Project coaching – bridging the gap in soft skills
Historically, project managers have focussed mainly on the hard (technical) skills such as scheduling, planning, budget management, resource management etc. But despite the use of various structured methodologies and processes, high percentages of projects continue to fail costing organisations millions of pounds.
Research has shown that hard skills alone are not enough to run projects successfully. Experts argue that gaps in soft skills account for a high proportion of project failures. Soft skills (also referred to as interpersonal or people skills) focus on behavioural competencies such as Leadership, Team building, Stakeholder relations, Personal effectiveness, Motivation, Communication, Influencing, Decision making, Negotiating etc. Some find developing these skills quite challenging no wonder they are also referred to as ‘tough’ skills!
Project Management associations have recognised the value of soft skills in the delivery of successful projects. The Association for Project Management (APM) competence framework contains 9 behavioural competence elements. Similarly, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) includes 15 behavioural competence elements in its competence baseline. The Project Management Institute (PMI) has added an appendix on interpersonal skills in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide.
The challenge is how to develop/improve soft skills within programmes and projects. Developing soft skills could take time, so training programmes alone are unlikely to achieve significant benefits. The ideal intervention for achieving long term sustainable improvements is through coaching.
Project Coaching facilitates learning and development within project organisations. Coaching programmes are tailored to project needs and provide the ideal framework for project managers, teams and stakeholders to develop their soft skills. The resultant effects are improved project performance.
What are the ‘soft’ issues impacting your project?
What can I say but … Yes! Yes! Yes!
As a specialist who works with Projects, particularly in technology (PMO – Assurance – Quality – Process – Compliance – Audit … etc.) I “advertise” as someone who “Gets Things Done” … and I do!
I run successful projects and above all ENABLE OTHERS to do the same. How ? … soft skills.
What do I see happening in Business ? … and please appreciate that I have to generalize … Project Managers commissioned to deliver “good” projects, yet perceived as steam trains heading in the Client’s direction with change that they neither want nor understand.
Out of the woodwork come Clients and competitive Departments resisting and undermining in a multitude of ways and for a variety of reasons … result … a perfectly good project de-railed.
How to turn this around ?
The success analogy I apply is the Tug Boat which can turn a ship much larger than itself by nudging and persuading … the soft skills of Listening Educating, Facilitating, Negotiating, Coaching etc.
These competencies CANNOT be learned over night and will not be included in the capabilities of most Project Managers. So how to overcome this difficulty?
A PMO staffed with resources that possess such competencies can support Project Management and help bring home successful projects .. i.e. tug boats that work around the ship alongside the PM to nudge the ship into its new direction successfully.
So … does this mean that everyone in a PMO must have these competencies ? … they are extremely rare.
No … reserve part of the PMO budget to recruit 1 or 2 Coaches (there may be a more appropriate name !!). Employ them to work IN HARNESS WITH (alongside) the PMs to provide the soft skills that enable successful delivery.
Ah yes I hear you say … the budget won’t stretch … well … better 4 projects brought home successfully than 5 with 1 or more unsuccessful!