supported by metrics.  If your project resulting in business success that can be measured, that's a great thing to lead with - "The project I managed produced X results."

2.  Simple Approaches to You = Huge Differentiators to Potential Employers.  Even very common, basic PM practices are often alien to people outside of IT.  So just describing them in detail and attributing your success to those approaches can make your interview.

For a better understanding of how important PM skills are within your target profession, just do a google search on "project management" AND "[profession name]" 

Here are a few excerpts from recent articles and job postings in trade publications:

In Transferable Skills And Portable Careers (sciencecareers.org)
Project management is another skill in high demand. "In academia, you have to manage your research so you're competitive for the next funding round. In industry, you have very tight timelines, and you have to manage your project so you can meet those deadlines," says Kopf. Meeting project goals requires effective management of people and time, yet many postdocs don't recognize the importance of honing management skills until they start sending out their resumes, says Philip Clifford, associate dean for postdoctoral education at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. 

In Manager, Public Relations  (Direct Marketing Association)
Essential Duties & Responsibilities •Manage and execute media plans – 50% oDevelop, implement, manage and measure ARAG’s public relations plans; direct project management. oPrepare and manage an annual Public Relations budget to effectively meet the company’s priorities. oCultivate working relationships with national and local media. oDevelop and write content and pitch story opportunities to generate placements and editorial pieces in both local and national press.

In THE NEED FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS IN NEWLY GRADUATED ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS  (Science and Engineering School, University of Edinburgh)
An address list of 70 first-destination employers was collated from various sources, and a questionnaire was sent to the "training manager" with a request that it be answered by him/her and also circulated to any of the line management who were directly involved with new-graduate staff.