Comments on: Why Soft Skills Are Essential To Project Managers http://www.projectshrink.com/soft-skills-project-management-252.html Welcome To Shrinkonia. Sun, 20 May 2012 21:13:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Violet http://www.projectshrink.com/soft-skills-project-management-252.html#comment-572 Violet Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:55:07 +0000 http://blog.softwareprojects.org/?p=252#comment-572 Hey there Bas, I am in the infancy of my project management career. In fact, I'm still in the womb!! I was concerned about how to approach this career path that would come natural to me but was so intimidated by all of its factors-but no more!!! I don't think I've ever laughed so many times reading an article. Question though, do you think the craft requires innovation and evolution? It just appears once the fundamentals are in place; a PM can tweak it to suit their style. What say you? Thanks so much for the laughs and happy planning :-) Hey there Bas,
I am in the infancy of my project management career. In fact, I’m still in the womb!! I was concerned about how to approach this career path that would come natural to me but was so intimidated by all of its factors-but no more!!! I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so many times reading an article. Question though, do you think the craft requires innovation and evolution? It just appears once the fundamentals are in place; a PM can tweak it to suit their style. What say you? Thanks so much for the laughs and happy planning :-)

]]> By: 25 Ways Project People Can Train Their Mental Flexibility — Project Shrink http://www.projectshrink.com/soft-skills-project-management-252.html#comment-571 25 Ways Project People Can Train Their Mental Flexibility — Project Shrink Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:27:37 +0000 http://blog.softwareprojects.org/?p=252#comment-571 [...] 1. Ever wondered why the client needs a professional project manager? He can hire a team to do the job for him without paying you extra bucks but you still get the job of thrashing out ways to achieve a goal. You channel the scarce resources so they lead to one end aim that may actually be a moving target if the client decides on changes in the requirements. Similarly the coders themselves can be in a fix over something; maybe the big question would be ‘authority’ since projects are usually temporary set ups that move in different directions once the project is complete. It is your job to be able to communicate with all stakeholders and come out of a project with no losers. Work on your people skills and understand why they are needed. Soft skills make or break the aura of dependability around you, the very thing that lets the stakeholders trust you to get the job done for or from them. [more] [...] [...] 1. Ever wondered why the client needs a professional project manager? He can hire a team to do the job for him without paying you extra bucks but you still get the job of thrashing out ways to achieve a goal. You channel the scarce resources so they lead to one end aim that may actually be a moving target if the client decides on changes in the requirements. Similarly the coders themselves can be in a fix over something; maybe the big question would be ‘authority’ since projects are usually temporary set ups that move in different directions once the project is complete. It is your job to be able to communicate with all stakeholders and come out of a project with no losers. Work on your people skills and understand why they are needed. Soft skills make or break the aura of dependability around you, the very thing that lets the stakeholders trust you to get the job done for or from them. [more] [...]

]]> By: Change, Resilience And Acupuncture — Project Shrink http://www.projectshrink.com/soft-skills-project-management-252.html#comment-570 Change, Resilience And Acupuncture — Project Shrink Sun, 06 Jul 2008 12:25:12 +0000 http://blog.softwareprojects.org/?p=252#comment-570 [...] Proud Postings: A Girl's Guide to Managing Projects25 Sure-fire Ways To Motivate Your Team MembersWhy Soft Skills Are Essential To Project ManagersFree Project Management Education - Subscribe To FeedsTop 10 Project Management Software WebsitesHow [...] [...] Proud Postings: A Girl’s Guide to Managing Projects25 Sure-fire Ways To Motivate Your Team MembersWhy Soft Skills Are Essential To Project ManagersFree Project Management Education – Subscribe To FeedsTop 10 Project Management Software WebsitesHow [...]

]]> By: A Girl’s Guide to Managing Projects » Blog Archive » Carnival of project management #20 http://www.projectshrink.com/soft-skills-project-management-252.html#comment-569 A Girl’s Guide to Managing Projects » Blog Archive » Carnival of project management #20 Wed, 28 May 2008 14:01:00 +0000 http://blog.softwareprojects.org/?p=252#comment-569 [...] presents Why Soft Skills Are Essential To Project Managers posted at Project Shrink: The [...] [...] presents Why Soft Skills Are Essential To Project Managers posted at Project Shrink: The [...]

