Take a moment to contemplate your current employment or a profession that you find intriguing.
Even if you don’t perceive yourself as a project manager, numerous job roles nowadays necessitate project management abilities.
Examine the six areas where project managers need to cultivate their skills. Which ones do you believe are essential for your job? What areas do you need to improve upon?
- Communication
- Negotiation
- Time management
- Understanding the regulatory environment
- Ethics and adherence to standards
- Continual professional development
Ponder potential steps you might consider taking to bridge these skill gaps and contribute them to the discussion group.
Comment Below
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I am Ubah-Okwuchukwu Idorienyin, as a Virtual Assistant, these skills show up in my work every single day. Communication and time management are essential because my role depends on clarity, responsiveness and staying on top of multiple tasks across different clients. Ethics and adherence to standards are non-negotiable as I’m trusted with confidential information, professionalism is the foundation of that trust.
Growth is ongoing and I’m intentionally working to improve communication, negotiation, continual professional development, understanding the regulatory environment and time management. I want to stay sharp and become a dependable partner in every client’s success.
My name is Sabinus Kelechi Agatha, currently am not a Project manager in my company, but indirectly I do Project managers work, by leading communications, negotiating, liaising with customers, i believe all skills needed to be a Project manager, for me to be a good Project manager i need good communication skills, negotiation skills, professional development skills, time and resources management skills, it will help me, in execution and maintenance good Project. Studying the project manager from DEXA is one of the best that happened to me. Thanks Dexa for giving this opportunity 🙏, very grateful
The major skills required for a product manager include communication, time management, negotiation, knowledge of the regulatory environment, ethics and standards, and continuing professional development. One major skill that stands out to me is time management. A product manager must be able to set the right priorities and carry out tasks according to their level of urgency.
In my role as Cluster Team Lead in a financial institution, communication is absolutely essential. I’m constantly coordinating between my team, different departments, and management, so being able to explain things clearly and listen actively makes a real difference. Negotiation also matters a lot, especially when I’m working with team members on targets or collaborating across departments. Ethics is critical too, since we’re in banking and people trust us with their money, so maintaining high standards isn’t just nice to have, it’s non-negotiable. Time management helps me balance supervising staff, preparing reports, and attending meetings without dropping the ball. I’d say these four areas keep me functional in my current job.
The area I really need to work on is understanding the regulatory environment better. As much as I’ve learned through experience, the finance sector has so many compliance rules that I sometimes feel like I’m playing catch-up rather than staying ahead. To improve, I’m planning to take on-the-job learning more seriously by asking my senior colleagues about regulations when they come up, looking into specific compliance courses that won’t take forever, and maybe finding a mentor in the compliance team who can break things down for me. I also want to be more intentional about continuous professional development ¬ just doing the job, but actually studying project management basics so I can run our initiatives better. Small steps like these should help me feel more confident navigating the regulatory side of things.
Hi every one, my name is Samuel Akaolisa and i work in a manufacturing agency as a production assistant. I lead a five man team. We produce modern fencing slabs based on client demand. Quality and delivery time matter every day.
Project management skills play a direct role in my job. Even without the title, I manage people, tasks, and deadlines.
The skills I use now are;
Communication.
I give daily instructions to my team. I explain client requirements. I report progress to supervisors.
Time management.
Production follows strict timelines. Delays affect delivery and trust. I plan daily targets and monitor output.
Understanding the regulatory environment.
Safety rules guide our work. Material standards affect product quality. Compliance protects the team and the company.
The skills that i need to improve are;
Negotiation.
I need stronger skills when handling production constraints, material shortages, or deadline changes.
Ethics and adherence to standards.
I aim to improve consistency. Quality must never drop under pressure.
Continual professional development.
I need deeper knowledge of project planning and process improvement.
Steps I plan to take
**Learn basic project planning tools and workflows.
* Improve communication through clearer briefings and feedback.
* Study quality control and safety standards in manufacturing.
* Seek mentorship from senior supervisors.
* Stay active in training programs and professional courses.
These steps help me close skill gaps. They also help me deliver better results for clients and lead my team with more confidence.
My name is Uwaebolem Ijeoma Veronica.
