The era of B2B is finishing, a new era of B2P (Business to People), or even better P2P (People to People) is starting now.

And of course, this will involve Project Management.

Looking ahead, into the future… What will be the skills searched for a Project Manager?

In this blog, I would like to share with you 3 main characteristics which I find they would be important for personal (therefore, professional) success.

High on Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence will soon be the most desired skill for new Project Managers and let me explain you why.

Successful Management is all about getting work done through other people. Some of whom you have no direct authority over…

This is directly related to success on the way you perceive yourself and your emotions (self-awareness), the way you manage and motivate yourself and your emotions (self-management), and the way you manage others relationship and other people’s emotions (social awareness)

In the past, I have seen a bit of everything, from PM overreacting and becoming bogeymen.

And the opposite PM having a total lack of reaction, consequence: nobody took them really seriously.

Both PM had similar level of studies and accomplished parallel certifications.

Then, I had the chance to meet the third type: the ones who got along with people and knew what buttons to press so things would be kept on the right track.

And their studies (technical formation) were slightly under the previous ones.

However, as future (and past) reveals, those ones having a highly developed social skills are meant to be as successful as, indeed more, than those who excel academically.

Summing up, Emotional Intelligence may be more important for personal success than IQ.

Leadership and Management skills

Yes, both. They are not the same thing but, these skills are linked and complementary with each other.

Trying to separate one from other might cause more problems than it solves. Peter Drucker was one of the first ones to recognize this truth.

On the Forbes’ article 9 differences between being a leader and a manager. talks about the differences which is interesting so the roles can be easily identifiable.

Since my experience and what I gather is: that there’s a time and a place for everything.

I firmly believe that sometimes there’s need of getting the Leader’s hat but sometimes the Manager’s one, is really needed, too.

The way people is managed surely influence the way a project is accomplished.

Though at times we are in need of a creative, a visionary, a long-range planner, it is also as important to have an executor asking how and when, a short-range planner and an organizer.

The future project manager will have to work on merging somehow these roles.

 

Good knowledge of new technologies.

And the last, but not the least: Managing New Technologies. Yes, I am afraid this is a must for future Project Managers.

I ‘ve been born as an illiterate on New Technologies, thank God I am a quick learner, too…but regardless my ability I’d had to learn it (and still learning)

While new generations are literate, they are born within New Technology and they are surrounding by it.

They are being part of the 4^th Industrial Revolution we are heading at.

This Revolution main characteristic’s is that New Technologies and human beings become integrated.

New Technologies have an incredible potential to connect billions of people and sharply improve the efficiency of business and organizations.

Nowadays we can find different apps that are able to execute nearly everything.

The other day I found one that you could even do Personal Coaching with… Amazing!

The old-school Project Management is becoming extinct. Today’s Project Management tools are top of the line in respect of new technologies and are used not just by the Project Manager itself but everyone involved within a project.

Making all processes within the project faster and accurate. And that is what Companies are searching for…