The technical and analytical skills of a Project Manager (PM) are essential to the successful planning and execution of a project to meet the company’s business and project objectives, but mastering the soft skills is what sets one PM apart from another in the capital project environment.
A fundamental aspect of a PM’s job is to manage people, but not all individuals can be managed the same way. Understanding what motivates each team member will yield the best results and have the biggest impact on the progress of the project. Mastering an array of “soft skills” will prove to be just as important as the technical knowledge a PM learns in his/her discipline.
The importance of these soft skills is often underappreciated and undervalued, as there is far less training provided for them than the technical/analytical skills.
What are soft skills?
The Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) definition of soft skills is:
Soft skills are those related to behavioral and interpersonal abilities, such as the ability to effectively communicate, problem-solve, collaborate, and organize.
Soft skills are transferrable to almost any job. Essentially, they are your personality traits that can directly impact your work performance. According to LinkedIn's 2019 Global Talent Trends report, 89% of recruiters say when an employee doesn't work out, it usually comes down to a lack of soft skills. The following is a list of the top 25 soft skills that employers value:
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Accountability |
Multitasking |
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Interpersonal |
Communication |
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Collaboration & Teamwork |
Compliance |
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Creativity |
Critical Thinking |
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Leadership |
Problem-solving |
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Active Listening |
Empathy |
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Positivity |
Emotional Intelligence |
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Patience |
Adaptability |
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Punctuality |
Perseverance |
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Integrity |
Delegation |
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Logical Reasoning |
Self-awareness |
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Attention to Detail |
Time Management |
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Self-motivation |
Most organizations expect employees to know how to behave on the job based on work habits, such as collaboration, critical thinking, perseverance, and communication. They assume everyone knows and understands the importance of being on time, taking initiative, being friendly, and producing high-quality work. For many years, soft skills have been taken for granted. They were thought of as something that employees bring naturally and don’t need to develop.
What is the importance of soft skills?
In capital project environments, it is crucial to recognize the role that soft skills play within the PM team.
The PM is the leader. He/She needs to guide others to fulfill business and project objectives while being competitive and productive. In addition to technical knowledge, a good blend of the right attitude, ethics, communication skills, critical thinking, creativity, people management, and emotional intelligence are among the most important skills required for optimum success.
Most projects progress under an interpersonal dynamic between internal and external stakeholders including colleagues, communities, contractors, suppliers, customers, authorities, and others. The ability to foster an open and honest work environment and knowing how to build and maintain healthy relationships can’t be ignored. Those relationships empower people to collaborate and work more actively and effectively in project teams - showing respect for others and supporting their projects.
How do we address this issue?
The PM team needs to be passionate, problem-solving, adaptable, curious, and trainable. The best way to keep up, and potentially even get ahead of the curve, is to cultivate a work culture that values not only the technical skills but also the soft skills of their professionals. It is critical to provide a foundational expectation of both levels of capability. You do not want too much focus on soft skills, as work products will suffer. Conversely, too much focus on the technical side will result in a lack of collaboration, innovation, teamthink, etc.
Because of the increased attention to soft skills, there are currently many methods individuals and organizations can acquire/utilize to improve these skills. Formal training with specialized institutions or universities, online training, coaching/mentoring, interactive workshops, virtual reality, gaming, etc. are now readily available. Equally as important, training may not provide the only answer. We have found that a sound and experienced mentor is the most important aspect of learning this skill set. Aligning the next generation of leaders with existing leaders has proven quite successful. Perhaps most importantly, it is essential for organizations to encourage the need/significance for all employees to increase their level of soft skills.
Soft skills are necessary for your success in the workplace, your organization’s success, and can even positively impact your personal life.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Michele Campbell
Michele is a Talent Acquisition Manager for Pathfinder, LLC with over 19 years of experience in talent recruitment across a broad range of industries.
mcampbell@pathfinderinc.com
281-636-3186 x154
Maria Lizardo
Maria is a Vice President with Pathfinder, LLC and has over 40 years of experience in the Oil & Gas Industry.
mlizardo@pathfinderinc.com
856-424-7100 x137
