Which project management skill has improved the most for you through experience and deliberate practice?

Complexity Education Knowledge Management

Eduard Hernandez

Community Champion

Product Operations Program Manager Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

I recently watched a documentary about Judit Polgár, whose father believed that exceptional performance is developed rather than inherited. From a very young age, he and his wife immersed their daughters in chess, convinced that enough focused practice could produce excellence. Judit eventually became one of the greatest chess players in history.

The documentary made me reflect on project management. Over the course of a career, we also accumulate thousands of hours of practice, lessons learned, successes, and failures. Looking back, which project management skill has improved the most as a result of that experience? And, do you believe excellence in project management is primarily developed through experience, or are some abilities more dependent on natural aptitude?

Posted: Jun 7, 2026 12:07 PM

Luis Branco CEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, Ldª Carcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal

For me, the skill that improved the most was reflective practice.

Over the years, I discovered that experience alone does not automatically improve project management capability.
What makes the difference is the ability to reflect on situations and outcomes, challenge assumptions, extract lessons, and consciously apply those lessons in future situations.

I also learned that valuable lessons come not only from our own experience, but from listening to other practitioners.
However, experience should never be accepted uncritically.
Context matters.
Critical thinking helps us separate enduring principles from situational advice.

This is why I believe excellence is largely developed rather than inherited.
Experience provides the raw material.
Reflective practice transforms experience into learning.
Critical thinking helps transform learning into better judgment.

Posted: Jun 7, 2026 1:47 PM

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Which project management skill has improved the most for you through experience and deliberate practice?

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