- – being able to identify and analyze a problem on a project and creatively pose a solution.
- Positive attitudeWhat are the phases of PM? – being calm under stress, learning from mistakes, and building relationships.
- Strong work ethic – having discipline, integrity, professionalism, and punctuality.What are the three most important things in project management?
- Leadership – guiding teams to achieve project goals through vision, direction, and effective decision-making.
- Critical-thinkingWhat do you mean by Agile project management? – the ability to evaluate facts and form a rational judgement.
In contrast, project management hard skills are the technical skills and knowledge required to perform your job as a project manager. These skills are normally industry-specific and can be acquired through project management coursesWhat does the Gantt chart stand for? or on-the-job experience.
Here are some examples:
- Mathematic skills – accounting, budgeting, auditing, data analysis.What is a program vs project life cycle?
- IT skills – typing speed, coding, programming, software knowledge.
- Hard communication skills – writing, foreign languages, presentations.
- Marketing skills – social media, design, CMS, SEO skills.What is a project life cycle?
- Organization skills – time management, estimating, planning.
- Industry knowledge – engineering, construction, legal, healthcare.
Both hard and soft skills are desired by employers when hiring project managers. Hard skills can be proved with a degree, diploma, apprenticeship, professional What is Agile PM vs waterfall PM?certification or other qualificationWhat is Agile working in project management?. However, project manager soft skills can be difficult to prove, so it’s essential to show-off such skills at interview and provide examples on your CV.
Project management soft skills
The work of project managers involves not only managing teams, and ensuring deadlines and budgets are met, but also working with stakeholders. When engaging with stakeholders, project manager soft skills will be sorely tested especially when dealing with senior people across functional boundaries. This can be extremely challenging when such senior people have a much higher level of authority than the project manager.What is difference between project and program management?
Keeping communication open is vital. Building rapport with the team and stakeholders helps achieve this. Let people know they can come to you. If people feel unable to approach you with issues, they’ll keep information from you. This causes a breakdown in communication and damages the project.
Learning project manager soft skillsLearn about the flexibility within the PRINCE2 framework to balance performance aspects effectively. Discover key strategies by reading further.
Some project managers seem born with the right skills for the job. They might naturally be more extroverted or adept at leadership. It’s true that being a more naturally outgoing or empathetic person makes you perfect for this role. But this doesn’t mean such skills can’t be learned.
You can learn soft skills with:
Some of the soft skills required for Project controls – your driver to project successproject management are briefly covered on courses like Knowledge TrainAPM PFQ19 Feb 2026. This course is a great choice for anyone just starting a project-based career. It is recognized in all industries as proof of project management skillsProject controls are an essential part of project management. Find out how you can use them to measure project progress, predict outcomes and steer projects on the right course..
Dale Carnegie’s two bestselling books How to Win Friends and Influence People and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living are ideal for developing your influencing and communication skills, as well as your attitude to work. The latter will help you become more proactive.
Other recommended books include Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey and Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg and Deepak Chopra.
These days, so much help is available online and offline. If you need to improve your soft skills to become a better project manager , help is out there.
View soft skills infographicProject management methods: a guide to modern approaches
Mariana Magalhães Project Manager at Forty8CreatesKnowledge Train
Mariana’s23 Feb 2026 interest in the correlation between social media, data and strategy lead her to work in digital marketing. She started working with Forty8Creates as a Social Media Assistant and worked her way up to become Project Manager. She manages multiple client briefs, communicating client needs to team members and ensuring prompt project deliveryLearn about popular project management methods and choose the one that will work best for your team and result in greater efficiency. In this comprehensive guide, you will find the most relevant approaches explained..
Nicci Beacham Project Manager at Liberty Marketing
Nicci is a Project Manager at Liberty Marketing. She has over 7 years of experience working within the FMCG, Design and Digital Marketing sectors. Nicci began her career as a Project Coordinator managing packaging design for a British soft drink brand, before moving into digital marketing.
Liberty is the largest digital agency in Wales, with clients such as Universal Publishing Production Music, Pizza Express and Penguin Books.