critical thinking for project managers

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• The Project Manager’s Guide to Critical Thinking Skills

Remember playing the game Clue as a kid? You’d collect evidence, analyze the possibilities, and come to your own conclusions based on what you knew (and what you didn’t). As a project manager, the skills you developed playing games like Clue are extremely useful. The acting gatekeeper for your team, you’re used to evaluating information and making decisions to benefit your department and the business as a whole. Whether you’re a seasoned project manager or just learning the ropes, knowing how to fine-tune your critical thinking skills will come in handy every single day.

Continue reading to learn: 

• A definition of critical thinking
• The six critical skills project managers need
• Why critical thinking skills are crucial for project managers
• How to work your critical thinking muscles
• Effective critical thinking techniques

Let’s get critical. 

What is critical thinking?

Ask five different people what critical thinking means and you’ll probably get five different answers. But, generally speaking, critical thinking refers to intellectual tactics used to observe and analyze information to draw better conclusions. A key factor in critical thinking is looking beyond the surface of an idea, a concept, or a piece of information. It involves asking questions — to yourself or others — to go deeper and draw better conclusions.

Critical thinking can be used by anyone, in any role, to make their job easier. You can find new insights, optimize an inefficient process, and get projects done faster. Developing your critical thinking means building habits that follow you throughout your career.

Here’s a breakdown of crucial critical thinking skills for project managers — or any other role.

6 critical thinking skills for project managers

Skill #1: observation.

Critical thinking skills starts with being more aware of what’s going on. Working on an important project? Being observant might mean keeping a close eye on comments from collaborators, or just paying better attention during meetings with your data team. Becoming a more observant person means you can identify problems others miss or pick up on context clues that help you solve problems down the road.

Skill #2: Analysis

Spotting problems, clues, and that one important comment in a Slack thread is just the beginning. If observation is how you bring in more information, analysis is how you determine what you’re going to do with it. Having an analytical approach to your problems means knowing what information you have available, knowing how relevant each piece is to the problem at hand, and being able to ask better questions. 

Skill #3: Identifying bias

This critical thinking skill ties in closely with analysis but is important enough to be its own skill. Bias is inherent in everything we do, from collecting data to creating content and solving problems. For instance, because this blog post is being written by a marketer, it might use different examples than a writer from a more technical team. You can spot a bias by asking yourself questions, like “are there elements of this person’s experience or perspective that might be affecting what they’re saying?” Bias can affect every role in an organization.

Skill #4: Inference

This is a fancy term for drawing better conclusions. This crucial critical thinking skill helps you make better use of the information you collect, the questions you ask, and the potential problems you spot. Think of everything you might have done so far as putting ingredients in a stew. You can have the best ingredients in the world, but if you leave the pot on too long, you’ll end up with something closer to charcoal than stew.

One of the quickest ways to improve your inference skills is, ironically, by slowing down. Instead of blurting out the first conclusion that comes to mind, start with a few educated guesses, and compare them to each other. Which one makes the most sense? Which is weakest?

Skill #5: Problem-solving

If inference is how you come to better conclusions, problem-solving is how you put them into action. This critical thinking skill encompasses the tactics and strategies you use to take something that looks good on paper and make it great in practice. Problem-solving includes  planning  how you’ll solve a problem, but also reacting to hurdles along the way and staying flexible. A great way to improve your problem-solving skills is asking yourself “is this still the best way to solve the problem?” at every stage of your plan. Sometimes, people can get set in their ways, meaning they stick to an ineffective solution long after they should have pivoted to something else.

Skill #6: Curiosity

This is less a skill than it is a characteristic every critical thinker should work to develop. Every other critical thinking skill is helped by broadening having access to more information and more knowledge. For instance, you can be the most observant person in the world, but you’d still struggle to pick out all the problems in a presentation from the data team if you weren’t at least a little familiar with data analysis. Beyond expertise in specific fields, critical thinking — and thinking in general — is easier when you have a breadth of knowledge and experiences to draw from. You can find links that others would miss and learn to think in different ways. Read more books, listen to more podcasts, and approach the world at large with more curiosity.

Why do project managers need critical thinking skills? 

When people hear the phrase ‘critical thinking’, they often picture a negative person. Being a critical thinker doesn’t mean you have a bad attitude or that you aren’t a team player. It’s quite the opposite. 

Critical thinking means questioning processes, projects, and even core business practices that are widely accepted as given. Not to tear them down, but to improve them for the benefit of the entire team. 

The Project Management Institute (PMI) outlines how important this skill is: 

“Corporate leaders have put critical thinking at the top of the list of essential competencies needed by their workers to understand these challenges, explore opportunities, and make good decisions in this new competitive environment.” 

When used in the context of project management, effective critical thinking can: 

• Encourage deeper, more  productive discussions
• Facilitate open communication between team members 
• Resolve issues between team members and stakeholders more quickly
• Develop better solutions to problems 
• Reduce stress throughout a project 
• Prevent repetitive issues
• Achieve better results faster 

Now that you know why critical thinking skills are priority for project managers, it’s time to find out how you can improve yours.

How project managers can develop better critical thinking skills 

There’s one core principle that will guide your critical thinking: question everything. Project managers can’t just approve all requests that come in from stakeholders across the organization — unless they want a stressed-out, overworked team.

A good project manager knows how to prioritize projects according to the business’ overall needs and goals. With every request that comes in, you need to be prepared to evaluate the project’s impact on the business, the necessity of the project, and the why. Building this process — this instinct — into your daily work is how you build and strengthen your critical thinking skills.

For every potential project, consider: 

• Why is this important right now? While most stakeholders will say their project is urgent, you need to find out exactly how true this is. Perhaps the project could be scheduled for a later date that works better for your team’s schedule. 
• Why does my team need to be involved? For example, if you manage the creative team and a request for a sales presentation comes in, figure out exactly what your team will need to do.
• Why is my team’s time better spent on this project than other projects? Does this project contribute more to the business than other work your team could be doing? 

Those are three important questions to ask yourself, but what about the questions you ask others?

When a new project lands in your inbox, you need to know what to ask of the sender and how to delicately frame those questions. There are a few question formats that work especially well for this stage of the project. These include:

• ‘tell me more’ questions (eg. Tell me more about what will be required from each member of my team)
• ‘help me understand’ questions (eg. Help me understand why this project is urgent)
• ‘can you give me an example’ questions (eg. Can you give me an example of the types of results you’re looking for here?). 

These questions allow you to get a better understanding of the project and make sure it’s a good fit for your team. They’re also usually well-received by whoever initiated the project.

Prioritization means making tough calls, and project managers need to be ready and equipped to do so. You can’t be afraid to say no when the project doesn’t make sense from a timing or business standpoint. However, you will also need to be ready to explain the reasoning behind your “no”. The following techniques will help you feel confident in your decisions and authority as a project manager. 

Critical thinking techniques for project managers 

Critical thinking skills are one thing, but when evaluating the priority of a new project, there are critical thinking techniques you can put into practice to boost results and team morale. 

• Avoid making or accepting assumptions 
• Identify potential issues (and their consequences) from the start
• Use the Five Whys to find the root of problems 

Let’s dive into these a little bit more. 

1. Avoid assumptions 

You know what they say about assuming things. When you make assumptions as a project manager, you’re missing out on and ignoring key information that could make or break your project. You can have the best critical thinking skills in the office, but making the wrong assumption can undo all your hard work.

A big part of critical thinking is digging into reasoning and probing for evidence rather than drawing your own immediate conclusions. When you’re pitched a new project — and during the course of the entire project — question any preconceived notions (yours or theirs). Ensure you’re given concrete evidence for the viability of the project, and look for any holes in the process or strategy that could impact your team. 

When challenging assumptions, consider the following questions: 

• Am I assuming all members of this project have all the information they need to complete their tasks?
• What assumptions am I making about each team members’ skill sets? 
• Am I making assumptions about each team member’s time and availability? 
• What are some possible issues that may arise with this project? How can I work backwards and challenge any assumptions in order to avoid these issues? 
• What assumptions have I made about the stakeholder or project creator? What do they need to know? 

Never take anything for granted. When your job is to facilitate and manage expectations, it’s important that you’re questioning and challenging your own assumptions — and those of team members and stakeholders — at all stages of the process. 

2. Consider potential issues 

When you’re questioning assumptions, you’re also working towards another big part of your job: risk management. By proactively questioning what could go wrong, you can prepare for any issues that might arise during the course of the project. Not only that, but you can consider the implications and consequences of when things go awry. 

Consider a cause and effect approach with hypothetical — but realistic — issues. Give yourself an hour to write down any possible issues that could arise with the project, along with a list of consequences associated with each one. For example: 

• Problem : The video editor won’t have enough time to deliver the final file. 
• Consequence : The rest of the project will be held up. Costs will increase and we could miss the deadline.  

In a perfect world, project managers wouldn’t face any problems and all projects would be smooth sailing. Since that’s unfortunately not the case, here are some helpful tools you can use to avoid the escalation of issues — as well as repeating roadblocks with future projects.

3. Use the Five Whys

In addition to the “why” questions outlined above, a proven project management technique called “The Five Whys” can help you explore the true cause or causes of any problem. 

Here’s how ProjectManagement.com explains it: 

“5 Whys is an iterative elicitation method used to explore cause-and-effect relationships underlying a particular problem. The primary goal of the technique is to determine the root cause of a defect or problem by repeating the question ‘Why?’. Each answer forms the basis of the next question.” 

To complete The Five Whys, you simply repeat the question “why?” five times until you come to the root of the problem. Each answer is understood to be a “contributing cause” that impacts the final result. 

For example: 

• Because multiple teams weren’t able to complete their tasks on time (contributing cause). 
• Because their time wasn’t prioritized properly (contributing cause). 
• Because multiple last-minute projects were assigned (contributing cause). 
• Because other stakeholders didn’t understand the prioritization and project assignment process (contributing cause). 
• Because they haven’t been properly trained or given the necessary information (root cause). 

Once you get to the root of the problem, you can take action to ensure these issues are minimized or avoided in the future. 

For project managers, sometimes taking a moment to just stop and consider all of the possibilities, consequences, and information can make all the difference between a well-thought-out decision and a future regret. Developing and exercising your critical thinking skills is a surefire way to drive positive business results.

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A Short Guide to Building Your Team’s Critical Thinking Skills

by Matt Plummer

Summary .   

