5 soft skills for every project manager

By: The Capella University Editorial Team 

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Great project management takes more than technical know-how. It also takes soft skills, the kind that help project managers communicate with stakeholders, handle conflict, delegate work and keep priorities and deadlines clear.

Here are five soft skills you can apply to be more effective in your role, whatever your title.

1. Leadership

Leadership shows up in the everyday decisions a project manager makes: setting priorities, guiding the team and keeping everyone focused on the shared goal. That means clarifying responsibilities, solving problems as they come up and helping team members finish their work on time.

Demonstrate this skill by:

• Taking charge and staying focused in a crisis
• Listening to other team members or leaders for their ideas
• Giving feedback to your team and encouraging growth

2. Communication

Sponsors, team members, customers and other stakeholders all need to stay aligned – that starts with clear communication from the project manager. PMs interpret project goals and issues, explain the intended result and share status reports and presentations so stakeholders can make informed decisions.

Demonstrate this skill by:

• Presenting clear ideas, goals and status updates to all project stakeholders
• Tailoring your messages and choosing communication channels to suit each audience
• Recognizing and working through any communication obstacles, such as lack of attention or misunderstood messages

3. Team building

No project team runs on its own. People with different responsibilities have to coordinate their work to meet shared deadlines and deliverables. A project manager builds that alignment by setting clear objectives, addressing conflict early and creating opportunities for the team to work together.

Demonstrate this skill by:

• Ensuring that coworkers understand and can articulate team objectives
• Pulling the team together for relationship-building exercises and activities
• Working with individuals and groups to help resolve conflicts effectively

4. Facilitate and delegate

Delegation only works when it’s paired with accountability. Effective project managers match tasks to each team member’s skills and availability. They stay accountable for the outcome, no matter who does the work. That clear ownership frees the project manager to focus on priorities, risks and stakeholder needs, while the team handles the defined work.

Demonstrate this skill by:

• Matching tasks to team members’ skills and available capacity
• Assigning a clear owner, expected outcome and deadline for each task
• Sharing the information, resources and decision authority needed to complete the work
• Checking progress at agreed points and addressing blockers before they affect the schedule

5. Organization

A plan is only as good as the schedule behind it. Organizational skills turn project plans into workable schedules, priorities and deadlines, while coordinating the people and resources needed to get the work done. That means planning, time management and attention to detail.

Demonstrate this skill by:

• Creating schedules for specific tasks
• Coordinating internal and external resources to improve efficiency
• Consistently meeting deadlines and exercising the ability to prioritize and delegate tasks

Develop business, technical and soft skills with a business degree that focuses on project management. Capella University offers online bachelor’s and MBA programs with a project management specialization.