Conflict management involves helping others to work through conflict fairly and with minimal impacts to the team or project.  Conflict is essential to successful projects. The key to conflict management is to keep it in balance. Allow enough good conflict to occur before escalating to something negative.  There is a lot of value in the healthy debate of diverse teams. 

• Are you neutral? Teams will be more willing to work through conflict with a neutral party facilitating
• Do you say what no one else wants to? Let the team know when awkward and difficult topics are coming

Decision making involves gathering and assessing information then making a choice between different options.  It is what leads to better environments, sound strategies, and solutions. Decisions can be uncomfortable because they feel so final and the accountability they bring is very apparent. We don’t want to let our teams down or fail by making the wrong decision.  Indecision, however, can sometimes have even more negative effects.

• Confirm the data: Watch out for the trust pitfall, keep it neutral and make sure the learning happens in establishing facts
• Be candid about authority: Be proactive about understanding and establishing your authority on decisions

Communication involves the transfer of information through verbal, non-verbal and written forms.  It is what allows us to convey and understand information accurately and efficiently. With technology options today, the underlying art of communication is slowly being lost because our tendencies have gone on autopilot. Effective communication requires some tact and consideration.

• Be concise: Brief and direct messages capture your audience faster and heighten engagement
• Speak with tact: Don’t put people on the defensive and always speak as the team

Negotiation is another term for settling differences or reaching an agreement.  There are numerous aspects of project management that require negotiation, but it can be uncomfortable.  At times you must advocate for something that benefits your project but does not necessarily benefit the colleague or stakeholder with whom you are negotiating. At times, you will be the one on that lesser side of the negotiation process.  It is an essential skill because you will want to advocate for your best case scenario no matter the circumstances.

• Establish your levels before negotiation: Identify what you want, what is beyond your threshold and what is your best case compromise before going into negotiation
• Make facts your home base: Facts are objective, harder to dispute and lay a more solid foundation for debate

Convincing stakeholders to adopt what is in the best interest of the project or project team comprises influence in project management.  Listening plays an important complimentary role to influence.  Hearing and listening are different.  Hearing checks the communication box.  Listening brings the value.  How so? Listening leads to better understanding of different perspectives and this builds empathy.  Empathy makes you better able to relate to different people.  When you relate there is a better mutual understanding and that builds trust.  When people trust you, they will then listen to you and that is influencing!

• Look for the motivator: Make the connections between project objectives and the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) for each stakeholder type
• Be the one to challenge your perspective: Avoid quick scenario judgements, be sure you are really considering the alternative and the aftermath

By definition, leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization.  The project management landscape of today calls for project managers to evolve into project leaders.  They must continue to manage project activities but also inspire their teams to action, flex their leadership style to specific situations, and facilitate a culture of collaboration.  Good leadership is actually the execution of multiple essential skills in concert.   The effective combination of these skills creates the skill of leadership.

• Look for assumptions like a hawk: Use tactics like a 3 reason rule to help eliminate action on assumptions
• Guide, don’t tell: Leading questions can be used to guide team members down decision paths

Flexibility is the ability to respond to sudden changes within a project or surrounding circumstances.  The capability to quickly adapt minimizes impact to delivery.  References to flexibility in project management generally refer to flexibility in scope, resources, schedule, or methodology. It is just as important to institute flexibility in the administration of project management as well. 

• Hybrid approach transitions: In hybrid projects, risk occurs at transition points.  Address areas where one methodology feeds another to ensure these transitions are robust
• Take the lead on risk: Facilitate discussions to continuously review risks and ensure proactive response strategies