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
© The Open University
Communication, negotiation, time management, understanding the regulatory environment, ethics, and adherence to professional standards are all competencies reflected in my current role. These skills are essential for ensuring effective coordination, compliance, and successful project implementation.
However, communication, negotiation, and continual professional development are particularly critical to my responsibilities, especially in relation to social and behavioral change interventions in the field. Strengthening these areas will enhance my ability to engage stakeholders effectively, influence positive outcomes, and maintain professional growth. I am therefore committed to further developing these competencies to improve my overall effectiveness and impact in my work.
I am, Chiamaka Joy Uzoh, As a Project/Technical Advisor working with MTX in the oil servicing industry in Nigeria, all six of these skill areas are highly relevant to my role, given the technical, regulatory, and stakeholder-driven nature of our projects.
Communication is one of the most essential skills in my role. I regularly interface with clients, OEMs, regulatory bodies, and internal teams. I believe I have been performing well in this area, particularly in clearly conveying technical information and aligning stakeholders. However, I understand that communication is an evolving skill and can always be refined further.
Negotiation is another critical area, especially when dealing with vendors, partners, and contract terms. While I have been developing this skill through practical experience, I recognize that I need to improve my strategic negotiation approach to achieve more value-driven outcomes for the organization.
In terms of time management, I make conscious efforts to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines, but I acknowledge that I need to be more structured and proactive to ensure consistent on-time delivery across multiple concurrent projects.
Regarding understanding the regulatory environment, I have strong knowledge of compliance requirements and regulatory bodies within Nigeria, which is essential for our operations. However, as our projects may involve international partners and standards, I need to broaden my understanding of the global regulatory landscape.
For ethics and adherence to standards, I understand the importance of professional conduct and compliance within the oil and gas sector. Moving forward, I intend to deepen my knowledge of APM ethical guidelines and professional standards to ensure alignment with global best practices.
Lastly, continual professional development is an area I am strongly committed to. Enrolling in this Project Management Bootcamp is part of my deliberate effort to strengthen my competencies and prepare for greater responsibilities in project leadership.
I am Omorinre. I have a background in Microbiology and I also worked as a Customer Service/Administrative Officer
Two skills that stood out for me in those roles were communication and negotiation.
Communication was very important because I had to interact with customers daily. Some customers could be rude or impatient, but that experience taught me how to remain calm, listen actively, and respond respectfully and professionally, regardless of the situation.
Another important skill was negotiation. I often had to communicate with senior officers to discuss certain requests or propose ideas, which required confidence, clarity, and the ability to present my points persuasively.
However, I believe I still need to improve on time management and understanding the regulatory environment, especially as I transition into project management. Developing these areas will help me become more structured and effective in delivering results.
I am Justina Joshua with a background in Electrical engineering, and as a Maintenance Consultant, I believe communication and time management are effective in my day-to-day activities. I am working on improving my negotiation skills and deepening my understanding of the regulatory environment, while continuing to develop myself through ongoing learning in project management.
I am Alabi Aminat Oyindamola, from Nigeria.
I am a full time student and also a brand owner, the 2 top skills that stood out for me most times is communication and time management.
Being able to manage my time effectively while working as a brand owner and managing life as a student, and also communicating with my brand effectively.
These two skills are a very important steps to success and I look forward to being able to maintain them in my journey as a project manager.
I’m Saviour Anietie Etukudo, from Nigeria. A student in University of Uyo.
As a graphics designer and future project manager, I’ll focus on cultivating communication, negotiation, and time management. These three are key to success, ensuring effective client delivery, managing expectations, and meeting deadlines.
As Thomas OLAYIWOLA, communication and time management are the most essential skills for me in my work, especially when coordinating design tasks, managing timelines, and working with different stakeholders. Ethical conduct is also important to me, as it helps maintain trust and professionalism. I am intentionally working on improving my negotiation skills and deepening my understanding of the regulatory environment, while continuing to develop myself through ongoing learning in project management.
I’m Solomon Ejemudaro with an O level degree,
After my secondary I learn a construction skill Amaco usually known as ( G.M.P) for 2 years and 2 months. During that time I had senior who I’m to learn from and take order from when carry out a project. With time they left and I became the most senior and communication, negotiation and time management were put in work. Communicating with the junior boys to carry out a project was one thing needed and the way I communicate with them determine the time the job will be delivered and negotiation after the job is done is another thing that will determine the way the next project will be carried out.
I will love to improve on communication too because I don’t like talking much to people. Thank you
I had always known that being a project manager has a lot to do with communication and interaction with others. So my communication and negotiation are my A game although negotiating is usually very tiring and stressful especially the back and forth of it. But I didn’t know that we have to follow new trends and also have to follow the ethics standard. I guess that’s what dislfferentiates a party planner from a project manager because all still entails projects but there’s structure and form with project management. Continuing education has always been mandatory for me as I believe we learn everyday.
As someone who as an academic background in Accounting and worked as a sales marketer and POS attendant, I believe my communication, negotiation, and time management skills were put to use. I had to explain the use and prices of the products to the customers and the payment terms. Also, negotiation was vital in sales when persuading customers, handling issues, and discussing the prices of the products. Also, working as a POS attendant needed speed and accuracy, particularly during busy periods, for example, during the “cashless economy” period. Also, as someone who studied accounting in the University, understanding the regulatory environment is very important to ensure accuracy and efficiency in keeping records.
Regardless, I would still like to improve on all areas, particularly the communication and negotiation skills and in doing so, I’ll take courses, attend seminars, read regularly on financial trends and updates, and also seek mentorship on areas where improvement is needed.