Key Features of Selected Topics in Project Management

Project Managers are often responsible for many tasks not directly related with their day to day activities. For example, they often join and are asked to present at sales meetings, customer presentations, and at other special occasions. On the other hand, Project Managers often welcome their teams during Project Kick-off meetings, motivate and inspire their team to accomplish project objectives by delivering a motivational speech, and they may also persuade their team or supervisors to take decisions. In many different situations Project Managers engage with team members, customers, supervisors, executives and other influential stakeholders. This topic provides tips and techniques on how Project Managers can better engage with team members and their audience.

• Highlight the importance of good communications on projects.
• Explain the elements of project communications planning, including how to create a communications management plan and perform a stakeholder communications analysis.
• Describe various methods for distributing project information and the advantages and disadvantages of each, discuss the importance of addressing individual communication needs, and calculate the number of communications channels in a project.

Fights, war, battle, screaming matches-conflict is a constant presence in projects. The pressure to deliver unique results within a limited schedule adds more pressure on Project Managers and leaders. The Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) states: “Managing conflict is one of the biggest challenges a project manager faces.” In any given project, Project Managers might have to use multiple conflict management techniques. This topic discusses different types of conflict, its sources, and presents various resolution techniques.

“Leadership appears to be the art of getting others to want to do something you are convinced should be done.” Project Managers are trained to control three key project constraints including scope, schedule and budget, and to understand the nuances of team dynamics. Project Managers may sometimes even be fanatic about driving productivity and meeting schedule commitments. Other project managers embody all that, but they have something more going for them. They have an uncanny ability to spot red flags, they are zealous communicators, and well respected by peers and business leads. They demonstrate an ability to balance what needs to be done, as driven from the plan, with what should be done to meet the business need, even if it is counter intuitive to the project roadmap. These are the project managers that instill confidence, who are invited to participate in business discussions, and asked to weigh in at the project inception stage. What separates these project managers is that they not only manage, they lead. This topic presents the different qualities and types of a leader and highlights the differences between leaders and managers. Project Managers also learn how to adapt a given leadership style according to a situation they find themselves in.

Negotiation is an invaluable skill for any project manager. Not only do you negotiate agreements with vendors and contractors, but you must effectively negotiate with stakeholders, customers and team members throughout the life of a project. “You don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate” – Chester L. Karrass. Project managers live in a world with limited resources. Whether it is schedule, budget, scope, resources or changes, you have to manage the constraints. To survive, you have to negotiate. For example: There is one key resource that you need for a critical activity on your project. But the functional manager of that resource will not let you use that resource because he or she wants to use that resource on another project. What do you do? You need to find out more about the functional manager’s needs and negotiate to find a win-win solution. Perhaps the key resource can work on similar activities that benefit both projects, thus using his or her time effectively. Developing negotiation skills is not just for expert negotiators who are involved in negotiating major contracts or deals. Project managers can boost their skills by learning and mastering the principles of negotiation. This topic presents negotiation principles for Project Managers, what project managers negotiate, and how to better prepare when confronted with different negotiation scenarios.

Project Management is no doubt one of the most stressful jobs out there as the Project Manager is directly responsible and accountable for the success or failure of a project. Some Project Managers believe they can handle and cope with a high level of stress but there are some who ignore or refuse to recognize they are under stress. The experience of stress is not only impacting the cognitive and behavioral performance but it can also have a negative impact on personal health, well-being, and family life. While Project Managers may not able to change the amount of stress they experience on a daily basis, but they can change how they deal with it. It is important to recognize stress and anxiety before they become more and more difficult to handle and manage. This topic discusses the causes of stress in project management presents stress management techniques for project managers to better handle day-to-day management activities.

An interactive workshop designed to help project managers meet their goals by composing clear and effective notes, memos, letters, and e-mail messages. Participants will use examples of actual work situations to create meaningful and focused messages and responses. At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:

• Organize information effectively
• Understand the concepts and principles of readability
• Evaluate and improve their business writing (memo, letter, email) skills
• Match appropriate formats, styles, and media to the goal and the reader
• Gain editorial skills
• Meet business goals and objectives