Top Skill for Project Leaders: New PMI Report Reveals All! Are You Ready?
Communication, Problem-Solving, Collaborative Leadership, and Strategic Thinking as the Top Skill of 2023
According to the latest report from the Project Management Institute (PMI, "Pulse of the Profession 2023"), communication is the number one skill professionals need to acquire in 2023.
In their annual Global Survey on Project Management, PMI surveyed 3,492 project professionals, including 538 project leaders, to understand the skills necessary for success in the field.
The survey found that communication is the top skill across all industries and at every seniority level, just above problem-solving, collaborative leadership, and strategic thinking.
This is not surprising, as effective communication is the key to building effective teams, understanding and addressing problems, and thus fulfilling organizational objectives.
Communication is the Most Sought-after Skill Across All Industries and at Every Seniority Level.
Communication is especially important to boost your career as Project Manager. It is the number one skill for professionals with five years of experience or more, ranked directly above problem-solving. It is the mark that differentiates between junior project managers who focus on methodologies and monitoring tools and more senior professionals who focus on people and building effective teams. In short, communication is the key to success in project management and beyond.
Communication skills are ranked number one across industries: government, IT, telecommunications, financial services, energy, manufacturing, healthcare, construction,...
The ROI of Effective and Clear Communication and Power Skills
Moreover, organizations that place a high priority on communication skills are significantly better at completing projects that meet business goals and experience less scope creep.
It also leads to a better realization of the benefits of projects and a higher level of agile maturity, which is critical in today's VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous).
How do you focus your organization on power skills and boost your career?
PMI suggests that organizations should provide training and development on power skills that fulfill organizational objectives, bake them into their executive DNA by hiring professionals who possess these critical skills, and have project management leadership model these power skills and consistently communicate their importance.
As more and more organizations understand the added value of excellent communication in leading projects, professionals with a head-start gain a decisive advantage to change positions or get promoted.
Unfortunately, not all organizations are mature enough to provide powerful training in communication skills.
So, what is your plan to develop your communication skills and excel in explaining, writing, and speaking in public?
Download infographics and source on https://www.pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/power-skills/power-skills-infographic