ICPM

A key success factor for excellent project management often relies also upon the people skills of the project manager.

In order to minimize risk and ensure a successful project, project managers must not only deal with the technical project management aspects, but asses leadership skills, cultivate a motivated team, master negotiation tactics to effectively handle conflict situations and communicate effectively. Projects success can be jeopardized by things such as personal agendas, politics, poor communication and team conflicts.

And if you succeed, no matter how "good" you are,  you will never get the credit, if can’t communicate well with colleagues or clients.

We’ve beaten Mr. Genius, Ms. Bellows, Mr. Promise and Mrs. Process.  But what chance do we have against Ms. Meetings?  She is very sweet.  As a matter of fact, she brings donuts to all of her meetings.  And she certainly has a lot of them.  Any time there is a question she calls a meeting.  She has regularly scheduled Status Meetings, Team Meetings, Progress Meetings and Recap meetings.  During testing there is a meeting at 7:00 AM to determine the daily schedule, a meeting at noon to check on status and one at 6:00 PM to review results.  Then every hour on the hour she meets with the individual areas to make sure progress is being made.  She even had a couple of meeting to determine why productivity was so low.

The feature story in the March 2007 edition of PM Network, titled "Bridging the Gap", is a look at some of the differences in style and communication that newer professionals and project managers have compared to veterans. I enjoyed the article and found some points to agree with and some in conflict with my personal experiences.

In the article there is a quote from Dave Davis, PMP, asserting that "the younger generation doesn't grasp the value of face time and the importance of building a team identity...They avoid social time and group meetings and end up identifying more with the tasks than the team."

When I first thought of setting the PMP exam, I had one main objective in mind. To widen my horizon and gain the necessary skills to deliver projects.

Many of my colleagues, not all, were basically aiming for a certificate. This in my view is not sufficient to demonstrate one's ability in project management.

It is very important that we consider the PMP as a step forward, and not an end in itself. For indeed with the skills proven by the attainment of such a reputable certification, one can improve project performance by applying the principles of project management on the ground.