In-demand skills and an opportunity to grow – life as a project professional in 2022 

At Project journal, we are in constant conversation with the project management community and always on the lookout for the latest trends and developments within the profession. 

Part of our regular temperature-check of the project community is ‘Project Me’, a feature in the journal that sees readers respond to our hot topic of the month. For the spring 2022 edition, we received a large volume of responses on the theme of personal improvement. 

This article collates some of the best answers we received from Project readers, who highlighted their must-have project management skills and espoused the power of professional development.  

Project skills fit for the 2020s 

“Good project management knowledge is in demand in every organisation worldwide,” wrote Barry Veldon, Business Development Director at Czech aircraft company Aero Vodochody. “It can mean the success or failure of the business.” 

Project professionals must be able to adapt to succeed, Veldon added.  

“In the past 10 years,” he said, “agile and scrum methodologies have come to the forefront of project thinking, particularly in software development. This year, my goal is to evolve my learning in the area of agile so I offer the broadest experience to my customers to fulfil their project needs. Learning is growing.” 

Programme Manager Adam Brown of technology company Vaiie, meanwhile, pinpointed communication as his key project skill.  

“The world has changed,” he said. “Working from home will continue and that brings the need to improve our listening and understanding. Teams are going to continue to be remote, even with team members in the same town.  

“A downside to this is the reduced ability to really sense how team members are feeling – to understand body language, read between the lines or have those impromptu coffees. So how do we understand project performance? How do we replace that sense of just feeling a project risk? We must be more perceptive and more open, making time to listen and communicate more. Softer skills combined with a robust project approach will be key in building trust.” 

Under-promise and over-deliver? 

For Andrew Wright, Managing Partner at Dynamic Technologies, achieving customer satisfaction with a project comes down to managing the expectations of key stakeholders. ‘Under-promise and over-deliver’ is a key mantra for Wright. 

“Customer expectations form the yardstick to over-deliver against,” he said. “If you deliver more than they expect, for less than they expect, on time, they will be delighted – even if you deliver less, for greater cost, than the original budget.”  

How do you manage customer expectations? “Engage them,” said Wright. “Involve them in reviews, risk management and change control. Make sure they understand the reality of the project and are bought into every change; they own the revised scope.  

“To do this, practise talking to all your stakeholders – understand what makes the project a real win for them, how much flexibility they have, and optimise satisfying all your stakeholders. This is more important than meeting the baseline scope, because the chances are that will be out of date or simply wrong.” 

Project you 

With project professionals in such great demand, it is easy to work so hard that you forget to find time for CPD. But, as our readers caution, it is vital to keep developing to stay on top of your game. 

“Project management within the rail industry is challenging but enjoyable,” said Shagufta Savant, Project Manager at engineering and consulting group SYSTRA. “There is so much to learn daily that it is sometimes overwhelming, leaving no time for personal development.  

“In 2022, I plan to dedicate more time to focus on achieving personal goals and attending more beneficial CPD sessions through APM. I successfully obtained MAPM status last year, and next year I aim to obtain my ChPP, taking my professional status to the next level. It is so important to set personal objectives with pathways to achieve them. I’m driven to succeed in my career and encourage others.” 

Debola Duze, Project Manager at BBC Sounds, has also set herself the goal of dedicating more time for professional development. 

“I also want to apply this learning to my day-to-day work and to network more,” she said. “To achieve these goals, I have enrolled myself onto the ExtraordinaryPM Mastery Programme, a course that focuses on leadership and people skills in project management. So far, it has been working very well for me. I am already able to put what I have been learning to immediate use in the workplace.  

“Simply taking the time to think and make plans for my professional development has helped sharpen my skills and made me reflect on all my past projects. Who knows? I may add ChPP to my list for 2022, taking my professional standing to a new and even higher level.” 

What are your current priorities and ambitions for your career? Share them with the Project journal team.  

Interested in becoming a ChPP? Find out more on APM's Chartered Standard web page  

Comment below and share your views, experience and knowledge.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike is a business journalist and editor with a special focus on project management, finance and IT