This is the first of six articles that discuss key skills for successful project managers. The extract posted here will be published by the University of North Georgia Press in its final form in a forthcoming book, Delivering Value with Project Management, by Woods & Marshall (2023).

Strong interpersonal and technical skills help project managers excel at their work and enable others to see them as effective leaders and managers. In this series of articles, I will share six key interpersonal skills that project managers should focus on developing.

Skill #1: Leadership, Delegation, and Influence

Leadership is the ability to motivate and inspire individuals to work toward expected results. Leaders inspire vision and rally people around common goals. As a leader, a good project manager can guide the project team to see the vision and value of the project. In addition, the project manager can inspire the project team to find a solution to overcome perceived obstacles to getting the work done.

Delegation, or giving others autonomy, accountability, and responsibility for how to do their assigned work, involves creating a project organizational structure with the work organized into manageable units. Delegation involves understanding the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to manage that work and matching the team members with the right skills to do it. Good project managers are good delegators. They recognize that delegation is often more effective than exerting a great deal of control when working with competent staff engaged in the project.

For example, the procurement leader for a major project may also report to the organization’s vice president for procurement. Although the procurement plan for the project must meet the organization’s procurement policies, the procurement leader on the project will take day-to-day direction from the project manager.

The amount of direction given to the procurement leader or others on the project is the project manager’s decision. Suppose the project manager delegates too little authority to others to make decisions and act. In that case, the consequent lack of a timely decision or lack of action will cause delays in the project. Delegating too much authority to others who do not have the knowledge, skills, or information will typically cause problems that result in delays or increased costs to the project. Finding the right balance is a critical project management skill.

When possible, we tend to rely on power to achieve goals. Indeed, starting in infancy, we all try to get others to do what we want. We learn early what works in getting us to our goals. Instead of crying and throwing a tantrum, we may figure out that smiling and using language causes everyone less stress and brings us the rewards we seek.

By the time you start in the workplace, you have had vast experience with influence techniques. Influence is the ability to persuade others to do things for you when you don’t have power or authority over them. You have probably picked out a few techniques that you use most often. To be effective in a wide number of situations, however, you should expand your repertoire of skills and become competent in several techniques, knowing how and when to use them as well as understanding when they are being used on you. If you watch someone who is good at influencing others, you will probably observe that person switching tactics depending on the context. The more tactics you have at your disposal, the more likely it is that you will achieve your influence goals.

Rational persuasion includes using facts, data, and logical arguments to try to convince others that your point of view is the best alternative. This is the most applied influence tactic. Effective rational persuasion includes the presentation of information that is factual, clear, specific, relevant, and timely.

Inspirational appeals seek to tap into our values, emotions, and beliefs to gain support for a request or course of action. Effective inspirational appeals are authentic, personal, big-thinking, and enthusiastic.

Consultation refers to the influence agent’s asking others for help in directly influencing or planning to influence another person or group. Consultation is most effective in organizations and cultures that value democratic decision-making.

Ingratiation refers to different forms of making others feel good about themselves. Ingratiation includes any form of flattery done either before or during the influence attempt. Effective ingratiation is honest, infrequent, and well-intended.

Personal appeal refers to asking another person for help and relying on feelings of friendship or loyalty to persuade them to help you. We enjoy saying yes to people we know and like. Personal appeals are most effective with people who know and like you.

Exchange refers to give-and-take in which someone does something for you, and you do something for them in return.

Coalition tactics refer to a group of individuals working together toward a common goal to influence others.

Pressure refers to exerting undue influence on someone to do what you want or else something undesirable will occur. Like coercive power, this tactic often includes threats and frequent interactions until the target agrees.

Legitimating tactics occur when the appeal is based on legitimate or position power. This tactic relies upon compliance with rules, laws, and regulations. It is not intended to motivate people but to align them with a direction.

Each tactic is more or less effective depending on who you are trying to influence (upward, downward, lateral), and people may respond in one of three ways to your attempted influence (resistance, compliance, commitment). Pressure tactics are most effective when used in a crisis and when they come from someone with the other’s best interests in mind.

Next week, we will talk about the key skills of motivation and teamwork.