The Need for Interpersonal Skills in Project Management : Must Know

The Team and Interpersonal Skills in Project Management

• Team Building
• Decision Making
• Motivation
• Communication
• Leadership
• Negotiation

Team Building

If you’re running a long-term project, the chances are you will need a bigger team to execute it. There needs to create a sense of teamwork to engage the staff to work well with one another and other stakeholders.

Read more: Building A Strong Team: The Stages of Team Development

It falls upon the project manager to play the lead role in team building and conflict resolution. While conflict isn’t always negative, it could disrupt accomplishing project goals. A professional with interpersonal skills in project management must create trust and be the go-to person when advice and fair resolution of disagreements are needed.

Decision Making

Most of the time, it is beneficial to involve the core team in decision-making. Other times, it isn’t necessary. The team expects a project manager to make decisions. A project manager can use their intellect to make decisions based on schedule constraints, quality, and acceptance criteria. Decision-making is vital for the success of a project since a single decision can either make or break a project.

Motivation

Motivation is key to the success of a project and managers with interpersonal and team skills in project management need to provide encouragement. Teams need to be motivated, pushed, and given the responsibility to achieve success. When the team feels drained or demotivated, that’s when the project manager shines. 

Read more: Most Effective Ways to Motivate Employees and Increase Productivity

Communication

Communication is another vital ingredient to a project’s success. Ninety percent of project work relies on communication, especially when leading a large team. Use communication protocols during meetings, give frequent feedback to stakeholders and team members, and regularly provide project status updates with higher management.  

Leadership

Leadership in project management is a must. Without leadership, the project’s planning and execution could evolve into confusion and chaos. The project manager has to get in the driver’s seat and hit the accelerator when progress is slow. Team members will follow a leader’s example. If the project manager slacks — they slack. If the project manager excels — they excel. The team needs to look toward one goal, articulated by the project manager.

Read more: Major Leadership Theories Every Manager Should Master in 2022

Negotiation

Project managers need to sharpen their negotiation skills quickly. They need to keep both stakeholders and the team happy, requiring frequent consultation. Making sure both parties are satisfied and having a win-win situation is extremely important. If not, there will only be a lack of motivation and discontent.

Conclusion

To learn interpersonal and team skills in project management to lead a successful team,  a PMP Certification course from Simplilearn is a sure-fire way to ensure they are sharp and effective. Certification will serve as a feather in your cap when broadening your reputation in the workplace or finding a lucrative role in another organization. For those ready to take project management to the next level, the Post Graduate Program in Project Management, in partnership with the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will teach you the skills needed to command large, complex, transformational projects.