Implement Improvement
The Lighthouse – An E-Newsletter
February 2009
Judith Crown, in her article in the November 2008 issue of PM Network (The journal of the Project Management Institute) said that as project managers advance they must shift their skill sets from the tactical to strategic. The point is that our skills must constantly increase in a planned manner as we advance in our careers. The skills that served you well at an entry level are rarely sufficient at higher levels of the organization.
In this article, Yvonne Harrison, a business analyst in New Zealand, states “Some project managers may not want to admit that they can be lacking when it comes to people skills.” Typically project managers are inclined to the technical side of the business. Many of them have come up through the ranks of engineering and software development. Little of their formal training has been in leadership and an understanding of human behavior. Successful project managers have led by projecting a collaborative, rather than an autocratic style. They understand that they can’t motivate their team, that motivation must come from within each member and cannot be created externally. We discuss this indirect approach to motivation in our workshop, “DiSCover More About You and Your People.”
No leader, or project manager can make it on their own. They need the skills and support of their team to be successful. Chinese philosopher, Sun Tzu, taught that you must know both your enemy and yourself in order to be successful. To be successful we must know ourselves – our skills and weaknesses, our people – their skills and weaknesses, our suppliers and our competition. By understanding human behavior, the focus, motivations, and fears of our team and others that we interact with, we will be able to create an environment that is motivating and supporting. However, if you take an authoritarian approach and demand compliance without first developing a relationship, then Sun Tzu will tell you that you are condemned to defeat.
Communication skills are also critical, in that we must be able to communicate, verbally and in writing, our 
goals, plans, and problems to get the support we need. All leaders and managers will eventually find themselves in a situation in which they must make a presentation on their project. Few of us are born to be good public speakers. Even Barack Obama, as gifted a speaker as he is, does not do well in unscripted moments. However, poor communicators are generally viewed as poor leaders. If you were to compare two Presidents – Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, you would see they both had an agenda they wanted to advance. However, Reagan was much more successful, due in large measure because he was the “Great Communicator” and was able to convey what he wanted to do and why it was so important much more effectively than Bush. Powerful communication skills are powerful tools in your leadership tool box.
The technical skills are important, in fact they are critical! But the best technical skills are not sufficient if you can’t get your team to be inspired and motivated. It’s all about people!
