PLINC: General Management skills for the Project Manager

[reposted from my old yahoo 360 12/14/05]

Trust me, this stuff works!

The discipline of project management is essentially a specialized form of General Management. with this in mind, I believe that it can be said that to be a project manager, you have to have some skills that are present in General Managers. But exactly what GM skills are needed? Read on to see what should be taken from the General Managers aresenal of skills.

Problem Solving. Essential to any project manager is the ability to solve problems effectively and efficiently. This is actually easier said that done, especially in the Project Management world since there is a lot more problems to be encountered per day on a project than managing the daily operations of a business or operations. Why? This is due to the fact that projects involve change, and that change involves risks, and that risks produce issues, and that issues are problems that need solving. If i were in the infantry, this would be my grenade.

Leadership. 'nuff said. The most basic of tools for Project Managers. This is your all-purpose standard army issued bayonet knife. Excellent for opening up a can (of whoopass), cutting thru (personal de)fences, and encouraging people to follow your lead.

Influencing Others. The ability to influence others is the most potent weapon of the Project Manager. Far harder to master than a Jedi Mind Trick, it is seen used only by the most experienced Project Managers. This is a mixture of charisma, diplomacy, and guile rolled into one. Perfect for tight deadlines and uncooperative functional departments. This is a special weapon only used by specialists in the army.
Don't think that influencing others is a bad trait. This is perfectly ok - as long as you're not bribing or getting into conflicts of interest.

Negotiation. Almost every activity in Project Management involves some form of negotiation. From stakeholders to vendors, Project Managers negotiate for time, resources, costs, and deliverables. The better you are at negotitating, the more capable the project manager will be in turning the project into a success. This is the AK-47 of project managers.

Communication. What's a project manager worth if he cannot communicate? Each Project Manager is expected to have a communication skill level particularly higher than the average techie guy. As Project Manager, you are the heart of all the communications that revolve within the project. This is your basic side-arm. You simply cannot be called a Project Manager if you cannot communicate. To see if you at least have the communication skills... ask yourself this question - Was there ever a time in my project that something happened that you were not informed about? An added feature or a forgotten requirement? If the answer is yes - then you have a problem.
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Well, there's actually more to this than what i stated above. Then again, just focus on the PLINC and you've got a good majority of things covered.