Managing People and Stakeholders in Projects - Communication and Leadership Skills

Overview

Course duration: 2 days.

Project managers often overlook people management in favour of technical skills. This practical two day course ensures that you put people back at the centre of your projects.

Effective people management, team management, influencing, negotiating and communication skills enable project managers to gain commitment from the project team and achieve the performance needed to deliver projects successfully.

This two day course will help you to develop your people management skills, both for people working full time on your projects and people who have other responsibilities and demands on their time.

Is it right for me?

Suitable for individuals who want to develop their ‘soft’ skills to support the management of their projects.

What will I learn?

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• Understand the role of the project leader in the management of people within the project.
• Understand what makes a good people manager in projects.
• Understand the differences between managing part-time and full-time project team members.
• Maximise the contribution, commitment and motivation of each individual in the project.
• Improve your management of project team members, teams and stakeholders.
• Communicate in a more persuasive manner with the different people involved in the project.
• Explain complicated ideas, overcome obstacles and help remove obstacles through working with the team.
• Know what leadership styles to apply.
• Set a clear direction for team members involved in the project.
• Motivate individuals to achieve project success.

What will it cover?

People Management and the Project Manager’s Role

• The importance of people management in projects
• The skills required in managing people in projects
• The line or project manager’s responsibilities for managing people

Stakeholder Management

• Stakeholder analysis and stakeholder management
• Stakeholder planning

Leadership Styles in the Project Environment

• The range of leadership styles
• Criteria for deciding which style is appropriate
• How to use each style effectively 

Building the Project Team

• The difference between a project team and a work team 
• Stages of team development
• Building team roles

Managing the Individual in Projects

• Objective setting for project team members
• Setting responsibilities and assigning accountability in projects
• Using single point accountability to delegate and motivate
• Delegation - the do’s and don’ts

Motivating to Achieve Project Success

• Recognising and avoiding demotivational factors
• Developing and building motivation

Persuasive and Influential Communication

• Persuasive communication - gaining owners’ agreement
• Ensuring your communication is clear, concise and clearly understood
• Delegation - the do’s and don’t

Difficult Situations - Influencing Senior Managers Successfully

• Communicating difficult or sensitive messages and minimising conflict
• Adopting the appropriate influencing style to gain cooperation from others
• Managing conflict and dealing with difficult situations and people