Most employers lack an effective way to objectively assess critical thinking skills and most managers don’t know how to provide specific instruction to team members in need of becoming better thinkers. Instead, most managers employ a sink-or-swim approach, ultimately creating work-arounds to keep those who can’t figure out how to “swim” from making important decisions. But it doesn’t have to be this way. To demystify what critical thinking is and how it is developed, the author’s team turned to three research-backed models: The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment, Pearson’s RED Critical Thinking Model, and Bloom’s Taxonomy. Using these models, they developed the Critical Thinking Roadmap, a framework that breaks critical thinking down into four measurable phases: the ability to execute, synthesize, recommend, and generate.

With critical thinking ranking among the most in-demand skills for job candidates , you would think that educational institutions would prepare candidates well to be exceptional thinkers, and employers would be adept at developing such skills in existing employees. Unfortunately, both are largely untrue.

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Critical Thinking Skills and activities for Project Managers

Weaving critical thinking into your projects

Brought to You by Dave Litten

CRITICAL THINKING IS A CORE SKILL OF SUCCESSFUL PROJECT MANAGERS

Think back to how project management is applied. Activities, methods, processes, procedures and techniques only go so far... Think about planning, monitoring and control.

Think about estimating and identifying risk respnses

Think about project strategies and approaches

Think about project controls

Think about delivery approaches

ALL of the above, and more, depend 100% upon Critical Thinking.

Think You Can Do WITH Critical Thinking?

Critical Thinking Skills and activities for Project Managers Critical thinking is for everyone yet few are able or willing to do it. Critical thinking is a set of transferable skills that can be learned for one thing yet equally useful for any other. Critical thinking cuts across all academic disciplines and is applicable in all spheres of human activity - particularly project management where it becomes a toolbox for driving both career and project success. So what are the key activities, abilities and attributes of a critical thinker? Analytical skills Like any one skilled in debate, critical thinkers demand properly constructed arguments that presents reasons and more sound conclusions Tolerance Critical thinkers delight in hearing diversion views and enjoy a real debate Confidence This is key since critical thinkers must be confident and able to examine views made by others, often those in authority Curiosity This is the essential ingredient for ideas and insights Truth seeking The critical thinkers are looking for objective truth even if it turns out to undermine their own previously held convictions and long cherished beliefs and even if this goes against their own self interest "There goes another beautiful theory about to be murdered by a gang of facts" You need to learn how to identify other peoples arguments and conclusions and go on to interpret and produce your argument more effectively. This means you will want to read between the lines, see behind services and identify false assumptions. To be successful as a project manager it is vital that you apply critical thinking within the planning, monitoring, and control of your projects

The Soft Stuff Matters

Critical thinking skills is the backbone to Critical Decision-making, which in and of itself, leads to successful change management and project delivery success. But don´t take my word for it…just listen to The Project Management Institute (PMI), and their Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK) 6th Edition now includes The Talent Triangle:

Check out the “technical, strategic and business management bits above…these cannot be learned by rote alone.

See, Critical Thinking Skills is about a range of skills and understandings – the kind of open-mindedness that allows you to make creative leaps and gain insights.

Get this...

Demand over the next 10 years for project managers is growing faster than demand for workers in other occupations. Organizations, however, face risks from this talent gap.

This talent gap analysis shows that project managers are important contributors to productivity. Talent shortages in the profession can potentially create risks of nearly $208 billion in GDP over the next 10-year period up to 2028

The latest PMI-commissioned talent gap analysis has found outstanding opportunities in jobs and career growth for project managers.

From the present day up to 2028, the project management skills and jobs are expected to grow by 33 percent, or nearly 22 million new jobs.

By 2027, employers will need nearly 88 million individuals in project management-oriented roles

If you need to become a Project Management Professional (PMP), then click below

What has this to do with Critical Thinking Skills and activities for Project Managers?

To answer this, we need to look again at the life-skills of critical thinking…

Critical thinking Questions - The Assertibility Question (AQ) This weeds out wobbly views having shaky evidence from sensible theories that are worth serious consideration. To use AQ you ask what evidence allows you to assert that the claim is true.

This will include questions such as:

• Does the idea fit well with common sense or is it crazy?
• Who proposed the idea, and is the person biased towards it being true?
• Have statistics been used and presented in an honest way, and are they backed up with references to other work that supports the approach?
• Does the idea explain too much — or too little — to be useful?
• Have they been open about their methods and data?
• How many artificially decided settings are there that constrain and affect the theory?

Every day we are bombarded by problems and situations needing to be evaluated and solved.

The challenge is to view these from different perspectives and all too often we make decisions only based on previous similar situations or experiences.

This can lead to cloudy decision-making since we are often affected by emotional thinking, poorly prioritized facts and external influences that may not be relevant.

Then compare and contrast this with critical thinking which builds a rational and open minded process built upon information and empirical evidence.

Critical Thinking Skills Definition:

“ an intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information that has been gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication ”

Critical thinking provides the skills to judge and evaluate situations that is based on understanding the related data. It is analyzed to build a clear understanding of the problem, a proper solution identified, and then to take actions based on that solution.

The power of the critical thinking process is that it prevents our minds from jumping directly to conclusions, and instead, leads the mind through a set of logical steps to widen the range of perspectives, to accept the findings, sidestep personal biases, and consider reasonable possibilities.

Critical Thinking - The 6 Basic Steps

To determine what are the critical thinking questions, here are the six basic steps:

Step 1. Knowledge Here, we need a clear vision, starting with identifying the argument or the problem that needs to be resolved. Open questioning is used to acquire a deep understanding about the problem or situation. This involves the use of open ended questioning to discuss and explore the main reasons or root causes. A clear understanding must be obtained of what the problem is and why do we need to solve it. Step 2. Comprehension You need to fully understand the situation along with the facts that align and support it. The way in which you collect such facts will depend upon the research methods used, and this in turn will depend upon the problem, the type of data and information available, and any constraints. Step 3. Application This is the next practical step following comprehension, and builds to fully understand the different facts and resources needed to solve the problem. Mind maps are helpful here to analyze the situation while building a strong relationship between it and the core problem while resolving the best way to move forward. Step 4. Analyze This step builds on the information and linkages identified from the main problem, and analysis to close to identify the strong and weak points plus the challenges faced one identifying a solution to the problem. The main causes are prioritized to determine how they can be applied, and one of the most often used tools here to analyze the problem and those circumstances that surround it, is the cause and effect diagram, which isolates the problem from its root causes and identifies such causes so that they can be categorized on their type an impact on the problem. Step 5. Synthesis Once the problem has been fully analyzed and the related data has been considered, a decision needs to be taken how the problem can be solved along with the initial set of actions required. If there are several identified solutions, then each should be evaluated and prioritized to identify the best solution approach. It is here that SWOT analysis can be helpful in identifying the solutions strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats.

SWOT Analysis

If they are to interpret and use the SWOT analysis, the project can form the strategy based on the following factors:

• ​​ ​​ Strength vs. opportunity . The strategies or approaches build on the available existing strengths and how they may be used to leverage existing or new opportunities
• ​​ ​​ Weaknesses vs. opportunities. This strategies suggest ways of overcoming existing weaknesses while building new potential opportunities
• ​​ ​​ Strengths vs. threats. These strategies identify approaches to build on the organization, product, or project strengths while reducing threats and risk to the main objectives.
• ​​ ​​ Weaknesses vs. threats. These are strategies designed to prevent such weaknesses from the influenced by external threats.

Step 6. Take Action The final step is to build a problem valuation that can be put into action, as the final result of critical thinking should be transferred into actionable steps. Within a project, a plan of action should be implemented to ensure that the solution is adopted and implemented as planned. Summary The critical thinking method is used to replace the emotions and biases when dealing with a situation or a problem. The advantage of using critical thinking is its contribution to widening perspectives about situations and providing a broader range of action choices to ensure that the decided resolution is implemented and integrated between all the involved individuals and organizations.

Critical Thing Tools

The Cause and Effect Diagram

The cause and effect diagram is helpful when exploring problems and their solution:

How to solve problems using the cause and effect diagram The cause and effect diagram is also known as the Ishikawa diagram or fishbone diagram. For its successful use, a clear problem definition is first needed so that the proper solution can be targeted.

Additionally, the root causes behind the problem must also be carefully analysed. The Ishikawa diagram has two main sections, causes on the left hand side, and effect on the right-hand side.

Possible problem causes are thought through by creating branches from the line that links cause and effect. This type of diagram has a focus on solving problems rather than exploring ideas which is normally the case when applying critical thinking skills. The headings used to brainstorm the various problem causes, can vary from industry to industry, and as an example here are typical cause headings for three industries:

• The service industry. S urrounding, S uppliers, S ystems, S kills, and S afety
• The manufacturing industry.   M achine, M ethod, M aterial, M anpower, and M easurement
• The marketing industry. P roduct, P rice, P lace, P romotion, P eople, P rocess, and P hysical evidence

There are four steps to create the Fishbone diagram:

• 1 Identify the problems. The defects, or problem, results from one or several causes, for these reasons the problem must be clearly identified so that potential related causes can be investigated
• 2 A straight horizontal line should be drawn as a link between cause and effect, so that general causes such as the three cause models mentioned above can be drawn as branches from this main line
• 3 ​ Once the main general categories have been added, all possible causes for the problem can now be investigated and organized under the general categories
• 4 The final step is to investigate and discuss each possible cause and organize them in priority and influence order

Critical Thinking and Mind Mapping Mind mapping is a tool to help understand ideas and collaboration. Those who use Mind mapping for critical thinking can improve their productivity by 25%. It is also used to support the project management process and can easily be integrated when performing project management planning. I include here an excellent example (not my own) showing how the use of diagrams and colors help convey easily identified and remembered relationships. As stated at the center of this diagram, this is an example of brainstorming the various elements of time management:

Critical Thinking  - Real World Example

Here at Projex Academy, we have the market leader in online streaming training the world´s project management community. Our Flagship training course is for the PRINCE2 Methodology. First, I generated a Mind map on the structure and application of the PRINCE2 Methodology, then I performed root cause analysis to determine customer-demand potential training spin-offs. This resulted in created TWO new products - BOTH of which are UNIQUE to the project management training industry. They are:

• PRINCE2  SCRUM Masterclass for fast-to-market and high ROI projects
• PRINCE2 Lite for tailoring and blending smaller projects

Both have been selling like hot cakes since their launch a few months back - click on their images below to find out more... THANK YOU Critical Thinking!

