Module 4

PM Skills Essay

Andres Berrios

Ego & Emotion

For a PM being able to control your ego and emotions is vital to the success of your

project. How one goes about doing so requires a combination of emotional intelligence, critical

thinking and analysis, and maintaining a growth mindset. A PM has to understand their emotions

and the impact they can have on their decision making. If their ego goes unchecked that could

cause the focus of the project to shift from satisfying the client to making themselves feel

empowered. That is why the PM must keep a mindset of bettering themselves, by analyzing the

effects of their ego and emotions they can then deduce which emotions are beneficial to their

project and which will serve as a distraction. For instance, serving as PM of my project I have

noticed that the emotions I allow to be seen by my subordinates are then mimicked and impact

the overall project. Allowing negative emotions to be seen will serve as a distraction therefore I

do my best to maintain a positive outlook that encourages a highly productive work environment.

Communication

The PM needs excellent communication skills for a multitude of reasons. Poorly

communicating information about deadlines or tasks can set a project back since the PM was

unclear now wasting time in correcting this error. Critical thinking then becomes an important

part of developing the PM's communication skills. Sharpening this skill will enable the PM to

identify key information and know "how to get your own point across more easily" (Cottrel,

2011). When it comes to getting your point across the PM must not only evaluate who needs to
know what, but they also need high emotional intelligence to decide how they communicate

details to whomever is receiving information. An example from my project is that I communicate

much differently to my client than I do my workers. What I choose to report to my client are

updates on what has been completed and what is left to be done. I also make sure to keep the

way I discuss those details in a positive way and try to not give the client any reason to have

doubts about me or the project. When I talk to my workers my tone changes to show the

importance of getting tasks accomplished on time and to motivate them to strive for the

satisfaction of our client.

Risk Management

Risk management is a responsibility that belongs almost solely to the PM. It is their job

to evaluate what areas present the most potential risk and how to minimize the possibility of a

problem arising. If any problems do occur the PM can use these setbacks to adjust their plan to

still be as successful as possible. Learning to look at setbacks as valuable feedback is a key skill

for a PM to develop a growth mindset and emotional intelligence (Mindset Video, 9:16). Rather

than becoming frustrated with minor problems or inconveniences PM's must maintain a clear

head to lead the team as effectively as possible. Maintaining these characteristics will serve the

PM as tools to make critical decisions to prevent possible problems or help when problems

inevitably appear. With my project dealing with construction certain risks I need to worry about

are along the lines of employee safety. My first step is to hypothesize what parts of the

renovation have safety risks such as tearing down the doors and walls, maybe there are nails

sticking out, or electric equipment are being mismanaged. Solutions I have implemented to help
prevent those risks are the use of personal protection equipment(PPE) and mandatory tools

training.

References

Cottrell, S. (2011). Critical Thinking Skills: developing effective analysis and argument.

Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

OGL320. Module 4. Mindsets & Analyzing Biases Video Quiz. Time Stamp(9:16).