SC6107

Project Management

Importance of Soft Skills in Project Management

Ms. Deborah O'Hanlon
Agranshu Khanna
19231561
24th January 2020
Table of Contents
Executive Summary...............................................................................................................................3
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review..................................................................................................................................4
Communication skills.....................................................................................................................5
Team building................................................................................................................................5
Agility and creativity......................................................................................................................5
Stress management.......................................................................................................................5
Soft skills and Project Management......................................................................................................5
Skills and Emotional Intelligence......................................................................................................6
PMBOK and Soft skills.....................................................................................................................6
Risk management and soft skills........................................................................................................7
Conflict management.........................................................................................................................7
Leadership and soft skills..................................................................................................................7
Change management and soft skills...................................................................................................8
Integrating Soft Skills and Hard Skills in Project Management.............................................................8
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................8
References...........................................................................................................................................10
Executive Summary
Purpose- This article offers details on the value of soft skills and their contribution to project
management, as well as on the effect of soft skills on projects’ performance.

Methodology- This work includes the study of numerous scholarly and business readings. Study will
also pursue observational study. The approach to analysis should therefore be a deductive method.
The first phase of the study involved the compilation of literature data on soft skills, hard skills and
project management. The second phase is focused on results from a number of studies performed
by scholars and other experts around the world.

Findings- Mastering soft skills is a strongly weighted component of project management. Owing to
the overwhelming need for human interaction, soft skills are of utmost concern. This literary work
shows that the soft skills of project managers have made a major difference. The provision of soft
skills instruction to staff increases the final performance and productivity of the project. Soft skills
prove to be a significant success factor for different ventures across industries.

Research limitations/implications- The work is focused on a small number of literary resources. This
will be further refined and improved upon by collecting more data through interviews,
questionnaires, surveys, case studies, and observational trails.

Practical implications- Through showing the importance of soft skills in project management, soft
skills have a huge impact on the growth of workers in all sectors, thereby increasing the performance
and productivity of workers.

Introduction
In recent years, the skills required to successfully perform at workplace have changed
dramatically. Employers demand for a better prepared, more verstile, trustworthy and
educated workforce that will help to cope with the competitive global market. Today, most
organisations expect employees to perform well in task that require "soft skills” such as
teamwork engagement and development of team. They are passionate about investing in
these vital soft skills acquired during their work experience, and not just on depending upon
degree-specific command over the skill [ CITATION Hec12 \l 2057 ]. Project management
practices are considered social behaviors and interactions among people working together to
achieve goals. Interpersonal interactions are the most common type of complexity, the
"complexity of interaction" that project managers face. The most important factors are
people, the international community, interdisciplinary and clients. Recognizing the value of
individuals in a project not only makes it easier to understand the aim of the project and PM
best practices, but it is also important to understand the nature of the project's complexity.
This requirement is very consistent with the objectives of the study and is reflected in the
results [ CITATION Azi10 \l 2057 ].
As Gillard (2009) stated, project managers must respond simultaneously to the needs of often
demanding clients, meet strict deadlines and have limited or sometimes non-existent
resources to complete the work, while grazing and motivating individuals. They are
responsible for the results of the project, but they are often inefficient in personnel or
resources and need to find a way to get the job done without charging with wings, because
the next project in the envelope may include many of the same people.
Pant & Baroudi, [CITATION Pan08 \n \l 2057 ] writes, responsibility without autonomy is
another obstacle that project managers face regularly. When team members have a dual
structure of communication, project managers may find it difficult to guide team. Direct
authorization of staff is often undertaken by operational managers, while project managers
have little direct authority over project team members or their managers. Given the
complexity of the project manager's project, skills and expertise are required to successfully
complete the project. Hence, Livesey, [CITATION Liv16 \n \l 2057 ] suggests, today project
management skills are usually divided into 50/50, divided into traditional "hard" skills (such
as risk management and planning) and "soft" human-oriented skills (such as interpersonal
communication).

