What would you say are the most important Skills a Program Manager need to have?
Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Hello Community,
I'm on my way to becoming a (certified) program manager, and to optimize my development path, I'd like to ask the community of experts here what
what do you think are the most in-demand skills for a program manager?
Program management is not the same as managing projects. The skills you need are similar - like good stakeholder engagement, for example - but in a different flavor and level. What would you say?
To leap into the more strategic and higher-level role of managing a program, I would say you need the following skills, among others:
• Excellent Resource management
• Perfect Stakeholder engagement and communication (at all levels)
• Data analysis and synthesis
• Data-driven decision making
• Strong (organizational) Change management
…
Would you agree? If not, why? Would you add something?
I don't know what power skill it equates to but the one I've frequently seen as a key differentiator between effective and weak PgMs is the "ability to connect the dots".
Program management requires balancing short term goals with long term vision and strategy and being able to visualize how the different components will interact to produce (or not) the desired program outcomes.
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Markus
When managing a project, the PM's focus will be confined within the project and his main goal would be to deliver the final output or product.
A Program Manager's scope is wider and more global than local so he should have strong Organizational and Strategic Experience and Skills because:
1) He should focus on linking the Outputs to Outcomes and measure the resulting Benefits (Benefits Realization).
2) He should always ensure that the goals of every component are aligned with the strategic goals and they are still valid.
As for your statements:
1) Stakeholder Engagement: There is nothing perfect, the PM and PgM should have the same level of S/H and Communication Skills. However, engaging, managing and communicating with stakeholders in a Program Setting is much more complicated.
2) Not sure that a Program Manager should have data analysis and synthesis skills. Some experience is beneficial but he doesn't need to be an expert.
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