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.