Literature Review
According to, Pant & Baroudi, [CITATION Pan08 \n \l 2057 ] Project management is a new kind
of holistic management that allows organizations to integrate, schedule and manage tight
schedules and through a unique effort to enhance the performance of companies.. The need
for project management skills is growing due to increased competition and various
technological disruptions. This role requires dealing with multiple issues at the same time
which makes it complex. Historically project management abilities are necessary for the
completion of a project, communication among various departments and the entire
organization is critical for supporting a common goal of the project and organisation.
Therefore, the endearing administration of any project needs all-round skills, comprising
interpersonal, technical and cognitive skills and ability to understand circumstances and
individuals and then dynamically amalgamate appropriate leadership behaviors. [CITATION
HBR13 \l 2057 ]. Just like people in other roles, PMs understand and refer to the term
"complexity" in broad and varied methods because of not being aware of the difference
between complexity and complicated. Some organizational factors and administrative barriers
are out of project managers' scope hence projects are frequently considered complex. At
times professionals are unable to differentiate between complex projects and complicated
projects. Complex projects are relatively common and are usually delivered by dividing the
project into subprograms and then finding a solution for interdependencies between the
subprograms. This seems complicated for many complex projects. Although complex
projects are often very large, the structure can be very precisely defined at the beginning and
during the project. Whereas in complicated projects, it is not possible to do long term
planning. (Alam, et al., 2010).
In project management terms such as hard and soft are widely in use. they sometimes refer to
result, framework, budgets, circumstances, technology, automation and etc. However, "hard
skills in project management usually refer to a framework, procedure, technologies, while
"soft skills" allude to tackling people problems, the "human" part of a project [ CITATION Ton12
\l 2057 ]. According to, Sukhoo, et al., [CITATION Suk05 \n \l 2057 ] , these skills, although
critical, need to be collaborated with soft skills. Usually, project management systems display
more inclination and preference to hard skills. As a result of research, it may also appear
automation of various project management processes related to hard skills is already in
process. However, Zuo, et al., [CITATION Zuo18 \n \l 2057 ] argue that the success of any
organization cannot be dependent only on hard skills. A favorable result can be achieved by
combining both hard & soft skills. The fusion of hard and soft skills can effectively lead a
project to favourable outcome.
It is also evident that the finest jobs are achieved by those who are experienced in their
technical capabilities as well as in soft skills. In today's evolving globalized world, many
projects have inherent complexity and concealment that can hinder progress in the
development phase, so hard skills must be combined with soft skills [ CITATION Woo15 \l
2057 ].

Sukhoo, et al., [CITATION Suk05 \n \l 2057 ] identifies that some organizations that soft skills
not properly taken into account while hiring for project management candidates. Soft skills
are considered art, which relate to human management, collaboration and ensuring people's
satisfaction. A suitable environment is created for team members, allowing them to give best
result, in budget and outpacing the client’s expectations. With many years of research,
various soft skills have been identified in different sectors, industries, roles, etc. Some of
them are identified as- interpersonal, team-management, flexibility and agility, leadership and
stress & conflict management[ CITATION Suk05 \l 2057 ]. However, it is also evident successful
projects are delivered by capable people who are able to deal with the complexity of projects
with their soft skills not with method and tools. Some skills [ CITATION Car15 \l 2057 ].
Communication skills
Communication skill is the capability to communicate efficiently with ease and clarity so that
the team heads toward the common goal. For the project manager, good communication is a
significant and necessary skill [ CITATION Ton12 \l 2057 ].
Team building
Team building involves building a team with the right combination of skills to successfully
achieve a common goal and finish the project. Contradicting or conflicting behaviour among
team members must be identified early. Teamwork is central at different level - from top to
the low-level management[ CITATION Hec12 \l 2057 ].
Agility and creativity
Since each project has its own characteristics, hence, every project may require a different
combination of components, templates, tools, and technologies [ CITATION Woo15 \l 2057 ].
The PMs must be flexible enough to adjust to the requirements of the project. By
understanding the personalities of individual members and accepting personal preferences,
you can increase flexibility and creativity[ CITATION Liv16 \l 2057 ].
Stress management
Stress refers to tension or stress caused by unforeseeable contingencies. For project managers
who are constantly under stress, stress management is essential and should not affect team
behaviour[ CITATION Suk05 \l 2057 ].