Want to become a PRINCE2 Practitioner?

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Study anywhere, anytime at your own pace. We will be at your side every step of the way.

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Project Management and Critical Thinking: 6 Key Skills

Introduction.

Project management is a crucial discipline that encompasses the planning, execution, and finalization of projects. But to steer a project from inception to completion with precision requires more than just following processes; it demands a nuanced set of skills underpinned by critical thinking. In an age where businesses and industries are continually evolving, the capacity to think critically and manage projects effectively can spell the difference between success and failure. This comprehensive guide delves into six key skills that intertwine project management and critical thinking, equipping professionals with the tools needed to navigate complex projects and lead them to success.

1. Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is foundational to project management. It involves setting long-term goals, determining actions to achieve those goals, and mobilizing resources to execute the plans. Critical thinking plays a vital role in this process by enabling project managers to foresee potential challenges and opportunities and devise solutions accordingly.

Strategic planning begins with a clear understanding of the project’s objectives. It often includes defining the project’s scope, identifying key stakeholders, and mapping out a realistic roadmap for completion. Critical thinkers leverage their ability to see the big picture and consider various scenarios, ensuring that the plan is flexible and scalable.

• SWOT Analysis: By evaluating the project’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, project managers can gain insights into the internal and external factors that might impact the project.
• Scenario Planning: Involves thinking through different future scenarios and developing plans to address each, ensuring preparedness in the face of uncertainties.

2. Effective Communication

Effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful project. It ensures that everyone involved understands the project’s goals, their roles, and the expectations. Critical thinking aids in constructing clear, concise, and impactful messages that facilitate better understanding and collaboration.

Good communication involves not just speaking and writing but also listening and interpreting. It requires the ability to present information in ways that are tailored to different audiences. Critical thinking helps project managers break down complex information and communicate it in a manner that is easily digestible.

• Stakeholder Meetings: Regularly scheduled meetings to update stakeholders on the project’s progress, address concerns, and gather feedback.
• Project Documentation: Creating detailed but comprehensible project documents, such as reports, memos, and plans, to keep everyone on the same page.

3. Risk Management

Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing, and controlling threats to a project’s capital and earnings. Effective risk management requires a critical approach to foresee potential issues and mitigate them before they become problems.

Risk management involves a structured approach to managing uncertainty through risk identification, risk assessment, and deployment of strategies to manage risks. Critical thinking allows project managers to systematically analyze risks and determine their impact on the project, facilitating the formulation of appropriate responses.

• Risk Assessment Matrix: A tool used to identify and evaluate the severity of risks, helping prioritize them based on their potential impact and likelihood.
• Contingency Planning: Developing a fallback plan to address potential risks, ensuring that the project remains on track even if unforeseen events occur.

4. Resource Allocation

Resource allocation is about managing the available resources in the most efficient way to achieve the project’s objectives. Critical thinking is essential for making informed decisions on how to best utilize human, financial, and material resources.

This skill involves determining what resources are needed, when they are needed, and allocating them in a way that maximizes productivity and minimizes waste. Critical thinking helps project managers evaluate resource needs, identify potential bottlenecks, and allocate resources in a manner that aligns with the project’s goals and timelines.

• Gantt Charts: Visual tools that help in planning and scheduling resources across the project timeline, ensuring that tasks are assigned and completed as needed.
• Resource Leveling: Adjusting the project schedule to address resource constraints and conflicts, ensuring that resources are allocated efficiently.

5. Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is a critical skill in project management, as no project is free from challenges. Effective problem-solving involves identifying the root cause of issues, considering various solutions, and implementing the most effective one.

Problem-solving requires a mix of creativity and logic. Critical thinkers leverage their skills to dissect problems, evaluate possible solutions, and make decisions based on evidence and sound reasoning. It’s about systematically approaching problems to find sustainable solutions.

• Root Cause Analysis: A method used to identify the underlying causes of problems, ensuring that solutions address the root issue rather than just the symptoms.
• Brainstorming Sessions: Encouraging team members to come up with creative solutions to problems, fostering an environment of collaborative problem-solving.

6. Performance Monitoring

Performance monitoring involves tracking the progress of a project to ensure that it stays on track and achieves its goals. Critical thinking is essential for analyzing performance data, identifying deviations from the plan, and making necessary adjustments.

Monitoring performance requires a systematic approach to collecting and analyzing data related to project activities. Critical thinking enables project managers to discern trends, understand the implications of performance metrics, and apply corrective actions to keep the project aligned with its goals.

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Specific metrics used to evaluate the success of a project, such as meeting deadlines, staying within budget, and achieving quality standards.
• Dashboards: Tools that provide real-time visual representations of the project’s performance data, helping managers quickly identify and address issues.

Project management and critical thinking are deeply intertwined. The ability to think critically enhances a project manager’s capability to plan strategically, communicate effectively, manage risks, allocate resources wisely, solve problems, and monitor performance. By honing these six key skills, project managers can not only navigate the complexities of their projects but also lead them to successful completion. As the landscape of industries and businesses continues to evolve, these skills will remain indispensable cornerstones of effective project management. Investing in the development of these skills will yield significant returns, making project managers and their projects more adaptable, resilient, and successful.

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• How to build your critical thinking ski ...

How to build your critical thinking skills in 7 steps (with examples)

Critical thinking is, well, critical. By developing critical thinking skills, you improve your ability to analyze information and come to the best decision possible. In this article, we cover the basics of critical thinking, as well as the seven steps you can use to implement the full critical thinking process.

Critical thinking comes from asking the right questions to come to the best conclusion possible. Strong critical thinkers analyze information from a variety of viewpoints in order to identify the best course of action.

Don’t worry if you don’t think you have strong critical thinking skills. In this article, we’ll help you build a foundation for critical thinking so you can absorb, analyze, and make informed decisions. 

What is critical thinking? 

Critical thinking is the ability to collect and analyze information to come to a conclusion. Being able to think critically is important in virtually every industry and applicable across a wide range of positions. That’s because critical thinking isn’t subject-specific—rather, it’s your ability to parse through information, data, statistics, and other details in order to identify a satisfactory solution. 

Definitions of critical thinking

Various scholars have provided definitions of critical thinking, each emphasizing different aspects of this complex cognitive process:

Michael Scriven , an American philosopher, defines critical thinking as "the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication as a guide to belief and action."

Robert Ennis , professor emeritus at the University of Illinois, describes critical thinking as "reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do."

Diane Halpern , a cognitive psychologist and former president of the American Psychological Association, defines it as "the use of cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome."

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8 essential critical thinking skills to develop

Critical thinking is essential for success in everyday life, higher education, and professional settings. The handbook "Foundation for Critical Thinking" defines it as a process of conceptualization, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of information.

In no particular order, here are eight key critical thinking abilities that can help you excel in any situation:

1. Analytical thinking

Analytical thinking involves evaluating data from multiple sources in order to come to the best conclusions. Analytical thinking allows people to reject cognitive biases and strive to gather and analyze intricate subject matter while solving complex problems. Analytical thinkers who thrive at critical thinking can:

Identify patterns and trends in the data

Break down complex issues into manageable components

Recognize cause-and-effect relationships

Evaluate the strength of arguments and evidence

Example: A data analyst breaks down complex sales figures to identify trends and patterns that inform the company's marketing strategy.

2. Open-mindedness

Open-mindedness is the willingness to consider new ideas, arguments, and information without prejudice. This critical thinking skill helps you analyze and process information to come to an unbiased conclusion. Part of the critical thinking process is letting your personal biases go, taking information at face value and coming to a conclusion based on multiple points of view .

Open-minded critical thinkers demonstrate:

Willingness to consider alternative viewpoints

Ability to suspend judgment until sufficient evidence is gathered

Receptiveness to constructive criticism and feedback

Flexibility in updating beliefs based on new information

Example: During a product development meeting, a team leader actively considers unconventional ideas from junior members, leading to an innovative solution.

3. Problem-solving

Effective problem solving is a cornerstone of critical thinking. It requires the ability to identify issues, generate possible solutions, evaluate alternatives, and implement the best course of action. This critical thinking skill is particularly valuable in fields like project management and entrepreneurship.

Key aspects of problem-solving include:

Clearly defining the problem

Gathering relevant information

Brainstorming potential solutions

Evaluating the pros and cons of each option

Implementing and monitoring the chosen solution

Reflecting on the outcome and adjusting as necessary

Example: A high school principal uses problem-solving skills to address declining student engagement by surveying learners, consulting with higher education experts, and implementing a new curriculum that balances academic rigor with practical, real-world applications.

4. Reasoned judgment

Reasoned judgment is a key component of higher order thinking that involves making thoughtful decisions based on logical analysis of evidence and thorough consideration of alternatives. This critical thinking skill is important in both academic and professional settings. Key aspects reasoned judgment include:

Objectively gathering and analyzing information

Evaluating the credibility and relevance of evidence

Considering multiple perspectives before drawing conclusions

Making decisions based on logical inference and sound reasoning

Example: A high school science teacher uses reasoned judgment to design an experiment, carefully observing and analyzing results before drawing conclusions about the hypothesis.

5. Reflective thinking

Reflective thinking is the process of analyzing one's own thought processes, actions, and outcomes to gain deeper understanding and improve future performance. Good critical thinking requires analyzing and synthesizing information to form a coherent understanding of a problem. It's an essential critical thinking skill for continuous learning and improvement.

Key aspects of reflective thinking include:

Critically examining one's own assumptions and cognitive biases

Considering diverse viewpoints and perspectives

Synthesizing information from various experiences and sources

Applying insights to improve future decision-making and actions

Continuously evaluating and adjusting one's thinking processes

Example: A community organizer reflects on the outcomes of a recent public event, considering what worked well and what could be improved for future initiatives.

6. Communication

Strong communication skills help critical thinkers articulate ideas clearly and persuasively. Communication in the workplace is crucial for effective teamwork, leadership, and knowledge dissemination. Key aspects of communication in critical thinking include:

Clearly expressing complex ideas

Active listening and comprehension

Adapting communication styles to different audiences

Constructing and delivering persuasive arguments

Example: A manager effectively explains a new company policy to her team, addressing their concerns and ensuring everyone understands its implications.

