People skills

I know I often write about communication, but let’s face it, life would be hopeless without it and so would anyone in business. Yet only a minority spend time and effort improving their communication skills in adult life. Much of project and programme management is about managing people and for that you need a plethora of people skills.

A manager might have all the credentials under the sun after his or her name. They might keep the most meticulous project schedule and rigorous risk log and boast an impressive technical background, but if they don’t have the people skills, the road ahead is likely to be so much more difficult.

Bridging interpersonal gaps
Overcoming communcation barriers
Listening skills
Assertion skills
Conflict management skills

Each one of these five areas goes deeper than most of us have ever dived, but the deeper we dive and discover, the better we understand the most critical art in management – People skills.

PMP, PRINCE2, MSP, etc, are all challenging and take months of hard work. But far more time and energy needs to be put into developing great people skills. Any Manager who is smart enough to commit time and effort to enhance their people skills is certain to reap the rewards ahead of those that don’t.

If you work in a country which is new to you, the matter becomes even more of a challenge as you need to blend cultural awareness into your art. See my posting; ‘when cultures collide‘.

So the next time you scour your local bookstore or Amazon for that new groundbreaking management or leadership book, consider investing in your people management skills too. The benefits will reach far beyond your projects!