Project managers might just have the toughest job in IT, responsible as they are for ensuring that high-stakes IT projects are completed on time and on budget. According to a new report from Forrester Research, the project manager’s role is getting even more demanding and difficult to fill.
It’s no longer enough for project managers to possess good people skills and to be fluent in project management best practices, tools and methodologies. To succeed-and get hired-today, project managers need enhanced leadership skills; they need to be flexible and focused on business value; and they increasingly need to be familiar with Agile software development methodologies.
10 Core Capabilities of a Next Generation Project Manager
Given the way the project manager’s role is evolving and the critical nature of the role, Forrester Research developed a list of 10 core capabilities that IT leaders should seek in their project managers. They are:
1. Emotional Intelligence: The ability to pick up on events and interactions (both verbal and non-verbal) and to process those inputs in the context of the project plan.
2. Adaptive Communication: The ability to articulate one’s ideas-whether orally or in writing-to a range of individuals, groups and cultures using the most effective communication techniques for each group.
3. People Skills: The ability to quickly build and maintain positive relationships with team-members and stakeholders.
4. Management Skills: The ability to serve, motivate and focus a team and to foster collaboration among team members.
5. Flexibility: The willingness and ability to change one’s approach to project management and/or course of action in response to business needs.
6. Business Savvy: Knowledge of the organization’s business, strategy and industry. Ability to understand a strategy and align tactical work around that strategy.
7. Analytical Skills: The ability to think through problems and decisions.
8. Customer Focus: The ability to understand the end-user or end customer’s needs and the drive to ensure that projects meet those needs.
9. Results-Orientation: The ability to get things done efficiently and effectively.
10. Character: The project manager should have an appealing personality and a strong moral and ethical character.
Notably, technical- and traditional project management skills are absent from Forrester’s list of core capabilities for next generation project managers, but not because those skills are no longer necessary. While those skills remain important, Forrester maintains that because the softer skills are more difficult to learn than hard project management skills, organizations may be better off hiring individuals who are strong in those key capabilities “even if they lack experience in accepted project management practices.”
It’s an opinion that’s likely to spark controversy in project management circles, but it underscores the changing nature of the role.
“This role is essential to your success today and will be even more critical over the next decade as software delivery and business context evolve,” writes Gerush. “Traditional soft skills and core capabilities still dominate as companies look to hire project managers, but new skills are quickly coming to the forefront.”
It’s no longer enough for project managers to possess good people skills and to be fluent in project management best practices, tools and methodologies. To succeed-and get hired-today, project managers need enhanced leadership skills; they need to be flexible and focused on business value; and they increasingly need to be familiar with Agile software development methodologies.
10 Core Capabilities of a Next Generation Project Manager
Given the way the project manager’s role is evolving and the critical nature of the role, Forrester Research developed a list of 10 core capabilities that IT leaders should seek in their project managers. They are:
1. Emotional Intelligence: The ability to pick up on events and interactions (both verbal and non-verbal) and to process those inputs in the context of the project plan.
2. Adaptive Communication: The ability to articulate one’s ideas-whether orally or in writing-to a range of individuals, groups and cultures using the most effective communication techniques for each group.
3. People Skills: The ability to quickly build and maintain positive relationships with team-members and stakeholders.
4. Management Skills: The ability to serve, motivate and focus a team and to foster collaboration among team members.
5. Flexibility: The willingness and ability to change one’s approach to project management and/or course of action in response to business needs.
6. Business Savvy: Knowledge of the organization’s business, strategy and industry. Ability to understand a strategy and align tactical work around that strategy.
7. Analytical Skills: The ability to think through problems and decisions.
8. Customer Focus: The ability to understand the end-user or end customer’s needs and the drive to ensure that projects meet those needs.
9. Results-Orientation: The ability to get things done efficiently and effectively.
10. Character: The project manager should have an appealing personality and a strong moral and ethical character.
Notably, technical- and traditional project management skills are absent from Forrester’s list of core capabilities for next generation project managers, but not because those skills are no longer necessary. While those skills remain important, Forrester maintains that because the softer skills are more difficult to learn than hard project management skills, organizations may be better off hiring individuals who are strong in those key capabilities “even if they lack experience in accepted project management practices.”
It’s an opinion that’s likely to spark controversy in project management circles, but it underscores the changing nature of the role.
“This role is essential to your success today and will be even more critical over the next decade as software delivery and business context evolve,” writes Gerush. “Traditional soft skills and core capabilities still dominate as companies look to hire project managers, but new skills are quickly coming to the forefront.”
No comments:
Post a Comment