7. Research

Critical thinkers with strong research skills gather, evaluate, and synthesize information from various sources of information. This is particularly important in academic settings and in professional fields that require continuous learning. Effective research involves:

Identifying reliable and relevant sources of information

Evaluating the credibility and bias of sources

Synthesizing information from multiple sources

Recognizing gaps in existing knowledge

Example: A journalist verifies information from multiple credible sources before publishing an article on a controversial topic.

8. Decision-making

Effective decision making is the culmination of various critical thinking skills that allow an individual to draw logical conclusions and generalizations. It involves weighing options, considering consequences, and choosing the best course of action. Key aspects of decision-making include:

Defining clear criteria for evaluation

Gathering and analyzing relevant information

Considering short-term and long-term consequences

Managing uncertainty and risk

Balancing logic and intuition

Example: A homeowner weighs the costs, benefits, and long-term implications before deciding to invest in solar panels for their house.

How to develop critical thinking skills in 7 steps

Critical thinking is a skill that you can build by following these seven steps. The seven steps to critical thinking help you ensure you’re approaching a problem from the right angle, considering every alternative, and coming to an unbiased conclusion.

First things first: When to use the 7 step critical thinking process

There’s a lot that goes into the full critical thinking process, and not every decision needs to be this thought out. Sometimes, it’s enough to put aside bias and approach a process logically. In other, more complex cases, the best way to identify the ideal outcome is to go through the entire critical thinking process. 

The seven-step critical thinking process is useful for complex decisions in areas you are less familiar with. Alternatively, the seven critical thinking steps can help you look at a problem you’re familiar with from a different angle, without any bias. 

If you need to make a less complex decision, consider another problem solving strategy instead. Decision matrices are a great way to identify the best option between different choices. Check out our article on 7 steps to creating a decision matrix .

1. Identify the problem or question

Before you put those critical thinking skills to work, you first need to identify the problem you’re solving. This step includes taking a look at the problem from a few different perspectives and asking questions like: 

What’s happening? 

Why is this happening? 

What assumptions am I making? 

At first glance, how do I think we can solve this problem? 

A big part of developing your critical thinking skills is learning how to come to unbiased conclusions. In order to do that, you first need to acknowledge the biases that you currently have. Does someone on your team think they know the answer? Are you making assumptions that aren’t necessarily true? Identifying these details helps you later on in the process. 

2. Gather relevant information

At this point, you likely have a general idea of the problem—but in order to come up with the best solution, you need to dig deeper. 

During the research process, collect information relating to the problem, including data, statistics, historical project information, team input, and more. Make sure you gather information from a variety of sources, especially if those sources go against your personal ideas about what the problem is or how to solve it.

Gathering varied information is essential for your ability to apply the critical thinking process. If you don’t get enough information, your ability to make a final decision will be skewed. Remember that critical thinking is about helping you identify the objective best conclusion. You aren’t going with your gut—you’re doing research to find the best option

3. Analyze and evaluate data

Just as it’s important to gather a variety of information, it is also important to determine how relevant the different information sources are. After all, just because there is data doesn’t mean it’s relevant. 

Once you’ve gathered all of the information, sift through the noise and identify what information is relevant and what information isn’t. Synthesizing all of this information and establishing significance helps you weigh different data sources and come to the best conclusion later on in the critical thinking process. 

To determine data relevance, ask yourself:

How reliable is this information? 

How significant is this information? 

Is this information outdated? Is it specialized in a specific field? 

4. Consider alternative points of view

One of the most useful parts of the critical thinking process is coming to a decision without bias. In order to do so, you need to take a step back from the process and challenge the assumptions you’re making. 

We all have bias—and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Unconscious biases (also known as cognitive biases) often serve as mental shortcuts to simplify problem solving and aid decision making. But even when biases aren’t inherently bad, you must be aware of your biases in order to put them aside when necessary. 

Before coming to a solution, ask yourself:

Am I making any assumptions about this information? 

Are there additional variables I haven’t considered? 

Have I evaluated the information from every perspective? 

Are there any viewpoints I missed?

5. Draw logical conclusions

Finally, you’re ready to come to a conclusion. To identify the best solution, draw connections between causes and effects. Use the facts you’ve gathered to evaluate the most objective conclusion. 

Keep in mind that there may be more than one solution. Often, the problems you’re facing are complex and intricate. The critical thinking process doesn’t necessarily lead to a cut-and-dry solution—instead, the process helps you understand the different variables at play so you can make an informed decision. 

6. Develop and communication solutions

Communication is a key skill for critical thinkers. It isn’t enough to think for yourself—you also need to share your conclusion with other project stakeholders. If there are multiple solutions, present them all. There may be a case where you implement one solution, then test to see if it works before implementing another solution. 

This process of communicating and sharing ideas is key in promoting critical thinking abilities within a team or organization. By encouraging open dialogue and collaborative problem-solving, you create an environment that fosters the development of critical thinking skills in others.

7. Reflect and learn from the process

The seven-step critical thinking process yields a result—and you then need to put that solution into place. After you’ve implemented your decision, evaluate whether or not it was effective. Did it solve the initial problem? What lessons—whether positive or negative—can you learn from this experience to improve your critical thinking for next time? 

By engaging in this metacognitive reflective thinking process, you're essentially teaching critical thinking skills to yourself, refining your methodology with each iteration. This reflective practice is fundamental in developing a more robust and adaptable approach to problem-solving.

Depending on how your team shares information, consider documenting lessons learned in a central source of truth. That way, team members that are making similar or related decisions in the future can understand why you made the decision you made and what the outcome was.

Critical thinking examples in the workplace

Imagine you work in user experience design (UX). Your team is focused on pricing and packaging and ensuring customers have a clear understanding of the different services your company offers. Here’s how to apply the critical thinking process in the workplace in seven steps: 

Step 1: Start by identifying the problem

Your current pricing page isn’t performing as well as you want. You’ve heard from customers that your services aren’t clear, and that the page doesn’t answer the questions they have. This page is really important for your company, since it’s where your customers sign up for your service. You and your team have a few theories about why your current page isn’t performing well, but you decide to apply the critical thinking process to ensure you come to the best decision for the page. 

Gather information about how the problem started

Part of identifying the problem includes understanding how the problem started. The pricing and packaging page is important—so when your team initially designed the page, they certainly put a lot of thought into it. Before you begin researching how to improve the page, ask yourself: 

Why did you design the pricing page the way you did? 

Which stakeholders need to be involved in the decision making process? 

Where are users getting stuck on the page?

Are any features currently working?

Step 2: Then gather information and research

In addition to understanding the history of the pricing and packaging page, it’s important to understand what works well. Part of this research means taking a look at what your competitor’s pricing pages look like. 

Ask yourself: 

How have our competitors set up their pricing pages?

Are there any pricing page best practices? 

How does color, positioning, and animation impact navigation? 

Are there any standard page layouts customers expect to see? 

Step 3: Organize and analyze information

You’ve gathered all of the information you need—now you need to organize and analyze it. What trends, if any, are you noticing? Is there any particularly relevant or important information that you have to consider? 

Step 4: Consider alternative viewpoints to reduce bias

In the case of critical thinking, it’s important to address and set bias aside as much as possible. Ask yourself: 

Is there anything I’m missing? 

Have I connected with the right stakeholders? 

Are there any other viewpoints I should consider? 

Step 5: Determine the most logical solution for your team

You now have all of the information you need to design the best pricing page. Depending on the complexity of the design, you may want to design a few options to present to a small group of customers or A/B test on the live website.

Step 6: Communicate your solution to stakeholders

Critical thinking skills can help you in every element of your life, but in the workplace, you must also involve key project stakeholders . Stakeholders help you determine next steps, like whether you’ll A/B test the page first. Depending on the complexity of the issue, consider hosting a meeting or sharing a status report to get everyone on the same page. 

Step 7: Reflect on the results

No process is complete without evaluating the results. Once the new page has been live for some time, evaluate whether it did better than the previous page. What worked? What didn’t? This also helps you make better critical decisions later on.

Tools and techniques to improve critical thinking skills

Understanding how to improve critical thinking skills has become a cornerstone of personal and professional growth in the 21st century. Recognizing the importance of critical thinking, experts across various disciplines have contributed valuable insights and methodologies. Here are some notable contributions from experts and institutions in the field:

Mind mapping: A visual approach to critical thinking skills

Mind mapping is a visual technique that helps organize and structure information. It's particularly useful for synthesizing complex ideas and identifying connections between different concepts. The benefits of mind mapping include:

Enhancing creativity by encouraging non-linear thinking

Improving memory and retention of information

Facilitating brainstorming and idea generation

Providing a clear overview of complex topics

To create a mind map:

Start with a central idea or concept.

Branch out with related sub topics or ideas.

Use colors, symbols, and images to enhance visual appeal and memorability.

Draw connections between related ideas across different branches.

Mind mapping can be particularly effective in project planning , content creation, and studying complex subjects.

The Socratic Method: Deepening critical thinking skills

The Socratic Method, named after the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, involves asking probing questions to stimulate critical thinking and illuminate ideas. This technique is widely used in higher education to teach critical thinking. Key aspects of the Socratic Method include:

Asking open-ended questions that encourage deeper reflection

Challenging assumptions and preconceived notions

Exploring the implications and consequences of ideas

Fostering intellectual curiosity and continuous inquiry

The Socratic Method can be applied in various settings:

In education, to encourage students to think deeply about subject matter

In business, it is important to challenge team members to consider multiple points of view.

In personal development, to examine one's own beliefs and decisions

Example: A high school teacher might use the Socratic Method to guide students through a complex ethical dilemma, asking questions like "What principles are at stake here?" and "How might this decision affect different stakeholders?"

SWOT analysis: Comprehensive critical thinking skills

SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is a strategic planning tool that can be applied to critical thinking. It helps in evaluating situations from multiple angles, promoting a more thorough understanding of complex issues. The components of SWOT analysis are:

Strengths: internal positive attributes or assets

Weaknesses: internal negative attributes or limitations

Opportunities: External factors that could be beneficial

Threats: External factors that could be harmful

To conduct a SWOT analysis:

Clearly define the subject of analysis (e.g., a project, organization, or decision).

Brainstorm and list items for each category.

Analyze the interactions between different factors.

Use the analysis to inform strategy or decision-making.

