Unit 5: People Skills for Successful Project Management

5a. Identify methods to be effective when working with individuals and in groups

  • What role does emotional intelligence have in a project manager’s ability to lead a project team?
  • How does understanding personality profiles help the project manager when working in teams?
  • How does the diversity of team members impact the problem-solving ability of the team?

An effective project manager knows how to work with individuals and groups in many different situations. An important quality to consider as a project manager is the level of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to sense, understand, and apply emotion in a variety of situations. The elements of emotional intelligence include self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and relationship management.

Understanding personality types, such as DISC and Myers-Briggs Type Indicators, can help project managers better understand others and themselves, which leads to better teamwork. When we consider managing teams with different personalities and strengths, we should consider using team-building tactics and implementing strong leadership skills to complete a successful project.

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5b. Identify necessary communication skills in project management

  • What are the different tools that can be used to communicate information about a project?
  • What are the differences between synchronous and asynchronous communication?
  • What are some situations where synchronous communication is best?

Communication is key to a successful project. Synchronous communication is a type of communication where all parties in the communication are taking part at the same time. For example, video meetings, face-to-face meetings, or phone calls. This type of communication is usually best when a decision needs to be made, or when the project manager expects emotions to be high about a certain issue. Asynchronous communication is one where the parties are not all involved at the same time, which can include emails and text messages. This method is best for informational purposes, or to answer quick questions. Choosing the right types of communication for a variety of situations as a project manager is important.

There are many communication methods project managers may use, many involving technology. For example, the use of word processing software, spreadsheets, diagramming software, and a variety of project management software may be used to communicate during the project phases.

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5c. Explain methods for resolving conflict

  • What are the different types of conflict that can occur on a project?
  • Why are different methods used for resolving conflict in different situations?
  • What is political behavior, and how can it impact a project?

Conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values, and/or interests between people working together. Conflict in teams takes many forms and can be minor, causing only brief disruption, or major, threatening the team's ability to function and attain its goals. Conflict in project management is important to manage because serious conflicts that are left unresolved can impact the triple constraint. Substantive conflict is a type of conflict that can arise about performance, different views of how to approach a task, or different ideas about the quality of a project. Affective conflict is interpersonal related, such as conflict resulting from different personalities. Conflict that is talked through and resolved can create a better product or service, and while we may often think of conflict as bad, conflict can be positive and constructive. There are many methods that can be implemented to resolve conflict in teams, and the best approach depends on the situation and what you, as the project manager, hope to accomplish.

Politics often occurs on projects. Politics (in this, the business and project management context) refers to the struggle to acquire power. Political behavior in organizations and on projects is not always negative, but something the project manager should be aware of.

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Unit 5 Vocabulary

This vocabulary list includes terms you will need to know to successfully complete the final exam.

  • affective conflict
  • asynchronous communication
  • conflict
  • emotional intelligence
  • politics
  • substantive conflict
  • synchronous communication
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