Project Manger | What are the Core Competencies

PMO office needs to build a team of competent project managers. We define a unique set of critical competencies for candidate evaluations. 

Attitude expects project managers have the mindset of taking ownership of the project and getting things done. To do so, they need:

• Integrity holds high standards to do the right thing and stick to the commitments. Lacking integrity can cause a dreadful loophole of not getting things done. 
• Respect means respecting team members
• Disciplined means following the PMO standards without compromises.
• Attention to details requires project managers to achieve thoroughness and accuracy for all deliverables. 

Project Execution requires project managers to be excellent in running project operations.

• Planning is the ability to determine the tasks needed to complete the project and assign appropriate timelines, measurements to guide the task execution.
• Organizing means orchestrating all the tasks and optimizing the execution with proper time management. 
• Coordination suggests working with the team to prioritize critical tasks to make adequate progress. 
• Controlling is the ability to manage processes and activities in a result-oriented manner. 
• Stress tolerance is the ability to operate within tight deadlines regardless of possible setbacks.

Stakeholder Engagement requires the project manager to build a trusted relationship and influence stakeholder decisions to ensure project success.

• Customer-centric requires project managers to work from the customer's perspective, focusing on the essentials of sound judgment and experience to ultimate customer experience. 
• Advocacy requires the ability to "sell "the project results in the organization.
• Interpersonal Communication means understanding others' needs, showing empathy, and making a good and competent impression right from the first contact.

Managing the Project Team expects the project manager to have the leadership to engage and motive the project team. 

• Managing people demands the ability to motivate a team to work together towards a common goal and achieve cooperation.
• Professional judgment means delegating based on recognizing each person's strengths, interests, and problems, assigning the right people at the right time, and giving appropriate guidance/performance feedback.
• Culture creation wants the project manager to combine various disciplines and fairness in team engagement with constructive controversy.​

There is no single type for a successful project manager, but they should all carry the fundamental skill described. 

​"The one thing that you lneed from the PMO members, the project managers, is honesty (honest). If they can honestly share the state of play in their projects with you then you can establish yourself as being on their side. And, just as importantly if you know the true state of things then it also means that the PMO can offer the right level of help; conversely, if you don’t know the truth, they you’re in no position to provide help before matters get too critical. "- Chris Walters, Leading Successful PMOs, 2016

Editor's Note: Many competencies discussed fall into the emotional intelligence (EQ) scope. In other words, the project managers are people with high EQ. You can refer to the following career skill mind map to build project management skills as part of your overall career plan. ​