Example: A startup might use SWOT analysis to evaluate its position before seeking investment, identifying its innovative technology as a strength, limited capital as a weakness, growing market demand as an opportunity, and established competitors as a threat.

Critical thinking resources

The Foundation for Critical Thinking : Based in California, this organization offers a wide range of resources, including books, articles, and workshops on critical thinking.

The National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking : This council provides guidelines and standards for critical thinking instruction and assessment.

University of Louisville : Their Critical Thinking Initiative offers various resources and tools that teach people how to develop critical thinking skills.

The New York Times Learning Network provides lesson plans and activities to help develop critical thinking skills through current events and news analysis.

Critical thinking frameworks and tools

Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework : Developed by Dr. Richard Paul and Dr. Linda Elder, this framework provides a comprehensive approach to developing critical thinking skills.

Bloom's Taxonomy : While not exclusively for critical thinking, this classification system is widely used in education to promote higher-order thinking skills.

The California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) : This assessment tool measures the disposition to engage in problems and make decisions using critical thinking.

The Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test : Developed by Robert Ennis, this test assesses a person's ability to appraise an argument and to formulate a written argument.

By incorporating these tools and techniques into regular practice, individuals can learn how to improve critical thinking skills, which leads to more effective problem-solving, decision-making, and overall cognitive performance.

The power of critical thinking skills

Critical thinking skills take time to build, but with effort and patience you can apply an unbiased, analytical mind to any situation. Critical thinking makes up one of many soft skills that makes you an effective team member, manager, and worker. If you’re looking to hone your skills further, read our article on the 25 project management skills you need to succeed .

FAQ: Critical thinking skills

What is being a critical thinker?

Being a critical thinker means possessing strong critical thinking skills that allow you to analyze information objectively and make reasoned judgments. It involves developing analytical skills and the capacity for critical thought. A critical thinker questions assumptions, considers multiple perspectives, and bases decisions on evidence rather than emotions or biases.

What are the 5 C's of critical thinking?

The 5 C's of critical thinking are the core skill sets that make you a better critical thinker:

Curiosity: Asking questions and seeking new information

Creativity: Generating innovative solutions and ideas

Clarity: Expressing thoughts and ideas clearly and precisely

Consistency: Maintaining logical coherence in arguments and reasoning

Commitment: Dedicating oneself to ongoing learning and improvement

These skills directly improve critical thinking and strengthen overall cognitive abilities. Understanding and practicing these 5 C's is a fundamental aspect of how to develop critical thinking skills effectively.

How do you demonstrate critical thinking?

Demonstrating critical thinking involves applying your skill set in various situations. This includes analyzing problems, evaluating information sources, considering multiple perspectives, and using evidence-based reasoning. Many employers highlight these qualities in job descriptions, as they value employees who can apply critical thought to workplace challenges.

What is a real-life example of critical thinking?

A real-life critical thinking example could be making a major purchase decision, such as buying a car. Here's how you might apply critical thinking skills:

Research: Gather information about different car models, prices, and features

Analysis: Compare and contrast options based on your needs and budget

Evaluation: Assess the reliability of information sources (e.g., consumer reports, user reviews)

Questioning: Ask car dealers probing questions about warranties, maintenance costs, and resale value

Consideration of alternatives: Explore options like leasing or public transportation

Decision-making: Weigh pros and cons to make an informed choice

Reflection: After the purchase, evaluate your decision-making process for future improvement

This critical thinking example demonstrates how critical thought can be applied to everyday situations.

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15 Important Skills Every Project Manager Should Have

8 mins read

by Timothee Dzik

Updated On Jun 06, 2023

Mastering the art of project management is like conducting a symphony of tasks, deadlines, and stakeholders. It's a dynamic dance that requires a unique blend of technical prowess and exceptional leadership. Project Managers are the orchestrators of success, ensuring that projects hit all the right notes.

But what skills does it take to lead this harmonious ensemble and deliver projects that dazzle? This blog unveils the skills of a project manager that are a must for every project manager. From mastering the art of effective communication to honing the ability to adapt seamlessly, we will delve into the essential skills that distinguish seasoned professionals from novices in project management. 

What are Project Management Skills?

Project Management Skills refer to a set of abilities and competencies necessary for effectively planning, organizing, executing, and controlling projects. These skills encompass various areas, such as leadership, communication, time management, problem-solving, risk management, and resource allocation.

A proficient project manager can define project objectives, develop comprehensive project plans, coordinate team members and stakeholders, monitor progress, mitigate risks, and adapt to changes, ensuring successful project delivery within defined time, budget, and quality constraints.

“According to a 2021 report by the Project Management Institute (PMI) , the main professional organization in the industry, employers must hire approximately 2.3 million project management professionals globally every year to meet demand by 2030.”

15 Essential Skills of a Project Manager

In the dynamic world of project management, possessing diverse skills is the key to orchestrating successful projects. A project manager's role goes beyond just managing timelines and resources; they drive project success, bringing together teams, stakeholders, and resources to achieve goals. Therefore, project managers must possess a unique blend of essential skills to excel in this multifaceted role. Below we explored the 15 essential skills for project managers must master.

Hard Skills of a Project Manager

In the dynamic field of project management, possessing diverse hard skills is essential for success. These technical abilities enable project managers to plan, execute, and deliver projects on time and within budget. Below is a list of valuable insights into the hard skills necessary for success in the dynamic world of project management.

Via Edstellar

1. Effective Communication Skills

Effective communication is crucial for project managers to convey ideas, expectations, and project requirements to team members, stakeholders, and clients. It involves speaking clearly and actively listening, understanding non-verbal cues, and adapting communication styles to different audiences. Project managers must be skilled in written communication to create clear documentation and reports. Additionally, they must deliver compelling presentations to convey project updates and proposals effectively.

2. Strategic Planning and Organization Skills

Strategic planning is the ability to think critically and develop comprehensive project plans. Project managers must define goals, break them into achievable tasks, set realistic deadlines, and identify dependencies between tasks. They must allocate resources effectively, considering team availability, budget constraints, and project priorities. Organization skills are vital in maintaining project documentation, tracking progress, and managing project schedules.

3. Risk Management Skills

Risk management involves identifying potential risks and developing strategies to mitigate or respond to them effectively. Project managers must be skilled in conducting risk assessments to identify potential threats, analyzing their likelihood and impact, and developing risk response plans. They need to proactively monitor risks throughout the project and take appropriate actions to minimize their impact. Problem-solving abilities are crucial for addressing unexpected risks and finding solutions to mitigate them.

4. Budgeting and Financial Management Skills

Project managers are responsible for managing project budgets and finances. Therefore, they must possess cost estimation, creation, and tracking skills to ensure that projects stay within the allocated budget. Financial management skills involve monitoring expenses, tracking project costs, and making informed decisions regarding resource allocation and cost control. Additionally, project managers need to conduct financial analysis to assess the project's financial health and make data-driven decisions.

5. Adaptability and Flexibility Skills

Project managers must be adaptable and flexible in a rapidly changing business environment. They must embrace change, be open to new technologies, and foster innovation within their teams. Adaptable project managers can adjust plans and strategies to accommodate unforeseen circumstances, market shifts, or evolving client requirements. They need to lead their teams through change, manage resistance, and proactively seek opportunities for improvement and growth.

Soft Skills of a Project Manager

While hard skills are crucial, the soft skills possessed by project managers are equally important for their ability to communicate, collaborate, and lead teams effectively. Below is a list of essential soft skills project managers should cultivate to excel in their roles.

6. Leadership and Team Management Skills

Leadership skills are vital for project managers to inspire, motivate, and guide their teams. They must create a positive work environment, promote collaboration, and build strong relationships with team members. Effective team management involves assigning tasks, delegating responsibilities, and fostering a sense of ownership among team members. In addition, project managers must provide constructive feedback, resolve conflicts, and empower team members to perform at their best.

7. Stakeholder Management Skills

Project managers must effectively manage stakeholder relationships and expectations. This requires strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate and engage with stakeholders at various levels. Stakeholder management involves conducting stakeholder analysis to identify their needs, concerns, and influence. In addition, project managers must maintain transparent communication, promptly address conflicts or issues, and ensure stakeholders are informed about project progress and changes.

8. Quality Assurance Skills

Delivering projects that meet quality standards is essential for client satisfaction and organizational reputation. Project managers must possess quality planning, quality control, and continuous improvement skills. They must establish quality assurance processes, conduct quality checks throughout the project lifecycle, and implement corrective actions if deviations occur. Project managers should also encourage a culture of continuous improvement to enhance project outcomes and customer satisfaction.

9. Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills

Project managers encounter various challenges and decisions throughout the project lifecycle. Problem-solving skills enable them to identify root causes, analyze data, and find effective solutions to overcome obstacles. In addition, they should use critical thinking and analytical skills to evaluate options and make informed decisions. Finally, data-driven decision-making ensures project managers consider relevant information, assess risks, and align decisions with project objectives.

10. Emotional Intelligence Skills

Emotional intelligence encompasses self-awareness, empathy, and managing emotions effectively. Project managers with high emotional intelligence can understand their own emotions and reactions, as well as those of team members and stakeholders. As a result, they can navigate conflicts, handle challenging situations tactfully, and maintain a positive project culture. In addition, emotional intelligence helps project managers build strong relationships, establish trust, and effectively communicate with team members and stakeholders.

Technical Skills of a Project Manager

Technical skills empower project managers to understand and navigate the intricacies of their projects, collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, and make informed decisions. Here are the key technical skills that project managers need to possess to thrive in their roles and deliver successful outcomes. 

11. Project Planning and Scheduling Skills

Project planning defines project objectives, identifies tasks and activities, determines dependencies, estimates resource requirements, and creates a schedule. To create a realistic project plan, a project manager needs expertise in project planning methodologies, such as Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Critical Path Method (CPM). 

12. Risk Management Skills

Resource management, as a technical skill of a project manager, involves effectively allocating and optimizing resources to ensure project success. This includes identifying the personnel with the required technical expertise, equipment, materials, and other resources needed to accomplish project objectives. The project manager must possess the ability to assess resource availability and capabilities, align them with project requirements, and efficiently distribute and schedule resources to maximize productivity and minimize bottlenecks.

