Essential Skills During the Project Planning Phase of a Project

ESSENTIAL SKILLS DURING THE PROJECT PLANNING PHASE OF A PROJECT

Contents

Introduction        3

Interpersonal, Communication, and Leadership Skills in Project Management        3

Conclusion        4

References        5

Introduction

This paper analyzes the essential skills required during the planning phase of a project. These are the pillars of a whole project. In the planning phase, interpersonal, communication and leadership skills are essential. Consequently, it plays a vital role in team and relationship building and conflict management.

The second phase is the project management. Project management, often described in the context of leadership, was ubiquitous in the past as the medium by which changes in societies occurred (Cleland & Gareis, 2006). Hence, we’ll analyze the importance of interpersonal including communication, and leadership skills in project management.

Interpersonal, Communication, and Leadership Skills in Project Management

Project management is a “high tech” skill that requires refined skills for effective delivery of projects. Interpersonal helps to understand the intentions of other people. Bar-On (2004) explained empathy is the ability to be aware of, to understand, and to appreciate the feelings of others. Interpersonal sensitive people are able to accept others and use their talents for good. Communication is the other area where specialization is required. The project managers spend their major time communicating with their team. No matter what form they take, communications contain and evoke emotions (Mersino, 2007). Leadership also plays a vital role. Leadership is intrinsically an emotional process whereby leaders recognize followers’ emotional states, attempt to evoke emotions in followers, and then seek to manage followers’ emotional states accordingly (Humphrey, 2002). Many projects fail due to lack of leadership skill. The development of interpersonal and leadership skills is essential to the success of project management (Avison & Fitzgerald, 2003). Consequently, the company requires refining these skills.

Many organizations achieve their objectives through projects. PMI (2004), defined project management as “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements”. Therefore, the company has to utilize these skills for delivering an effective project.

Conclusion

After analyzing, it’s clear that all these skills are important in project management. These skills are crucial in order to avoid conflicts that can destroy the teams. Therefore, effective team building, relationship building, and conflict management are required.