Professional Development Tips to Boost Your Career as a Project Manager
A career as a project manager is dynamic and rewarding, but staying ahead in the field requires more than just experience. It demands continuous learning, skill development, and strategic career planning. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your career as a project manager to the next level, investing in professional growth is essential to staying competitive and effective in an ever-evolving industry.
In this guide, we’ll explore the top 3 skills every project manager should develop. We’ll look at the value of certifications, training and how networking and mentorship can accelerate your career as a project manager. From sharpening your leadership abilities to mastering communication and problem-solving, we’ll provide actionable tips to help you build a strong professional development plan and boost your career as a project manager.
3 Key skills every project manager should develop
One of the things that you can include in your professional learning plan is skills development. But what skills?
The problem with lists of key skills is that everyone has their own take on what it means to be a good scheduler, Earned Value Management professional or project manager. However, we’ve reviewed lots of content from academics, thought leaders and experts in the field and there are definitely 3 skills that come out on top time and time again.
Leadership
Project management is a leadership job now, more so than ever before. You’re setting the tone for the delivery of a piece of work and managing the ethics and standards that will be used. Even if the resources don’t work directly for you, you can influence the environment, processes and culture of the project.
If you feel this is an area where you could do with support, see if you can get on a leadership development program through your company or organize a mentor (more on that below).
Communication
Communication should be easier than ever with all the tools and channels at our disposal! Unfortunately, we think that the tech means communicating is actually harder. Did they get the message? Did they understand it? Did they read it and plan to act on it but then it got lost in the hundreds of other messages in their inbox?
Project leaders need to come up with creative and effective ways to communicate. Talk to your team about the best methods for reaching them and change up your style so you get your message across.
Problem-solving
Project managers are facilitators of the process, but that process can often involve problem-solving. When there’s an issue, you need to know how to step in and how far to go. There’s an assessment to be made: Do you escalate or not?
Draw on your professional judgment and technical problem-solving strategies that you can learn and implement. There are tools and techniques out there that will help you navigate the team through difficult times. If this is an area where you’d like to develop your skills further, check out what resources are available through your internal training teams or browse online.
Certifications and training
Something else you can build into your professional development plan for the year is training. Perhaps it’s finally time to do that Deltek Cobra course. Perhaps you have a member of staff who would value a Primavera P6 Fundamentals class.
If you’ve already got the basics down, this might be the year to get certified. Whether you are going for a general project management certification like the Project Management Professional (PMP)® or something specific to Earned Value Management or your industry, there are lots of options to choose from. Choose formal training and certification that support your career journey and will be valued by your employers, present and future.
Book the training now before your budget gets used up on other things.
Networking and mentorship
One of the easiest ways to develop your project management skills is to learn from others. Whether that’s the person on the team who has been using Primavera P6 since it came out or a leader in another department who is known for their stakeholder engagement skills, your workplace is full of people with knowledge to share. Ask them for a coffee, book a short Teams call to pick their brains or pop by their desk. Whether you’ve got a targeted question or just want a space to explore some ideas, lean on your colleagues.
Equally, you have skills that you can share with others. Could you be a mentor? Even if no one has asked you officially, you can still support your colleagues. If you notice someone struggling, or if someone mentions they’d like to develop a new skill (as long as it is something you are known to be good at), then offer help. Don’t assume they need the help – ask if they are open to it first. They may already have a development plan in place.
Expand your knowledge
Project management software changes rapidly, and there are often new features to explore. Our blog covers the main releases and developments, as well as technical guides for many of the software tools you use every day.
You can also stay up to date by watching YouTube videos, using the online help for your tools, attending webinars from vendors and staying connected to the latest trends through professional organizations like the Project Management Institute (PMI). We’ve drifted away from books for technical advice as the field changes too rapidly, although there are some very good ones published annually on skills and project management best practices.
No matter where you are in your project management journey, there are always new opportunities to learn, grow, refine your expertise and career as a project manager. As a project leader, you need to invest in continuous learning and self-improvement to advance in your career as a project manager – or even, we’d suggest, to stay still. These strategies will help you thrive as a project manager and make a lasting impact in your organization.
There are so many opportunities in this profession, and we wish you all the best with your learning plans for this year!