13. Budgeting and Financial Management Skills

Project managers manage project budgets and ensure that projects are delivered within the allocated financial resources. They must possess financial management skills, including cost estimation, budget creation, tracking expenses, and conducting financial analysis. Proficiency in financial software or tools can assist in creating accurate budgets, tracking costs, and generating financial reports for stakeholders.

14. Quality Management Skills

Quality management ensures project deliverables meet quality standards and customer expectations. A project manager should be familiar with quality planning methodologies, such as creating quality checklists, defining quality metrics, and establishing quality control processes. They need to know quality assurance techniques, such as inspections, reviews, and audits, to monitor and validate the quality of project deliverables. 

15. Technical Domain Knowledge Skills

Depending on the nature of the project, project managers may need to possess technical domain knowledge relevant to the industry or field they are working in. This knowledge enables them to understand project requirements, communicate effectively with team members and stakeholders, and make informed decisions. 

Project managers can excel and drive successful project outcomes by developing and honing these hard and soft skills. These skills empower them to communicate effectively, plan strategically, manage risks, allocate resources efficiently, adapt to change, lead teams, manage stakeholders, ensure quality, solve problems, make informed decisions, and navigate complex project environments with project manager leadership skills and personal skills for project manager.

How Can I Develop Project Management Skills?

Developing project management skills requires a combination of learning, practice, and experience. Here are some effective ways to develop your project management skills:

• Education and Training: Enroll in formal project management courses or pursue certifications to learn the foundational principles and methodologies of project management, enhancing your knowledge and credibility
• Hands-on Experience: Gain practical experience by volunteering for projects or taking on small-scale initiatives, allowing you to apply project management skills in real-life scenarios and learn from hands-on challenges and successes
• Mentorship and Networking: Seek guidance from experienced project managers through mentorship programs, participate in professional networking events and communities, and continuously learn to expand your knowledge, gain insights, and stay updated with industry trends
• Professional Networking: Engage with project management communities, attend industry conferences, and participate in forums or networking events. Interacting with other professionals in the field will expose you to different perspectives, best practices, and emerging trends, ultimately expanding your knowledge and skills
• Continuous Learning: Stay updated with project management trends, methodologies, and tools. Read books, articles, and blogs on project management. Explore online courses or webinars to learn about new techniques and approaches. Actively seek opportunities for professional development to keep refining your skills
• Seek Feedback and Reflect: Regularly seek feedback from peers, team members, and stakeholders regarding your project management performance. Reflect on your projects' outcomes, identify improvement areas, and adapt your approach accordingly. Embrace a growth mindset and continuously strive to enhance your skills

Project management requires a diverse set of skills encompassing both hard and soft skills. While hard skills provide the technical foundation for effective project execution, soft skills are essential for successful leadership and team management. By developing these top 15 skills, project managers can excel and drive project success. 

Are you ready to elevate your project management skills to new heights? Look no further than Edstellar's comprehensive Project Management Training Programs . These trainings equip teams like you with the essential knowledge and expertise to successfully plan, execute, and deliver projects.

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10 Essential Project Management Skills

Updated: Jun 18, 2024, 8:53am

Some people naturally possess project management skills. You know who you are. The innate ability to keep things in order and keep people on task is valuable in a team environment, and you can actually make a living out of it. To formally turn those strengths into a career as a project manager, identify and hone these 10 essential project management skills.

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What Are Project Management Skills?

You need a variety of both hard and soft skills to be a successful project manager.

The soft skills are those you can develop through any education or work experience, and they help you shape the right temperament for project management. The hard skills are those you need to learn specifically for this role, and you can learn them through formal project management training or on the job as a project manager.

You’ll also need to learn common project management techniques and tools, which you can pick up through training or work experience. We didn’t include those in the list here (but they are in the FAQs below) because the exact techniques and tools you need depend on preferences in your industry, company and team, and you have a wide variety to choose from.

Hard Skills for Project Management

Aside from learning specific project management methods and tools, these are the hard skills you can gain from formal training or on-the-job experience in project management.

1. Risk Management

The process of making conscious decisions to maximize the upsides and minimize the downsides of actions in your business is known as risk management .

As a project manager, you have to be aware of a project’s potential for profit or loss and the decisions that could lead to either. Throughout the project, you should be attuned to the stakeholders’ measures of success and how each person’s decisions and actions could contribute to—or detract from—achieving those aims.

You should understand your company’s (or the department’s) risk tolerance—do they have a budget dedicated to experimentation, or does every project need to yield a profit? With that framework, you can mediate decisions about the project’s timeline, resources and goals.

2. Cost Management

You’ll either receive a budget for a project or be tasked with presenting a cost estimate for decision makers to approve. It’s your job throughout the project to stay aware of the costs and keep the project from going over budget.

Cost in project management is one part of what’s called the “triple constraint” or the “ project management triangle ”—the three boundaries of cost, time and scope that define the project.

Managing cost includes balancing that constraint with the other two. You have to stay within budget while keeping the timeline on track and fulfilling but not exceeding the scope.

3. Reading and Writing

Reading comprehension and clear writing are vital skills for project managers. Strong reading and writing skills are important for just about any job, and they play a particularly prominent role in project management.

You may be tasked with reading and interpreting technical documents or legal jargon with which you have no subject matter expertise. Then you need to turn that information into briefs everyone involved with the project can follow.

4. Planning and Forecasting

One of the key roles of the project manager is creating a roadmap for the project that’ll guide all other stakeholders in their roles. Understand that different scenarios will require different project management methodologies , and you should know how to determine which is the best option for each situation.

You should have a penchant for order and organization; a quiet love for clear, measurable goals; and an understanding of tools like Gantt and PERT charts and other visual representations of project timelines and milestones.

Forecasting involves providing a prediction of project outcomes—profitability, in particular—for managers and company leadership. You have to be comfortable with data analysis so you can interpret how past projects have performed and use the information to inform the future of the current project.

Soft Skills for Project Management

You can’t learn specific processes or practices for these project management skills, but these innate strengths are important to your success in a project management role.

5. Leadership

Though you don’t spearhead projects yourself in this role, your entire job is guiding others through a project. That requires management and leadership skills to feel comfortable doing things like facilitating meetings, holding participants accountable and enforcing constraints.

A project manager faces a particularly tough task in this role, because you have to be able to provide leadership for the project without being in a leadership or decision-making position.

6. Communication

Hand in hand with leadership is strong communication. You’re the point of contact for parties in a project who may have no other contact with each other, and you have to facilitate cohesive teamwork within that environment.

You should feel confident interpreting the needs of one group or department and explaining them to another.

You’ll likely also mediate conflicts among stakeholders and handle negotiations about time, cost and scope. You have to be able to understand everyone’s role and perspective while diplomatically communicating them across the project.

Project managers should be masters of written, verbal and visual communication. You’ll face instances of all three, and mastering them all lets you communicate effectively with a diverse group of project stakeholders.

7. Time Management

In addition to learning hard skills for planning, forecasting and scheduling projects, you should possess or develop a personal strength for time management.

Do you feel comfortable juggling multiple deadlines, constraints and stakeholder needs—or do you become overwhelmed when you’re faced with too many priorities at once?

Learning to calmly and consistently manage a complex timeline and help others stay on task is a vital skill for project management. So is the innate ability to foresee complications that could derail your timeline and suggest solutions to stay on track.

This is a soft skill you can learn, but project management is probably best suited for those who have a natural tendency toward organization and order.

8. Patience

Being at the center of multiple teams attempting to work together toward a common goal can be rewarding—and it can be frustrating.

You’re in charge of managing disparate expectations and objectives, all while mediating conflict,communicating needs and helping everyone around you work within the constraints you’re given for a project. All of these require serious patience.

You can’t help a project achieve success if you give into frustration when challenges arise or milestones aren’t met. You can’t facilitate communication and teamwork if you absorb the frustrations or resentments boiling among teams.

Your ability to remain a calm, neutral party is vital to your success as a project manager, as well as the success of a project and the success and satisfaction of the people working on it. Your patience through challenges can inspire persistence and diffuse conflicts, while your impatience or frustration could equally demoralize and exacerbate problems.

9. Adaptability

Tools and strategies for project management are constantly evolving toward better efficiency, teamwork and communication. You should enjoy and excel at learning new programs and methods quickly and encouraging others to get on board.

A measure of tech-savviness is important because much of your role is understanding and properly using project management software like Trello , as well as other tools for things such as analytics, document creation and sharing and communication.

Soft skills like adaptability and flexibility are equally important here, too. You have to exhibit a willingness to learn and adopt new technology and techniques before you can learn the hard skills to use them. A nimble mindset sets you up for success with anything new that’ll be thrown at you, regardless of your starting level of tech know-how.

Your mindset is also important for the success of the people you work with. You need their buy-in to keep communication clear and tasks on track, and you can only get that if you’re fully onboard with new tools and methods yourself.

10. Critical Thinking

Key for any management role, critical thinking will come into play daily in project management. You have to be able to make quick decisions within a set of constraints, foreseeing the potential implications for the future of a project.

Critical thinking in project management supports your ability to analyze the data and information you’re given to make decisions in the planning stage then carry that knowledge throughout the project as conditions change. It helps you make calls as needed to negotiate constraints and hold stakeholders accountable.

How To Develop Project Management Skills

You can hone your skills and knowledge through formal education,work experience or both.

PMP Certification

A common route in project management is to earn your Project Management Professional (PMP) certification , which is administered by the Project Management Institute (PMI).

The certification shows you have the soft skills, technical knowledge and understanding of business strategy necessary to succeed as a project manager, including specific experience or training with the most common project management methods: agile, waterfall and hybrid.

To prepare for the exam—and learn the necessary project management skills—you must gain work experience and project management training. The required number of hours for each depends on whether you have a four-year degree or not.

You can take PMP training through PMI or other online courses, which are focused on things like project management methods, the process, tools and more.

A certification validates your skill set for potential employers, so it could make you more attractive to companies and improve your pay. But a certification isn’t required to do the job, and it’s not a guarantee you’ll find work or success in the field.

Agile Certifications

If it’s your preference to use Agile methodologies for project management, you may want to consider getting certified. Much like the PMP, being able to say that you’ve completed the coursework for Agile certifications can help you complete projects more efficiently (not to mention earn you a higher salary).

Free Online Courses

You can learn project management skills through free online courses that may or may not contribute to required training hours for PMP certification, but they will teach you the hard and soft skills needed to do the job.

