PM Skill #3: Negotiation

Many project managers do not have direct reports and can not use their authority to accomplish tasks in many instances.  This presents a challenge for the project manager throughout the life of the project.  As a result, a project manager must be skilled at negotiation.

In the pm411.org podcast, "Podcast episode 024: successful negotiation skills", Joe Friedman states that a successful negotiator must achieve two goals: 1) Get agreement between two or more parties; and, 2) Build relationships in the process.  Friedman also discusses a 4-step process to becoming a successful negotiator:

1. Planning - Determine your priorities, alternatives, how you will "play the game", and your strategies if your offer is refused.
2. Opening Ceremony - When you meet face-to-face with a counterpart, set the tone for the negotiations.
3. Discovery - Understand your counterpart’ss priorities.
4. Agreement - Document the solution and contingencies.

Good negotiation skills will go a long way for a project manager.

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PM Skill #4: Problem Solver

As professionals, are project managers too quick to jump to conclusions rather than carefully analyze an issue in search of a resolution?  According to "Problem Solving vs. the Blame Game: PM Skills for All Leaders" by Laura Erkeneff, "It seems that once humans get overwhelmed, our nature often prefers to blame, make assumptions or feel guilty rather than use reason and problem solving to find solutions." 

When a customer has a problem, are you quick to offer solutions? Or  do you ask yourself, "What problem is the customer trying to solve?"  Over the years, I have found that many issues and problems are not accurately presented and or resolved.  Problems that are solved incorrectly can lead to lot of wasted time and money. 

Good problem solving skills will help the project manager conserve resources and keep his/her customers happy.

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PM Skill #5: Proactive

A project manager must also follow up on his/her communication when a response is needed.  It serves little value to publish minutes, for example, and not follow up on the action items. Likewise, a project manager should always be prepared to resolve issues as soon as they arise.

In his article, "If you're going to be a project manager, be a proactive one", Tom Mochal writes there are "three types of project managers--accidental ones, good ones, and proactive ones."  He also states that a proactive project manager "has an issues management process in place to deal proactively with all major problems when they occur. "  According to Mochal being proactive and understanding project management responsibilities gives a project manager a "much better chance for success."

A project manager must be proactive.  There is no "wait until tomorrow" when it comes to resolving issues that can balloon into major risks.

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PM Skill #6: Trustworthy

A collocated project team is not always available, especially for companies with global operations.  As such, project managers are often faced with the challenge of having team members who are located across multiple sites and/or in different countries. With collocation the challenge of instilling trust in the project team can be complicated.

What's the most effective method to gain trust in the project team?  In his blog post Gaining Credibility, Alfonso Bucero says, "Project leaders show others how everyone’s individual values and interests can be served by coming to consensus on a set of common values. Confirm a core of shared values passionately and speak enthusiastically on behalf of the project." 

If a team member has a clear understanding of his/her worth, he/she will be more likely to trust their project manager.

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PM Skill #8: Flexible and Firm

This skill sounds like an oxymoron, right?  Experience has taught me that project managers must be open to suggestions from his/her stakeholders.  That doesn't necessarily mean that all suggestions are taken.  In fact, a seasoned project manager knows when to be firm with a decision to disregard information in order to manage the team to a common solution.  To find a common solution, the project manager must be able to ensure team discussions are productive and that a "win-win" solution is developed.

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PM Skill #9: Integrity

The Merriam-Websters online dictionary defines integrity as a "firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values".  Project mangers are exposed to sensitive company and client data on a daily basis.  As such there is always the opportunity for the project manager to abuse his/her position.  A project manager who does not have the highest integrity can lose the trust of his/her team and possibly the client.

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PM Skill #10: Accountability

The project manager is ultimately accountable for the success or failure of the project.  This fact is something I struggled with early on in my career because it seemed that as the project manager I was being blamed for anything that did not go as planned.  I had to learn that it was my job and that I had to take ownership of day-to-day issues, like it or not.  I also had to learn that being accountable for a project that was not on plan did not always result in a negative outcome.  Fires regularly occur on projects, especially complex projects.  Being able to learn from my mistakes early in my career prepared me well for future issues.

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