It’s not all Gantt charts and risk
registers. We asked practitioners:
Which people skills do project
managers need to focus on
most to get ahead?
The
Softer
Side
Be an Active Listener
The higher one goes on the career lad-
der, the bigger the need to master conflict
resolution and communication. Not having
enough exposure and experience in these skills can be a
barrier for career advancement.
Stakeholders often come up with surprises—reduction
in budgets, change in scope and requirements, or requests
to crash schedules to improve time to market. All of these
require communication and negotiation with stakeholders,
internal and external. My experience taught me that first
we have to be active listeners and understand the concern
of stakeholders before even attempting to find a solution.
Quite often, the solution is easy when we understand the
real problem. And stakeholders are not totally ignorant of
the bigger goal—project success. We need to help them
understand the repercussions of their requests.”
—Ramam Atmakuri, PMP, executive vice chair, LV Prasad
Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India
Deliver Your Part
Learn how to effectively communicate
to lead and facilitate meetings. We send
our project managers to an acting class
so they can overcome any barrier they have to public
speaking, whether it’s to a small group or a large one.
Leading a meeting is kind of an act or a play. To deliver
your part, you need to prepare, you need to rehearse,
and you need to react to what is happening in front of
you without panicking or getting upset. Actors learn
that routine, and our project managers can benefit
from it too.
Also remember that integrity is key. Never make a
promise that you will not follow up on, even if it is as
small as promising to call someone. Culture eats strategy for breakfast, so develop the habit of doing what
you say and saying what you do.”
—Sylvain Gauthier, PMP, leader, Creative Content Project
Office, Cirque du Soleil, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Voi c e s PROJECT TOOLKIT