Find university-led courses on project management skills, tools and techniques through sites that offer mass open online courses (MOOCs), including Coursera and edX.

Work Experience

You can get started as a project manager without any formal training or courses. Your natural strengths might set you up for success in the role and make it easy for you to adopt the tools and techniques you need.

To gain skills on the job, pay attention to projects you’re involved with first. Keep an eye on the project manager’s day-to-day work, and ask them questions to understand what they do. Being attuned to the process can give you great insight into the skills you need to do the job.

Then, take advantage of any opportunities in your existing role to lead projects, manage people or organize any processes or events. The skills and experience you develop in this kind of work can transfer to success in a project manager role, even if it doesn’t follow formal project management processes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What does a project manager do on a daily basis.

A project manager’s job is to oversee the timeline, costs and scope of a project within a team or company. Day-to-day tasks vary and may include facilitating meetings, writing briefs and reports, analyzing data, communicating with stakeholders and advocating to leadership for project needs.

What’s the first thing a project manager should do on a project?

The five phases of project management include initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and closure. A project manager’s first step on a project is initiation: Define the project and determine whether it’s feasible for the company to undertake it. If the answer is yes, you create a project charter that outlines the needs, stakeholders and business case for the project.

What are the best project management tools?

Project management tools should facilitate communication, task management, planning and forecasting for projects. Some of the best project management software includes Wrike, Asana, Monday, Basecamp and Jira. Which is best for your project depends on the industry and the project’s needs.

What are the top project management techniques?

The top project management techniques are the traditional waterfall, also known as predictive or linear project management; agile or adaptive; and hybrid, which combines the two. Common tools and techniques you can use within each method include work breakdown structure (WBS) , Gantt charts , critical path method (CPM), Kanban and scrum .

What should every project manager know?

Project managers should be familiar with the common project management methods and tools, including agile and waterfall. You should also have necessary soft skills needed for leadership, communication, time management, adaptation and critical thinking on projects.

What are the qualifications of a project manager?

Some companies require a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, which requires a four-year degree, 36 months leading projects and 35 hours of training; or a high school diploma, 60 months leading projects and 35 hours of training. You can be a project manager without the certification, however, as long as you master the hard and soft skills mentioned above.

How do I become a project manager with no experience?

You can become a project manager with no experience or education simply by gaining experience and knowledge in areas such as time management, task management and leadership. Hone the soft skills listed above, and look for free online training to learn the hard skills and project management methods and tools. You can also get formal training and qualify to take an exam to earn a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) credential without project management work experience.

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Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance® who's been writing about money management and small business operations for more than a decade. She writes the newsletter Healthy Rich about how capitalism impacts the ways we think, teach and talk about money. She's the author of YOU DON'T NEED A BUDGET (Little, Brown Spark, 2024).

Adam Hardy is a former assistant editor at Forbes Advisor, where he covered small business and tech. Previously, he was a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder, specializing in the gig economy and entrepreneurship. His work has appeared in the Asia Times, Business Insider, Creative Loafing, the Tampa Bay Times, Yahoo! Finance and other publications.

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What makes a great project manager? The 10 most crucial project management skills for 2019 (and how to develop them)

Your team will be looking to you to set the direction of the project and guide them as they work. And in order to do that, you need to be confident in your decision-making process.

How to make smarter decisions

There’s not enough space here to dive deep into the complex world of decision making. But as a project manager, you need to be keenly aware of the issues and biases that creep into your decision-making process and how to work around them.

Look out for things like:

• Decision fatigue: This is when the more decisions you need to make during the day, the worse you become at weighing all the options and making an educated, research-backed choice. Instead, be aware when you’re becoming fatigued and put off important decisions until you’re in a better headspace.
• Analysis paralysis: This is when you become paralyzed by the choice and potential options to take. Instead, try to limit the options you allow into your mind at any time.
• Confirmation bias: This is when you’re more likely to believe information that confirms opinions or beliefs you already have. Instead, ask yourself if you’re being truly objective in your choices or simply following a train of thought you already had.
• The IKEA effect: This is when you give more value to ideas or things you’ve personally worked on. Instead, take time to assess whether your personal attachment to a project is clouding your judgment.
• Availability heuristic: This is when you believe that something must be important just because you can recall it easily. Instead, force yourself to think beyond the surface and look for alternatives that aren’t readily available.

9. Quality management

You’re not just responsible for hitting the finish line with your project, but also doing so in the best way possible. Quality management is a skill that often gets overlooked for project managers who are too focused on just getting through each day.

Instead, you need to be able to periodically bring your head above water and look at the bigger picture. Are you still on track to hit the goals and expectations of this project? Your schedule might be your guiding light. But no one will care that you stuck to it if the results are second-rate.

How to manage your team’s quality vs. quantity of work

One of the things that set great project managers apart from good ones is their ability to know what “success” means. Knowing what to measure isn’t just about looking back at the end of the project and saying you hit your goals. It’s also about knowing what to measure during the project to make sure you’re on track to hit them.

Agreeing on quality thresholds or metrics at the start means you’ll be avoiding some nasty surprises later on. At a minimum, you should make sure to:

• Set aside time for code reviews and other moments for feedback along the way
• Get feedback and input on what “quality” looks like from all teams and stakeholders

10. Critical thinking

Lastly, as a project manager, you need to learn to quiet your knee-jerk reactions and think critically about your choices. While it’s totally fine to be in auto-pilot some of the time, you can’t rely on it to get through a project.

Thinking critically simply means being objective when you analyze or evaluate an issue. Instead of relying on emotions or received knowledge, you’re letting yourself be impartial. In the end, the best decision is what’s best for the project. And thinking critically helps keep you on that path.

How to shift from surface-level thoughts to critical thinking

Even if you think you’ve mastered all of the above project management skills, there are still opportunities to expand how you think. This comes down to a number of factors.

First, you need to have a level of subject matter expertise. In order to lead, you need to understand the tools and techniques available to you. While it’s easy to rest on your laurels after a couple of successful projects, the best project managers are continually looking for ways to better themselves.

Next, you need to make time to continually reflect on and learn from your past experiences. Great project managers don’t just react. They take time to be objective, reflect on past experiences, and apply their best judgment to each situation.

Lastly, you need to maintain an openness to new ideas, processes, and the truth that you might, in fact, be wrong . Thinking critically means accepting that project management is something you’ll never truly “master.” As Mark Twain famously wrote:

It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.

Don’t discount the soft skills of project management

It’s easy to get hung up on the “hard” project management skills. But that’s usually just because they’re easier to learn. A process or workflow is mostly straightforward and set in stone. And while mastering them is an important part of your job, it’s not even close to your only responsibility.

In the end, what separates the “great” from the “good” project manager is the ability to master the people you work with by learning how to communicate, support, and empower them to do their best work every single day.

More articles about Project Management:

Project Leader vs. Project Manager: The 7 Essential Project Leadership Skills

7 Steps to Deal With Scope Creep (What is Scope Creep and How Can You Avoid It?)

5 Ways to Give (And Receive) Negative Feedback

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Top 30 Project Management Skills: Soft and Hard Skills Included

Project management positions such as project manager, program manager and project portfolio manager aren’t easy. These roles require a variety of project management skills that are needed to guide project teams throughout the initiation, planning, executing , controlling, and closing of a project.

Project managers are responsible for planning projects, assembling a project team, and managing project tasks, time and costs. To do so, the best project managers use robust project management tools to keep all aspects of their projects organized.

Still, even with robust project management software, that’s a lot to ask of any individual, but project managers have a variety of project management skills to get the job done. But before we continue, what are project management skills?

What Are Project Management Skills?

As stated above, project managers need to plan and control many areas of a project. To do so requires a set of project management skills that consists of personality traits, soft skills and technical or hard skills.

Project Management Hard Skills

Hard skills, also known as technical skills are those project management skills that can be learned through education or training. In project management, hard skills are the most important because they’re the project management techniques that allow project managers to do their job. They’re also known as the technical skills or project management know-how that’s needed to plan, schedule and manage projects.

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Project Management Soft Skills

Soft skills aren’t taught anywhere and are developed naturally by individuals. However, some of these can be improved through practice. Soft skills are all those which aren’t learned through formal education or training. Some of these are part of someone’s personality or are developed through the years.

Personality Traits of a Project Manager

As noted, these aren’t exactly skills but personality traits that benefit project managers and their teams. Some personality traits that serve project managers include being responsible and delivering on their commitments. They need to be proactive, problem solvers and, of course, be leaders . A project manager should also be open to feedback and even criticism, flexible, but decisive when they need to be.

30 Project Management Skills Every Project Manager Should Have

Below we’ve collected the top 30 personality traits, soft and hard skills every project manager should have. Realistically, there are certainly more than 30 project management skills to learn if you want to be a project manager, program manager or project portfolio manager, but if you have these, you have the foundation on which to build a successful career in project management .

These project management skills can be useful for several purposes. You can include them in your project manager resume and cover letter, and you can use them to prepare for your project manager interview . Or, you could simply study them to learn about technical skills to improve as a leader and project manager. First, let’s start with project management hard skills.

1. Knowledge of Project Management Methodologies

A project manager needs to know about the different project management methodologies that exist. That doesn’t mean that you need to be an expert in all of them, as they’re usually industry-specific and require certification. Here are some of the most common project management methodologies .

If you want to learn more about these and other approaches, check out our project management methodologies blog.

Pro tip: As a project manager, you should be familiar with the project management knowledge areas and project management process groups  defined by the project management institute (PMI).

2. Proficient With Project Management Software

Having a working knowledge of project management software is a must-have technical skill for project managers in today’s world. There are many project management software alternatives available in the market, so you’ll need to determine which project management tools and features are best for you and your team’s workflow.

3. Project Planning

Project planning is a necessary project management skill because a project plan is the foundation of the project management cycle. It includes the project schedule, resources and costs. Traditional project management is all about planning ahead. Therefore, the planning stage of any project lays the foundation for everything that follows, including the success or failure of the project.

4. Project Scheduling

The project scheduling process is a vital part when writing your project plan. A project schedule organizes tasks, teams and time to complete a project. When people think about project management skills, they’re probably thinking about project scheduling, deadlines and deliverables. But project scheduling is more than that, as it also involves resource management and risk management.

There are many tools that can help with this process, chief among them a Gantt chart , which provides a visual of the schedule with tasks, durations of those tasks, dependencies, and milestones.