Soft skills and Project Management

Azim, et al., [CITATION Azi10 \n \l 2057 ] identifies the hard skills of a project manager are
crucial and significant, but they come along with various challenges. Project management has
physical conflicts due to internal financial, budgetary and timetables, powers and political
processes that operate as the project crosses the project deadline, and interdependencies of the
project, and risk involved in it. Given such intricate situations in project management,
Gillard, [CITATION Sha09 \n \l 2057 ] believes that project managers' role is beyond operations
& procedures. Communication effectiveness and transformational leadership are considered
are perceived as significant in the management of projects. studies have shown soft skills
have the least negative impact on hard skills, rather they tend to enhance the overall
performance of the project. This may be due to the fact that people use their knowledge and
creativity to deliver results, not just tech, tools or material. Project manager often face issues
such as: people management with relationship management skills to manage targets and
conflicts[CITATION HBR13 \l 2057 ].
According to Carvalho & Junior, [CITATION Car15 \n \l 2057 ] interpersonal skills,
organization, leadership, analytical thinking, team management, agility, and reliability are
key skills other than hard skills needed to successfully manage a project. Beyond project
management, soft skills can address various other issues among different stakeholders. Soft
skills are often the difference between the proper and excellent performance.
Skills and Emotional Intelligence
Soft skills mainly come from the founding of emotional intelligence. Others believe that EQ
is twice as important at all levels as technical skills. Emotional intelligence is an
amalgamation of character, self-awareness, and sociability, that can be developed at the
workplace.[ CITATION Zuo18 \l 2057 ]. In addition, Pant and Baroudi (2008) argue that
emotional intelligence is directly linked to self-analysis and tacit knowledge such as
individual, comprehension, and experiential learning. Likewise, Zuo, et al., (2018) defined
characteristics of project managers' emotional capabilities, namely: sentimental, sociable and
mental understanding. Rational decision-making ability is also an important skill for project
managers. According to Huang et al. (2015), these skills mitigate the connection between the
profitability of project and resource utilization. However, Carvalho & Junior (2015) argue
that cognitive skills do not directly affect project manager’s performance. Instead, this effect
is mediated through knowledge of the work.
With continuous research and globalisation, it is necessary for a project manager to be a good
communicator. The list of other skills and competences that contribute to the success of the
project are incessant: an understandable political mind, understanding of employee
motivation, organizational motivation and team behaviour[ CITATION Car15 \l 2057 ].
PMBOK and Soft skills
To clarify how project managers should structure and define their own successful
documented templates, the US-based PMI established the first PMBoK in the mid-1980s,
which became the basis for global project management standards and certification [ CITATION
PMB17 \l 2057 ]. The focus of the PMBOK guide has been developing with multiple instances
that have always focused on hard skills. PMBOK is more focused on the delivery of the
project and tends to ignore the value of human interaction in its concepts. [ CITATION Pan08 \l
2057 ]..

The majority of project management training today is based on standards and practices
developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK) groups components of PMs, they are: knowledge, skills, tools, and
technologies and is generally considered best practice in the field and is a training plan for
many companies and educational institutions. PMBOK describes five key procedures for
managing most projects effectively (initiating, scheduling, enforcing, monitoring and control)
and eight supportive knowledge areas (project completion, scope, time, cost, quality, human
resources, communication, and risk management [ CITATION PMB17 \l 2057 ].
In the early 1990s APM UK developed its own BOK, known as APM BoK, and realized the
value of human skills. As mentioned above, the key soft skills identified by, Alam, et al.,
[CITATION Ala10 \n \l 2057 ] are: interpersonal, team-management, flexibility and agility,
leadership and stress & conflict management. APM BoK is UK's major project management
body of knowledge[ CITATION Mor06 \l 2057 ] . In the university setting, the emphasis given to
most project management teachers is on the technical skills needed to succeed in the project,
most notably the never-ending loop of deadlines, budget and quality. [ CITATION Ala10 \l 2057 ].
Sisson & Adams, (2013) point out that universities are now making efforts to improve both
skills (technical and human) of students, as well as the way in which many universities
collaborate with the industry for doctoral research. In terms of BoK usage, they are not easily
linked to competencies and learning outcomes. They can provide theoretical knowledge, but
fail to give practical insight and application of the theory. It is believed that there is a clear
gap between the BoK, especially in the field of practice and theory. This should also be
inferred that the material in the BoK may only be viewed as a reference for certain skills, and
for more study, its usage alone will not be entirely effective. [ CITATION Mor06 \l 2057 ].

Risk management and soft skills

Many organizations have utilised significant resources on project management (PMI 2009),
and top managements have sought proof that their organizational work has produced
favourable results. Another important outcome of this analysis is the development and
implementation of a common system for project management, so relying on the technological
knowledge of risk management is not enough to handle complexity efficiently. Research of,
Heckman & Kautz, (2012) indicates that soft skills components have an significant role to
play, and businesses will therefore suggest improving soft skills as their effect on project
performance is impressive and beneficial. This requires the necessity for all stakeholders to
be cognizant of project risks in order to change their probability of completion. In fact, the
soft skills analysis showed a significant role in the final priorities and strategic points of the
enterprise. Understanding the issues of the competitive environment is particularly important.
Therefore, to address this requirement for comprehending, a more strategic approach to risks
related to projects, including foreseeing dangers and opportunities, as well as identifying
important external actors, partners, and suppliers, is needed [ CITATION Car15 \l 2057 ].
Hence Gillard, [CITATION Sha09 \n \l 2057 ] states, when project managers are faced with
unpredictable uncertainty, they must use their soft skills (such as instinct and judgment) to
provide rapid response and adjust to new risk conditions in order to balance expectations or
readiness and flexibility.
Conflict management
Conflicts can create serious division in the project team in any kind of project. Disagreements
can occur as a consequence of disparities in priorities, allocation of wealth, quality of work or
other factors. Conflicts are appropriate (particularly when clarifying or raising questions
about a issue or trap) or may impede the overall result. Ideal disputes are also referred to as
practical disputes, whereas bad disputes are often referred to as system failures. [ CITATION
Azi10 \l 2057 ].

