Leadership and motivating Project Management skills

The skills required of a successful project manager come from every discipline. From accounting to strategic planning, supervision, and personnel administration, some skills are more basic while others are more technical. The combination of these skill sets is ultimately what can propel a project toward success. From effective communication, problem solving, strong leadership and negotiation there are number of ways these such skills will aid in successful project management.

Napoleon Bonaparte once said that “[a] man does not have himself killed for a half-pence a day or for a petty distinction. You must speak to the soul in order to electrify him”. Believe it or not, such a stance can be applied to project management. Great project managers are also great leaders. They impart vision, gain consensus for strategic goals, establish direction and inspire and motivate others. Great managers don’t just “do their job” they embody management. They understand the project and work toward fulfilling the requirements, but they also understand the importance of the people working on the project. Thus, they are just as responsible for the people as much as for the project itself.

Just how does a project manager go about becoming an effective leader? The following general management skills form the foundation of good project management practices:

• Communication
• Organization and planning
• Budgeting
• Conflict management
• Negotiation and influencing
• Leadership
• Team building and motivating

Excellent leadership and organizational skills are the two main ingredients to successfully seeing a project from start to completion, which is, of course, the main goal and responsibility of a Project Manager in any field of the business world. These individuals are responsible for organizing and designing a business project from the ground up. They also maintain the constant process of analyzing the project to spot obstacles or problems before they arise. Good managers are able to keep the plan going without a hitch and when there is one, clearing it up before too much damage is done.

Subsequently, project managers are responsible for task delegation and keeping their team up to date so every goal can be accomplished successfully. Moreover, they, themselves, must keep up to date on all available resources. Since their decisions shape the end product, they cannot rely on half-data or incomplete information. Awareness of all aspects of business will make informed and quick decisions that much easier so the project can run more smoothly.

Amongst the skill required of a project manager, leadership, motivation and team building skills are vital to the success of any project. The project manager sets the tone for the project team and walks the team members through various stages of team development to become fully functional.