5. Project Scoping

Project scope is the documentation of the project’s goals, deliverables, tasks, costs and deadlines. This document is called a project scope statement and is sometimes referred to as the terms of reference. The purpose of project scoping is to set boundaries for the project, define the roles and responsibilities of the project team and determine the procedures that’ll be employed to execute, test and approve the work of the project.

6. Project Forecasting

Project forecasting is the process of trying to figure out potential outcomes in a project. It’s guesswork to an extent but guided by historical data and other research that can help with accuracy. The purpose of project forecasting is to reduce risk , which in turn will increase the probability of success. The process allows project managers to zero in on areas of the project that could be improved to avoid going over schedule, cost overruns and lacking resources when needed.

7. Project Tracking

Project tracking is used to measure progress in terms of the activities involved in a project. It monitors the project to determine if it’s meeting the schedule and, if not, identifies issues that are causing delays and resolves them. This process is important and begins early in the project. Both progress and performance are tracked in order to stay on schedule and uncover bottlenecks and other issues that are preventing the timely delivery of the project within its budget.

8. Project Reporting

Project reporting is the process of gathering data in an easily understandable format to make sure the project is meeting its goals. Project reports are also valuable tools in presenting information to stakeholders to keep them informed on the progress of the project. It’s a key tool for project managers in making sure the project is successfully delivered.

9. Project Budgeting

The project budget is the fuel that drives the project. Project management is all concepts and no action without a project budget. But having a project budget is one side of the project budgeting coin. There’s also budget management, which means tracking costs throughout the life cycle of the project and making sure your actual costs don’t exceed your planned budget.

10. Team Management

Project management is about teamwork, so project managers must have people skills to keep their teams working productively . That means understanding conflict management to keep everyone working together and morale high. It’s always helpful to start projects with team-building activities to help create relationships that will endure the thick and thin of a project.

11. Workload Management

Project managers are also responsible for workload management, which is the process of forecasting, planning, scheduling and monitoring the workload of an individual, team or organization. The goal is to balance workload evenly across your team to have them work at capacity and be more productive. It’s a discipline that involves project management, resource scheduling, capacity planning and much more.

12. Time Management

Time is one of the triple constraints and one of the most important technical skills. Not having time management skills can lead to delays and worse. Project management is about meeting deadlines and getting your deliverables out on time. Project managers have to be experts in managing their time, their team’s time and the overall time of the project.

13. Risk Management

Planning a project, big or small, is inherent with risk. Before executing the project, you have to create a risk management plan to identify, assess, and control risk. The more you can manage risk, the more likely your project is going to succeed.

14. Cost Management

Projects cost money. Estimating project costs and creating a budget is part of the planning stage of project management. Once you have a project budget, you have to use budget management to ensure that you control your costs through the execution stage.

15. Task Management

Tasks are little jobs that make up the execution phase of project management. They need to be created, organized, assigned to team members and tracked to make sure they meet the project constraints. This is done with task management . Project management software helps you manage tasks and fosters collaboration among your project team.

16. Leadership Skills

Some say that leadership is a personality trait or a soft skill that can’t be taught. While some project managers have better people skills than others, we think everyone has the potential to learn how to apply proven leadership skills and techniques.

As a project manager, you’re responsible not only for project success but also need to be a leader that applies leadership skills to guide and motivate team members to achieve their goals.

17. Communication Skills

Communication skills go hand-in-glove with leadership. You can’t be an effective project manager if you’re unable to articulate what it is you need your project team to do. But you’re not only going to be communicating with your team, you’ll need to have a clear communication plan for your customers, stakeholders and contractors.

18. Negotiation Skills

Being a strong negotiator is one of many communication skills, but it deserves its own space. In project management, negotiation is an important skill for conflict resolution and stakeholder management . For example, you’ll likely get demands from stakeholders that can impact the project scope. You’ll have to give them pushback, but diplomatically, so all project stakeholders feel they’re getting what they want.

19. Organizational Skills

The term organizational skills refer to the ability of an individual to manage time and tasks efficiently. As the name implies, organizational skills allow someone to work in an organized and efficient manner.

20. Interpersonal Skills

Teams are made of people and people have personalities. There are many different types of team members and they all have to get along. Having interpersonal skills brings the best out of your project team and helps with conflict resolution.

21. Problem-Solving Skills

Projects are problems, so having the skills to solve those problems means that your project is more likely to deliver success. Think of problems as puzzles that you have to figure out. There are many problem-solving tools out there to help you along the way.

Finally, let’s explore some personal qualities or personality traits that are important when pursuing a career in project management.

22. Adaptability

Change is a constant in project management. Being flexible is what keeps a project viable. If you’re not willing to adapt then the project will suffer. Of course, you have to have the wisdom to know when adaptability serves the project and when you have to bite the bullet and push through.

23. Decision-Making Skills

There are always decisions that must be made, often quickly, when managing a project. Project managers must process the situation and come to a decision that will positively impact the outcome of the project. This skill involves being able to properly evaluate whatever options are available, assessing the risks and benefits of those options and choosing the best course of action.

24. Attention to Detail

Projects are made up of tasks that must be completed on time and within budget. This requires a keen eye for detail. Project managers must pay close attention to detail, not only on the task but all the areas that are involved with that task. Being able to focus on those details, no matter how small, is key to project management.

25. Critical Thinking

Too many people understand the basics of project management but can’t think outside of the box. Critical thinking is all about not accepting everything you hear but taking the time to understand the issue and do the research that leads to an informed decision. A critical thinker is more likely to clear the hurdles that every project has to go through.

26. A Sense of Humor

Having a sense of humor is an essential project management skill, even if it’s a soft skill in project management. Humor relieves stress for you and your team, and only when tensions are lifted can smarter actions and ideas show themselves. Project team-building activities are a great example of how humor can be used by project managers.

27. Patience

Nothing is solved by rushing through a project or getting frustrated when things don’t go well. Projects need to be thoroughly planned in order to run smoothly, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be issues. Whether the issue is a change request or stakeholders having unrealistic expectations, if you don’t have patience, everything will be exponentially worse.

28. Personal Appearance

While it might not seem important, especially as the workforce embraces a more casual attire, a professional appearance is still a valuable asset for project managers. Presentation is important. It communicates responsibility, leadership and gives both stakeholders and team members a sense that they’re in good hands.

29. Delegation

Projects are complicated and involve the coordination of many people, places and things. One person can’t do it all by themselves. That’s why delegating is so important. A project manager must know what tasks can be delegated and to whom on the team in order to keep the work moving forward and distributed among everyone appropriately.

30. Collaboration

Collaboration in terms of project management is no different than the general definition: it’s a group of people working together towards a common goal. Specifically, for a project manager, that’s getting your project team , with its various project skills and experiences, to work better together. This is a discipline that extends across all projects and methodologies.

How to Develop Your Project Management Skills

As you can tell, the skills of a project manager are myriad. A project manager might have some of the hard and soft skills already, while others need to learn them. But everyone can improve their project management skills. Here are some ways to develop and improve your project management skills.

Project Management Certifications & Training Programs

There are many project management certifications  and with good reason. Certification in any field is like a stamp of approval. It shows that you have learned and have passed a test on certain skills. Project management certification makes you a more valuable asset and is something employers will be looking for on job applicants’ resumes.

Hands-On Project Management Experience

There’s the old debate about which is better, book learning or real-life experience. The truth is that this isn’t an either/or answer. Both are important. You can learn on the job or in the classroom, but a combination of both is always more valuable. Being able to volunteer or work on any project in any capacity will provide you with experience that’ll make you a more effective project manager.

Project Management Events

Networking is one tool that professionals use to increase their position and knowledge. There are many project management events throughout the year and across the globe, such as those produced by the Project Management Institute (PMI), which offer networking opportunities and educational classes and exhibit new tools of the trade.

Use Project Management Software

Certification, hands-on experience and attending project management events are all going to help you become a better project manager. Project management software is going to help you apply that knowledge and be a more effective project manager. Project management tools help you plan, manage and track projects, manage teams and their tasks, risk and resources.

ProjectManager Puts Project Management Skills to Use

Now that you know what skills you need to be a successful project manager, it’s time to equip yourself with the right project management tools. ProjectManager has a suite of powerful tools that can improve the workflow of any project manager. Here are some of our main features.

Multiple Project Management Views

Project managers are going to use our robust Gantt charts , which can help them plan and schedule their tasks on a timeline. It also links all four types of task dependencies, which helps avoid costly delays, filters for the critical path, to identify critical tasks, and can set a baseline to track progress in real time. But teams don’t need all the features of a Gantt chart, which is why Gantt chart plans can be viewed on task lists, kanban boards and calendars to allow teams to work how they want. All the data across project views are shared in real time so everyone is always working on the same page.

Real-Time Project Dashboards

Monitoring projects is one of a project manager’s main responsibilities. Our real-time project dashboard makes that easy. It automatically collects live project data and displays it on easy-to-read graphs and charts. Project managers get a high-level view of time, cost, workload and much more to keep track of project performance and catch issues quickly. Best of all, there’s no time-consuming configuration necessary as with lightweight project management software. Just toggle over to the dashboard and it’s already working for you.

Project Timesheets & Reports

Our software also features secure timesheets that automate much of the process and streamline payroll. They’re also a tool to measure what percentage of your team’s tasks are complete. For more information, you can use our reporting tools. Each report is customizable so you can filter the results to show only what you’re interested in. There are reports on project status, portfolio status, variance and much more. Our reports can be shared in a variety of formats to keep your stakeholders updated.

Related Project Management Content

ProjectManager isn’t only powerful project management software that empowers teams to plan, manage and track projects in real time and our website is a hub for online project management information. We publish weekly blogs, guides and videos and offer dozens of free project management templates for Excel and Word that you can download right now. Here’s a small sample of our project management-related content.

• Ultimate Guide to Project Management
• Project Manager Resume
• Project Manager Interview Questions
• Project Manager Job Description

You can have all the soft and technical skills in the world, but without project management software you’ll still be working at a disadvantage. Luckily, there are tools that enhance your skill set and make you even more efficient and productive. ProjectManager has features to help schedule, manage tasks and budget your project, as well as being online so it’s great for team collaboration. You’ll have to bring the sense of humor, but we’ve got the rest. Try it for yourself by taking this free 30-day trial.  

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