Conflict management skills are essential for project managers so that they can avoid team
members' behaviour from deteriorating into an uncoordinated situation that may prevent them
from working productively again [ CITATION Pan08 \l 2057 ].
Leadership and soft skills
Gillard, [CITATION Sha09 \n \l 2057 ] recognizes the importance of team management
characteristics to the efficiency of administration and places where employees and working
environments are crucial factors to remember when selecting the correct leadership style
According to this decree, Helsey and Blanchard have made significant additions to leadership
theory, using the "maturity" of followers as part of the workplace situation. Throughout the
concept of career maturity two subdivisions are: task maturity or task activity and relational
maturity or relationship activity. This suggests, according to Hersey and Blanchard, that
successful leaders respect a subordinate's willingness to accomplish a mission, evaluate their
attitude towards completing the goal, and then choose the most suitable managerial style for
the defined work atmosphere (Gillard, 2009).
Leadership is one of the manager's functions, so, for example, the software developer should
be in charge of the software project team. Software design managers use different leadership
styles, and in some cases, some leadership styles are better than others. Effective coordination
may create unity among project managers and team leaders, rather than authoritarianism.
Project managers must be people who want to be found by team members, not avoided.
According to, Sukhoo, et al.,[CITATION Suk05 \n \l 2057 ] four leadership styles may be
associated with project managers: Dictatorial, Analytic, Opinion-seeking, Democratic.
The psychological impact of choosing the right leadership style cannot be ignored. However,
the most popular style of leadership management among employees is not accepted by all
managers. Most individuals have a propensity to follow a particular look and never consider
improvements that sometimes affect people.
Emotional intelligence, organizational style, and HRM (management of human resources) are
some of the main principles that can be regarded as suitable soft skills in order to handle tasks
effectively.
Change management and soft skills
Changes in project implementation are inevitable, in certain situations leaving the team
unmotivated. Therefore, it is necessary to adapt the design accordingly in order to adapt to
the change. Some modifications are under the project manager's authority (such as lowering
target) and some aren't (such as transferring one team leader to another job). In this case, an
assessment of the impact of changes in the timetable, budget, and resources should be made.
Before the changes can take place, the changes must be identified and evaluated [ CITATION
Sis13 \l 2057 ]. The resistance of users is an important problem in change management.
Change is an integral feature, particularly in software development projects with the
continued development of technology[ CITATION Suk05 \l 2057 ].

Integrating Soft Skills and Hard Skills in Project Management

When the study field of project management continues to expand, it is becoming increasingly
apparent that the position of effective project manager cannot be performed exclusively
through technological expertise. Technical abilities are known to be one of the basic
qualifications of the project manager[ CITATION Car15 \l 2057 ].
The high degree of failure of a project requires action to be taken immediately to improve
overall performance. For certain instances, it is strongly important that soft skills are paired
with hard skills for current and new project management approaches. The earlier portions
contained details of some of the significant soft skills essential for project managers.

Conclusion
This article explores aspects of project management analysis that have established the value
of project complexity and soft skills in different ways.
PMBOK is criticized for putting greater emphasis on hard skills than soft skills. On the other
side, awareness of the project's' complexity' is growing. Soft skills, such as problem resolution,
persuasion, social intelligence, etc., are applied on a regular basis to project management activities.
Each tough skill in project management inherits soft skills that can to be practised.

Strong leadership skills or soft skills are a reasonable qualification for performance for a
successful project manager, though some deny, others affirm that these are qualities that can
be acquired rather than inherited.
Some managers use these qualities throughout the selection process following the literary
study of recent studies on soft skills within project management. This gives them a good idea
of how personable the employee will be as a project manager. Since these skills tend to be
scarce for candidates starting their professional careers, more emphasis can be placed on
training project managers to acquire the skills needed by the organization. Nevertheless, it is
not obvious how those abilities are assessed and tested mathematically for potential positions
in the business.
In addition, research shows that good leadership during projects is crucial and the leader's
leadership style directly influence project outcomes. The qualitative and quantitative effect
of soft skills on the progress of the project is significant. Therefore, using data from a number
of research studies, this analysis indicates that the soft skills of project management have
contributed greatly to the performance of projects in diverse industries. To order to make the
most of every project, it is strongly recommended that project management practitioners be
educated to soft skills. It, in effect, would lead to the growth of the company.
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