PM Skills: Leadership - Technical and Strategic/Business Management

PMI's Talent Triangle illustrates the knowledge sets of the new generation of Project Managers

The ideal skill set of the PMP Project Manager is: the combination of technical knowledge in project management, leadership, and strategic and business management skills. This is how PMI explains the Talent Triangle:

While technical skills are fundamental to project and program management, PMI research tells us that they are not enough in today's increasingly complex and competitive global marketplace.

Companies look for additional leadership and business intelligence skills - competencies that can support longer-range strategic objectives that contribute to the bottom line.

Without a doubt, the Project Manager will be the point of reference during each stage of the project. He will coordinate all the areas during the development of the project, to the members of the project team, and will present the results of the project to his sponsor, to the directors of the companies for which he works and, if necessary, also to the clients.

In other words: it is necessary to know how to "sell" the project. For this reason, the professional in Project Management must have the ability to present a project in such a way that those involved can see the benefits they will obtain by implementing the project. To the extent that they are enthusiastic about the project, they will be able to decide whether or not to implement it.

Source: https://www.pmi.org/learning/training-development/talent-triangle

Organizations that best take on complexity evaluate and develop talent with a focus on fostering leadership skills.

The Project Manager must be able to negotiate and adapt to possible changes and challenges along the way. At the same time he must be able to maintain the vision in the expected result, communicating effectively to each stakeholder so that, despite the difficulties, morale does not falter and continues working until the goal is achieved.

This is why it is extremely important that the PMP is concerned and prepares in the area of leadership, because without the ability to lead the different teams, the technical knowledge will not be sufficient to achieve the objectives in time and form.

Other important aspects have to do with influence, decision making regarding the project, the culture and political wisdom of the organization, negotiation capacity, conflict management, negotiation and COMMUNICATION.

A Project Manager will become a Project Leader, towards his team, to keep them motivated and ensure performance; towards the organization, which must understand the benefits that the project will bring to its whole; and a leader to achieve customer satisfaction of the project.

Developing your career as a Project Manager is fascinating, but it requires a great commitment to oneself in order to be always updated and in constant growth, since each project is different and brings with it new challenges.

So if you like challenges, are not afraid of constant change, and also like to learn something new both about yourself, as about new tools, methodologies, processes, etc., then, certify yourself as Project Management Professional, PMP is something you will enjoy.

Strategic and Business Vision

Managing the three traditional constraints, scope, time and cost, is no longer enough. The role of the Project Manager requires a more strategic perspective to secure factors that affect the project such as its funding, benefit to the organization, customer satisfaction or work climate in the project team, among others related to the organization as a whole.

In addition to having the support of the management, the Project Manager is part of the strategic decisions at the highest level, so that an effective communication is established with all the groups of parties involved and an alignment with the company's strategy.

Each project is approved in the hope of achieving an objective at the end of the project. This objective can be divided into two main parts: one will be the purpose of the project itself, i.e., the "what is the implementation of the project going to be used for", the benefits that the organization will obtain once the project is operational or delivered; and the second will be the strategic objective on which the project will impact.

For this reason the ability to understand these strategic objectives of the organization and transform them into economic benefit for those involved, without neglecting the quality of the project / final product is of paramount importance. The professional in Project Management must be able to have the vision of the business and align each of the activities of the project to the needs of the contracting business or client. Only when this alignment is achieved and the results obtained are as expected, it can be considered that a project has been a success.