]]> By: Andreas http://www.projectshrink.com/soft-skills-project-management-252.html#comment-568 Andreas Tue, 27 May 2008 08:08:04 +0000 http://blog.softwareprojects.org/?p=252#comment-568 I think a good balance of both is always essential. Not too softie but not to techie either. Best of both i think is the best approach. I think a good balance of both is always essential. Not too softie but not to techie either. Best of both i think is the best approach.

]]> By: Bas de Baar http://www.projectshrink.com/soft-skills-project-management-252.html#comment-567 Bas de Baar Tue, 20 May 2008 18:56:24 +0000 http://blog.softwareprojects.org/?p=252#comment-567 @Anthony: many thanks. I would love to see some Soprano approach to PM :) I hope that it is clear that you didn't say you don't need them... it was just the title (good for catching the eye!) ... and you handling that question reminded me that I had to write something about it on my own site (hope I didn't confuse people with that / seems something I keep on doing hehe)... Looking forward to your next posting (to people out there: check the blog!). @myroslava: thanks for the reply. I guess its almost a philosophical discussion if the moving of the target was triggered by the goals being uncertain or vv. :) @Anthony: many thanks. I would love to see some Soprano approach to PM :) I hope that it is clear that you didn’t say you don’t need them… it was just the title (good for catching the eye!) … and you handling that question reminded me that I had to write something about it on my own site (hope I didn’t confuse people with that / seems something I keep on doing hehe)… Looking forward to your next posting (to people out there: check the blog!).

@myroslava: thanks for the reply. I guess its almost a philosophical discussion if the moving of the target was triggered by the goals being uncertain or vv. :)

]]> By: Anthony Mersino http://www.projectshrink.com/soft-skills-project-management-252.html#comment-566 Anthony Mersino Tue, 20 May 2008 16:33:56 +0000 http://blog.softwareprojects.org/?p=252#comment-566 Bas, great post. Did I really say people skills are not so important to project managers? My next post is likely to be about how great project management would be if only you could whack any offensive or difficult project team members, sponsors, or other stakeholders. I saw that approach used on the Sopranos TV Series but otherwise that isn't legal here in the US and I am pretty sure it isn't in other countries either though I haven't researched it. Thanks for the link and I look forward to reading more of your writing. Anthony Mersino Bas, great post. Did I really say people skills are not so important to project managers? My next post is likely to be about how great project management would be if only you could whack any offensive or difficult project team members, sponsors, or other stakeholders. I saw that approach used on the Sopranos TV Series but otherwise that isn’t legal here in the US and I am pretty sure it isn’t in other countries either though I haven’t researched it.

Thanks for the link and I look forward to reading more of your writing.
Anthony Mersino

]]> By: sam http://www.projectshrink.com/soft-skills-project-management-252.html#comment-565 sam Tue, 20 May 2008 13:19:21 +0000 http://blog.softwareprojects.org/?p=252#comment-565 Good "to know" information. Good “to know” information.

]]> By: Myroslava Symonenko http://www.projectshrink.com/soft-skills-project-management-252.html#comment-564 Myroslava Symonenko Tue, 20 May 2008 12:35:12 +0000 http://blog.softwareprojects.org/?p=252#comment-564 Well, I may more or less disagree on the "uncertain goals", but "moving target" is often the case, and I definitely agree with "uncertain conditions", "changing the mind" and "authority issues", and "two people didn't understand each other correctly". It has been said multiple times, and is still true - communication skills play the key role in (project)/team management. Well, I may more or less disagree on the “uncertain goals”, but “moving target” is often the case, and I definitely agree with “uncertain conditions”, “changing the mind” and “authority issues”, and “two people didn’t understand each other correctly”. It has been said multiple times, and is still true – communication skills play the key role in (project)/team management.

]]> By: Bas de Baar http://www.projectshrink.com/soft-skills-project-management-252.html#comment-563 Bas de Baar Sat, 17 May 2008 09:43:50 +0000 http://blog.softwareprojects.org/?p=252#comment-563 Hi Linda, thanks for your kind words. It may not be a surprise that i agree with you :) to bring the message across to the majority of PMs, we need to appeal to the ratio. And that is were i think most discussions get out of synch. Cheers Bas Hi Linda, thanks for your kind words. It may not be a surprise that i agree with you :) to bring the message across to the majority of PMs, we need to appeal to the ratio. And that is were i think most discussions get out of synch.

Cheers
Bas

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