Muhamad Thasveer Arafath Mar 19, 2024
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Entrance Tips

Fundamental Project Management Skills You Need to Master in 2024

Managing projects is a challenging and arduous task. It involves instructing people on what to do. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. As a project manager, you are responsible for leading the project from the early stages to planning, completion, and delivery.

The use of technology is rapidly expanding in businesses (artificial intelligence, machine learning). New management methods such as Agile (usually related to software development) are being adopted in other business areas, and the trend of remote team members is also increasing. That is why the skills you need as a project manager to complete work are expanding day by day. 

PMP certification provides you with additional portable knowledge, techniques, tools, and skills to successfully manage or deliver programs and projects. But the Benefits of Project Management Certification are more than you can expect. And also there are several reasons to choose a career in Project Management.PMP careers are always in great demand and have the most rewarding careers.

Top Project Management Skills

We will uncover the essential skills you must have as a project manager in today's rapidly changing world and explain why they are crucial. Check out the Top project management skills enlisted below;

  • Digital and Computer Savvy
  • Negotiation Skills
  • Time management Skills
  • Leadership Skills
  • Risk Management Skills

Digital and Computer Savvy

Today it is crucial that the project manager knows how to handle computers. The project manager must know how to write business plans, make budgets, and give presentations. Thus, you must have literacy in MS Office, Powerpoint to make presentations, MS word for writing, and excel in making spreadsheets to deal with data. In addition to soft skills, you also need to master project management tools. From shared online calendars to visual resource planning software, project managers need to understand how to use these tools.

You may not require practical knowledge of website programming and maintenance. However, understanding the basics of digitalization is always helpful. It includes the technical skills of project management, such as a general understanding of web design and search engine optimization. You should be aware of mobile applications and video conferencing, essential in this Pandemic. You need to be mindful of the 2021 PMP Exam Changes.

Negotiation Skills

Most of the project manager's jobs are related to negotiation: deadlines, budget, resources, requirements, project scope. Project managers often face conflicts of interest and compete for resources. The talks here also deal with various conflicts that may occur.

To complete the task, the project manager needs to reach a compromise that satisfies everyone. They need to identify and understand the interests of stakeholders and customers to establish a mutually beneficial situation. This is an essential skill that you must have as a project manager.

Time management Skills

Project management needs to be done on time, so good time management skills are required. Project managers need to manage their own and their team's time. To increase productivity, efficiency and reduce wasted time, you must understand how much time you have to spend on a specific task. One of your main tasks as a project manager is to create a project schedule to do everything on time. In project management training, time management is one of the skills you will develop. 

Leadership Skills

If there is a skill that can completely describe the role of a project manager, it is leadership. A good leader can ignite the team’s creativity and bring much-needed balance to the team. The project manager controls the people around and leads the team. You establish a vision, set goals, and motivate team members to achieve these goals. It is your job to make everything run smoothly. Ensure conflicts are quickly resolved, any requests or questions are addressed, team performance is continuously monitored and evaluated, and timely feedback is provided. 

Risk Management Skills

Another vital project management skill is identifying risks before starting a project and minimizing them as much as possible. Doing a risk assessment highlights potential risk events, allows you to assess the risk of the event and its impact, and provides the opportunity to plan how to manage the event before happening.

Good risk management comes with experience. One or two failed projects are usually what a project manager needs to start taking risk management seriously. Rethink your approach and take it as a lesson and an opportunity to learn, not to repeat the mistakes in the next project.

Do you need to know More about Why project management is important? 

Conclusion

The difference between a struggling and a successful project manager is always their skills. No matter how strict the odds are, those with the right skills will always find a way to get the desired result. Remember, even if you are a project manager, learning and improving skills will continue to grow in your career. In addition to improving skills, it is essential to use a well-developed project management application because it helps in team management, communication, reporting, and project monitoring. Using competent project management tools can have a significant impact on project managers.

Project Management Consultant and Trainer

Muhamad Thasveer Arafath is an engineer with a post-graduation MBA who possesses 20+ years of industry work experience in Project Management. To name a few of his area expertise, he has worked in various multi-million construction/development projects and programs in the UAE concerning project planning, project controls, project advisory/valuations, as a project lead, etc. 

Muhamad is currently a project management consultant and trainer specializing in Project Management Institute (PMI) certifications. He has now completed training for  65+  batches for various PMI certifications, holding an excellent passing rate among his training participants. 

He holds eight certifications from PMI and is an Award winner from the PMI UAE Chapter in 2019/2020 for being the member with the highest number of PMI certifications in UAE. He is certified from PMI in PfMP, PgMP, PMP, RMP, SP, SP, PBA and CAPM. He is also a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Valuers (FIIV).

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Education