I think all skills needed to thrive as a project manager are all important, as a carer currently, i understand the need for proper communication and negotiation (not just for project management, but for ones day to day living) and I know constant and consistent learning is very important to improve one’s knowledge, not just learning,but putting into practice the knowledge acquired, i am currently working to improve time management(to finish my projects on time with all the boxes ticked) and understanding regulatory environment which is why I love what I’m learning here .
Thank you Dexa
My name is Vivian Okafor. Even though my role is not officially a project management role, I apply project management skills daily.
Communication and time management are most critical for keeping tasks organized, meeting deadlines, and working effectively with others.
Continuous professional development is also important to stay relevant as tools and processes change.
I am working on improving my negotiation skills and understanding of the regulatory environment through ongoing learning and practical project exposure.
Hi everyone,
My name is Oludepo Joy
After reflecting on the six core skill areas for project managers, I’ve been thinking about how my background in auditing translates to this new role. Here is my self-assessment on where I stand and where I’m headed:
I believe Ethics and Adherence to Standards and Understanding the Regulatory Environment are the most essential to my current work. Coming from an auditing background, I have a “compliance-first” mindset. This allows me to ensure project deliverables aren’t just finished on time, but are also high-quality and legally sound. In highly regulated industries, this is a major risk-mitigation asset.
While I am comfortable with timelines, I need to improve my Negotiation and Communication styles.
In auditing, communication is often formal and reporting-based. In PM, it’s about constant stakeholder influence.
I am working on moving from “identifying what went wrong” to “negotiating for the resources needed to make things go right.” Negotiating for a team’s time when I don’t have direct authority over them is a new muscle I am building.
To bridge these gaps and contribute more effectively to the team, I am taking the following steps:
Developing “Soft” Negotiation: I’m studying the “Interest-Based Negotiation” model to help find win-win solutions when project scopes conflict with departmental budgets.
Mastering PM Tools: I am transitioning from using spreadsheets for tracking to using Gantt charts and RACI matrices to better communicate dependencies to my team.
Continuous Learning: I’ve set a goal to complete my [PMP/CAPM] certification by the end of the year to formalize my understanding of Agile and Hybrid methodologies.
My name is Favour Inabiriye Apigi, I believe all the skills stated to be an effective Project Manager are really essential. For one I do know that I have to improve on my communication and negotiation skills which both go hand-in-hand. I need to communicate effective with my team members, stakeholders/clients and users of the project in hand, which without that the ongoing project would be a flop or not even start at all. Effective communication is key and it isn’t just about saying a word or two but actually having your message passed across and delivered with understanding. Negotiating is a gap I have to fill too, I have difficulties in convincing people, but I believe if I work on my communication, negotiations wouldn’t be that difficulty for me anymore.
I’m so grateful for this platform, making it easy for me to understand where I lack and learn at the same time.
My name is Adu Aderonke Adedoyin, I believe the skills needed for a person to be and thrive as a Project manager is very important. Here are areas I have to work on to becoming a successful project manager :
Communication,Time management, Negotiation, Continuous professional development. I have to work on my communication skills so as to be able to liase with my team members, the stakeholders of the project and the users of the project so as to have a good balance. I also need to work oy Negotiating and Time management skills as I believe it will make project execution and maintenance easier and better, to also avoid procrastination, I also believe continuous professional development is very paramount to my growth as a person generally as it will open doors of opportunities and stability for me in the future. This course has been a blessing to me, thank you DEXA.
My name is John Matthew, for me one of the key skills required of a project manger is the ability to communicate effectively. Every project manager is a leader leading a team of people to accomplish a goal. Therefore if you can’t communicate the goals effectively well and try to have every body on same page where everyone knows and understand their roles the goal of the project might be delayed or eventually thwarted. I know this because although it wasn’t a formal setting but was assigned a team back then in school no too long to design a chemical plant for the production of fertilizer, though everyone knew the goal and the timeline to accomplish it. We still lagged behind because along the line there were a lot of challenges that occurred which reduced our speed and this was know to but a few. So the most paramount is effective communication in addition to ethics and standard as well as negotiation.