6 Project Manager Traits
I'm often asked what skills one needs to be a project manager. My answers often emphasize hard skills which are easy to describe. The truth is that there are also many soft skills or traits which are critical. Alfonso Bucero recently wrote about the results of an informal survey he conducted with many IT project managers in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and Russia. Although the US wasn't included in the mix, the results, I imagine, wouldn't be all that different if he had. Here's his list with additional commentary from me.
1. Common Sense - Toss away extraneous ideas and get to the core of what matters. Easier said than done of course especially when team members get hung-up on unimportant issues.
2. Specialized Knowledge of Your Field - Experience in a particular area reduces risk which is particularly important with companies (often the large ones) that desire security and continuity as part of the culture.
3. Self-Reliance - Tapping in to your own abilities and pressing on through a sheer force of will.
4. General Intelligence - This includes an extensive vocabulary as well as good oral and written skills. Communication is often assumed to be easy, but being an effective communicator is not easy.
5. Ability to Get Things Done - Successful project managers have strong organizational abilities and work habits. This means more than being able to plot tasks in Microsoft Project.
6. Leadership - Focus on motivation and not intimidation. Treat people as human beings and not "resources". Four more traits in this area are described below.
7. Knowing Right from Wrong - Be sensitive to m ...