Learnable Project Manager Characteristics
Of the many characteristics that a successful project manager needs, most of them are learnable. A project manager must have good interpersonal skills and be able to provide good customer service, since he works with clients and customers (ôProject Manager Characteristicsö). He must also have good oral communication skills, since he needs to express information to individuals and groups (ôProject Manager Characteristicsö). Although leadership skills may be inherent, they can also be learned through instruction, mentoring, or experience and are necessary for influencing, motivating, and challenging employees (ôProject Manager Characteristicsö). Team-building is another skill that may be inherent in some project managers but can also be learned; this characteristic enables project managers to inspire their people, motivating them to accomplish their goals and fostering commitment and trust (ôProject Manager Characteristicsö). Excellent writing ability is definitely a learnable characteristic, and it serves a project manager in communicating with superiors, subordinates, and customers (ôProject Manager Characteristicsö). Since written communication is recorded and may be referred to repeatedly, it is important that a project manager be capable of writing clearly, as well as being able to adapt his writing style to particular tasks, such as persuasive proposals.
Personality-Related Project Manager Characteristics
Some project manager characteristics are personality-related, meaning that they are part of the managerÆs own unique personality. Flexibility is an example of such a trait, and it enables a project manager to deal with unexpected events, ambiguity, and new or changing information and situations (ôProject Manager Characteristicsö). Another personality-related trait is good decision-making (ôProject Manager Characteristicsö). Some people are simply more adept...