Project Management and the Importance of Emotional Intelligence

Here is an interesting question many project managers have failed to grasp. What role do "soft skills" identified as impassioned intelligence contribute toward the effectiveness of a project Leader? Is there ever a case where emotional intelligence could be a detriment to project leadership?

Mersino tells us to advance in our careers as project managers (PM's) we must have highly developed effective interpersonal skills also known as soft skills. Mersino (p. 6) also states, "You cannot make up for soft skills with hard skills." I agree with these two statements, and therefore, believe emotional intelligence (EI or EQ) contributes greatly to the effectiveness as a project leader.

For example, conflict resolution could be the number one soft skill a PM can have, and that point applies to this question. If a PM has high a EQ, they are able to control their feelings, and show team members leadership by being calm during all situations. If a PM has a developed EQ, they are able to read the emotions of others, and take corrective action to avoid team member conflict(s).

In my opinion, a person's ability to communicate effectively and efficiently is a primary factor in if a person is a leader or not, and whether projects succeed or fall short of expectations. Communication skills are extremely important for a leader because they determine how a leader will be judged by others (Ferraro, p. 123). Last week I stated "There are plenty of people who can crunch numbers following set formulas ( (accountants, analysts, etc.). If a leader does not have mature soft skills how will they ever be able to effectively communicate their thoughts to others to achieve their project goals?

There are times when emotional intelligence is a detriment to project leadership. For example, that time can occur when a PM is speaking with the accountants, analysts, suppliers, stakeholders, or project champions when industry-specific  terminology is needed, and hard data must be communicated. If a PM relies too heavily on soft skills they can erode the importance to the message being sent. I believe a balance must be struck between purely factual information that must be communicated in detail a certain way, and the soft skills of a PM to engage everyone evolved with the project.

Ferraro, J. (2008). The Strategic Project Leader. Mastering Service-Based Project Leadership. Boca Raton: FL. Taylor & Francis Group.

Avoiding Commodization in Project Management

Question: Are project managers becoming commoditized and if so how would I avoid becoming commoditized?

I do not feel project managers (PMs) are becoming commoditized. The guidelines of a PM might be becoming commoditized but a person must remember they can make themselves unique. In my opinion project management certification will become the new MBA standard by which applicants will be judged. Do MBAs, Attorneys, or CPA's feel commoditized? If someone is a project manager, they should be thankful they are ahead of the curve by already having the knowledge that will be needed more in the future.

I have been actively searching for employment with government agencies, and it is clear more and more positions require education in project management. True project management certification has sky rocketed in the past year, and this could cheapen to meaning of certification but the opportunities for someone with project management experience seem to me to have never been greater. I believe the move to project management certification is the next logical step towards the evolution of organizational growth.

Many project managers are out of work these days, but so are many other professionals. In the January 2010 issue of PMI.org's magazine, PMI Network in an article entitled Ahead of the Curve by Harvey Maylor, PhD, the director of the International Centre for Programme Management at Cranfield University in Cranfield, England states: "There is a massive dissatisfaction with the success of delivery in large infrastructure projects. The need for project management has crept up the political and corporate agenda." When I think of all the governments around the world pouring money into infrastructure and all the companies that must conform to their government’s standards means a lot of opportunities for project managers.

To make myself unique from other projects managers, I plan to follow Ferraro' s statement of, there being a trend towards specialization which I consider an opportunity. For me, I want to specialize in leadership, and I want to obtain another degree, possibly a PhD in Organizational Development/Behavior. If I do not get a Doctorates degree, I might obtain a Master in leadership to go with a project management certification, and my MSIS and BA.

Because I want to specialize in being a leader, I believe a person in command of a project should be a leader before being a manager. There are plenty of people who can manage by following an organization's policies and procedures. There are plenty of people who can crunch numbers following set formulas (accountants, analysts, etc.). More and more organizations are becoming project driven, and those projects must be headed by people who are leaders first, and manager second is those projects are to gain acceptance, excel and add value to an organization.

Can one person impact an entire organzation?

The other day I was asked, "Do you believe than an individual can have a significant impact on an organization through his or her actions, beliefs, or failures? How can leadership provide this impact?"

I believe an individual can have a significant impact on an organization through his or her actions, beliefs, or failures. I will answer this question by stating my opinion on how I view the importance of being in touch with my actions, beliefs, and shortcomings and how my leadership can impact others.

An unknown author once stated:

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

I believe that once I have gone from thoughts to words and then words into actions, I form habits. My habits will become the way I am judged by others because in general, people are judgmental, and they judge by what they see. If people disagree with their perceived judgment of me, this could affect how they interact with me as a project manager. Their reaction might be to not fully adhere to the project goals and objectives because they do not believe in me as their leader. By not adhering to the project goals and objectives a project may not become successful. An unsuccessful project can impact an organization's profit and loss, influence future projects, and cause me to lose my job.

I definitely have my own set of beliefs. A belief system based on proper morals, education and experiences are crucial to making me who I am, and I should always follow my beliefs. A problem will occur when I am inflexible in my beliefs. To avoid this, I follow Stephen Covey's statement of "first seek to understand and then to be understood." Other people can sense when I am being inflexible, and not listening to what they have to say. This could cause them to feel their opinions are not important, that they are being judged, and make them hesitant to share their opinions, feelings, or suggestions on a project. Without question when this happens a team’s ability to perform successfully will be diminished.

I believe my "failures" are never failures. I believe people spend too much time on the definition of that word, and if they feel like they failed they will either be too serious on future projects, or scared of them. I take the approach that if I failed  in a project, then at least I learned what not to do in a particular situation and use that knowledge as a baseline for prospective projects... This makes me more confident going forward, and this confidence is noticeable to others. Confidence in me will instill confidence in others, and my future projects will have a better chance of success.

I believe a proper leader will have emotional intelligence and be able to address their actions, beliefs, and failures similar to the examples I gave above. If a leader can  manage their own actions, beliefs, and failures this ability will impact their teams and as Anthony Mesino states:

"PMs that master emotional intelligence will set themselves apart from other PMs."

Is not that what we all want?