Social Intelligence for Project Managers – Cat Herding 101

Project managers need to balance people, teams, process, product, and a host of other things. The people/team part of the equation (especially the team part) often falls through the cracks - it’s harder to quantify, and the guideposts are few and far between. Getting a team working well together can be like herding cats - just when you think you’ve got them all going the same direction, another one wanders off. Social intelligence (a kind of sideways look at emotional intelligence) can help us herd those cats effectively, keeping the project as well as the team together. It gives us some clues to understanding and managing the connections between people, most particularly those we work with on a regular basis.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand social intelligence concepts as a basis for team building and maintenance

2. Apply social intelligence tools to build strong teams and relationships