What makes a well-rounded project manager?

I believe a well-rounded project manager requires a number of both technical attributes and soft skills.

They include effective stakeholder engagement, communication, empathy, time management and task management, resilience, and planning. Some of these may come naturally, others with time and experience. Most of them, however, can be built upon with the right qualifications.

Stakeholder engagement, communication, and empathy

Whether it’s internal or external stakeholder management, project managers need the ability to build relationships. Most projects today are built around a matrix management structure in which individuals work across different teams and projects as well as within their own functions. Project managers must, therefore, be able to work with a diverse range of hierarchies, skills, and people at any level to deliver as a team and keep their customers happy.

This ties in with the need for good communication skills; after all, it’s not what you say it’s how you say it. Project managers are often required to deliver very difficult, complex messages to stakeholders. However, establishing strong relationships can make those messages easier to deliver.

Personally, I prefer communicating face-to-face, even though since COVID this is largely done virtually rather than physically. Either way, I always try to engage with people on a one-to-one basis to establish a connection before the formalities begin and I send an email, as emails can be easily misinterpreted. Using different channels and adapting communications to suit the audience is vital to being a well-rounded project manager.

Empathy is another essential element. People have experienced considerable change over the last few years and while they may appear to perform well in a project environment, they could still be struggling. Project managers need to read between the lines and understand what other people are going through. By recognizing the signs that someone is struggling, a project manager will be in a better position to intervene and help, allocating resources in the most useful manner to achieve the end goal.

Time management and task management

Time management and task management, while equally important, are two different disciplines – both about having a bird’s eye view of a project and knowing what’s happening at any given point and what’s in the pipeline. This way, a project manager can see all the moving parts – essentially, the tasks, in a project. Putting these tasks in a logical sequence then gives the task owners both space and autonomy to deal with them.

Resilience and planning

Resilience is essential, as things will inevitably go wrong at some point. Project managers need to accept this and be able to bounce back when they do. Part of being resilient comes down to having a balance. For example, a project manager is responsible for their team’s work/life balance and this includes strong internal stakeholder relationships. A project team that works closely together, and whose members take time to share concerns, will be more resilient and better able to deal with challenges.

Project managers must also be adept at planning. When project managers engage with stakeholders, they should give them sufficient time to think. Preparing and sharing their thoughts with their audience in advance will always result in the best possible outcome, whereas poor planning and time management will typically lead to poor quality results.  It’s worth noting, too, that while project management may strive for nice, neat plans, things can change quickly and this needs the ability to react.

Finally, it’s essential we celebrate small wins along the way by recognizing each member’s achievements. After all, projects are joint efforts.

Qualifications – underpinning experience or a starting point

Many project managers will have gained some or all of these attributes over years of experience. But there are qualifications available that can build on them, and even serve as an introduction for those just starting out on their journey.  

The easiest to understand and most logical, PRINCE2 is my go-to qualification for anyone involved in project management, while I think Agile is ideal for anyone working in software development or any digital project. Managing Successful Programs (MSP) is a more advanced qualification that enables people to understand how projects fit into a program. Management of Risk (MoR) too is ideal, especially for anyone new to project management for whom risk management can appear challenging.

From a PMO perspective, P3O is an excellent foundation that gives project managers a good overview of how multiple projects and programs are supporting change in an organization. In fact, I’d recommend that anyone going into project management should take the P3O and MoR courses, as I believe they go hand in hand with providing a more strategic approach.  

There are project managers, and there are well-rounded project managers. With the right skills and abilities, it is possible to be the latter: to the benefit of your team and the stakeholders you work with.