Effective People Skills for the Project Manager: A Requirement for Project Success and Career Advancement

Projects are always technical problems with significant human dimensions. As projects increase in complexity (virtual teams, involving cross cultural variables and the need to achieve more with less), increasing emphasis is being placed upon the need for the technical professional to develop competencies in specific, tangible "People skills." Importantly, people skills are also crucial for career advancement. These people skills can be defined, practiced, and continually improved, and are best learned experientially. This paper describes an innovative approach to articulating these people skills, which involve the abilities to: communicate effectively on interpersonal levels, develop and apply an approach to conceptualizing individual differences, resolve conflicts using issue-appropriate conflict resolution approaches, successfully manage levels of professional and personal distress, and actively manage one's own career.