Critical 'art' skills of a Project Manager headed into 2021
Christopher HealySR IT Program Manager| General MotorsBerkley, Mi, United States
I think we can all agree successful PM's are able to blend the art and science of project management. As we head into 2021 and many projects are fully remote due to the current environment, what would you tell a newer project manager are the 3-5 most important skills to focus on? Saving Changes...
Agree. What are some of the 'how's' you recommend people do differently?
Effective use of virtual tools, especially to create psychological safety within the team would be one example... Saving Changes...
Wan-Phek HowCareer and Project Management Coach| Wan How ConsultingBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Oct 27, 2020 1:00 PM
Replying to Christopher Healy
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Mine would be similar to you. Being able to engage people virtually is critical. I would say the following are uber important.
1) Become proficient in your virtual tools (whether it is zoom, teams, google, etc). You need to know how to use these tools to run meetings otherwise you will lose your audience.
2) Personal engagement - make time to connect with your business partners and team. Drive by hellos or questions are not an option right now, but a quick chat message can be just as effective to stay relevant.
3) Be present - always have your camera on in meetings. This will help you focus and it will encourage others too.
Mine would be similar to you. Being able to engage people virtually is critical. I would say the following are uber important.
1) Become proficient in your virtual tools (whether it is zoom, teams, google, etc). You need to know how to use these tools to run meetings otherwise you will lose your audience.
2) Personal engagement - make time to connect with your business partners and team. Drive by hellos or questions are not an option right now, but a quick chat message can be just as effective to stay relevant.
3) Be present - always have your camera on in meetings. This will help you focus and it will encourage others too.
I would like to add just a thing to Christopher's reply, especially for point 3. I believe this is already in the overall answer, but it is worth highlighting.
While carrying out the meetings, listening carefully to the team members with an open mind is essential. The topics they talk about, the issues they give their attention to, and their mood when delivering the message will often provide important information or clues. You can then calibrate and improve. Saving Changes...
Peter RapinSubject Matter Expect; Project Delivery| Independent ConsultantOntario, Canada
The ability (art) of "reading" people needs to be enhanced. We are constrained to facial expressions and active listening with virtual meetings but it can still be done. One has to be sensitive to it. You also have to recognize the impact of your messaging (facial and words) on the others. Means a lot more when other indicators are not available. In a physical meeting you can nod or make eye contact with one individual thus sending a message however with a virtual meeting your nod and eye contact is targeted to all.
The other aspect one has to be sensitive to is the environment the virtual attendees are exposed to and how that may affect their meeting involvement (home office, disruptions, back ground interference, etc).
Also, don't rely totally on the virtual meetings and forget the personal touch. Do the one-on-ones and probe a little bit in an attempt to understand the personalities, concerns, stresses, discomfort, etc. I've been known to have virtual 'coffee' with remote staff. Brief text - "get yourself a coffee and I'll call in five minutes for a chit-chat". That's all part of the "art" of management. Saving Changes...
Wan-Phek HowCareer and Project Management Coach| Wan How ConsultingBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Oct 27, 2020 1:00 PM
Replying to Christopher Healy
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Mine would be similar to you. Being able to engage people virtually is critical. I would say the following are uber important.
1) Become proficient in your virtual tools (whether it is zoom, teams, google, etc). You need to know how to use these tools to run meetings otherwise you will lose your audience.
2) Personal engagement - make time to connect with your business partners and team. Drive by hellos or questions are not an option right now, but a quick chat message can be just as effective to stay relevant.
3) Be present - always have your camera on in meetings. This will help you focus and it will encourage others too.
Hi Emre,
Thumbs up for active listening as you described. Saving Changes...
1. Really understand the available software tools for virtual meetings, and learn to exploit it as much as possible. Get out of your comfort zone, and if needed, call in the pros to maximize the utility of the tool(s).
2. Keep things not so serious in these very stressful times. Yes, work still must get done, but having a bit of humour goes a long way and is contagious. I always say, happy workers are productive workers.
3. Learn and understand the struggles of your staff. Again, many are facing very real challenges working from home with kids and partners all clammering about the house while trying to work. Even bandwidth can be a real issue at times, so make sure your staff can feel safe expressing their fears and/ or challenges, and let them know that you understand. Saving Changes...
Well in addition to keeping abreast with latest technological innovations in communication(1), a platter full of mitigating risks(2), conflict resolution(3) & negotiation skills(4) with a little salt of strategic(5) inclination would be the art skills….
1)Communication
2) Building relationships with the stakeholders / team members (mostly team members)
3) The ability to deliver honest news - even if bad.
The "science" of project management (scheduling, budgeting, etc.) can never fall into place without an honest assessment of the project - and this depends on good communication and sharing with the PM and project team. Oh, and
4) Communication Saving Changes...
These aren't wildly different than normal but I'd focus on
1) Communication - and in this using multiple channels because some people don't read email, others don't check sharepoint etc.
2) Risk management - ie can you have an extra supplier or team location in case something shuts down to COVID? Do you have backup staff that can step in if someone gets sick?
3) Adaptability - even with the best risk management approaches, you can't anticipate everything that might occur. You really need to be able to pivot on a dime these days Saving Changes...
