It’s on the PM to determine what is the highest priority and what can wait until later. The PM needs to make priorities clear to team members and also connect them to tangible team goals. Those are just a few of the areas you should be thinking about as you try to mitigate project risk.

Then you need to turn that information into briefs everyone involved with the project can follow. Additionally, ESA Academy is offering the opportunity for students to follow the course online. Application for admission should be made through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). Applicants currently at school or college will be provided with advice on the process; however, applicants who have left school or who are based outside the United Kingdom may obtain information directly from UCAS.

Time Management

By focusing on specific competencies, you can build higher competency levels in each area compared to a general competency approach. Enrolling in professional development courses is a great way to learn new management techniques and improve your existing skills. We pulled data for these categories from reliable resources such as the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; private, third-party data sources; and individual school and program websites. At Capitol Technology University, you can choose from more than 40 online doctoral programs, including an online Ph.D. in project management. In this program, you’ll learn to oversee projects from conception to completion in industries of all sizes and landscapes. You’ll complete the program asynchronously and 100% online, with no residency requirements at Capitol Tech’s Maryland campus.

If you’re working on a large project or for a large company, you might not be the primary person responsible for managing the budget. But it’ll still be good to know what elements can add to a budget, how to decrease costs, and when you need to increase it. Your project brief outlines your general project objectives and how you plan to get there. Critical thinking, how to become a project manager like problem solving, doesn’t have a “solution.” You can’t “win” at critical thinking, but you can practice approaching problems logically instead of making decisions based on your emotions. Good critical thinkers practice analyzing information in front of them and forming their own conclusions based on the facts—the way Sherlock Holmes solves a mystery.

Workload management

Or is your dream to have a career in the space sector, but you’re not sure what skills you need or which space-related subjects to specialise in? If so, ESA Education Office’s  CubeSat Summer School 2024, is for you! Taking place over four weeks from 5 to 30 August 2024 at ESEC-Galaxia (Transinne, Belgium), applications are now open for university students with engineering, physics and business management backgrounds. You’ll ideally concentrate on developing specific people management skills.

A good communicator will be able to get people on board with their vision, be able to come to a common understanding, and know the best channels for communicating any particular piece of information. Instead, you need to be able to periodically bring your head above water and look at the bigger picture. Are you still on track to hit the goals and expectations of this project?

The key project management skills you need to have

Managers who are good problem solvers have an easier time meeting company goals and objectives. On any given day, you might run a staff meeting, make a presentation to board members, or resolve a conflict between two employees. In addition to conveying information, listening when communicating is essential. Practicing good listening helps you be present, maintain eye contact, and paraphrase what your speaker says.

Time management is a soft skill that is essential for project managers. A key part of time management is being able to create realistic schedules and timelines for a project. This involves taking into account the availability of resources, the complexity of tasks and potential unforeseen delays. Additionally, time management also involves being able to effectively prioritise tasks and delegate work to team members.

Project managers must be skilled in written communication to create clear documentation and reports. Additionally, they must deliver compelling presentations to convey project updates and proposals effectively. Technical skills refer to your knowledge of specific tools and softwares within project management. These tools aren’t hard to learn—as we mentioned before, modern project management is built to be flexible and easy to use. These eight skills are aspects of project management roles you should become familiar with, so you know when and how to leverage them.