Project leadership is in flux and a good manager knows never to become complacent. Jennifer Bridges, PMP, shows you how your role is evolving.

Here’s a shot of the whiteboard for your reference!

In Review: 7 Ways Project Manager Roles Are Changing

As Jennifer said, project manager roles are changing. The days of technical, scope, scheduling, budgeting, assigning resources and delivering deliverables on time have evolved to include soft skills such as conflict resolution, leadership, and even trends towards more business management skills such as business modeling and strategic analysis. These new skills are reflected in the new Project Management Institute (PMI) guidelines for certification and professional development units (PDUs) needed to maintain certification, a new triad of skills they’re calling the “Talent Triangle.”

In short, you’re going to need strategic and business management skills to stay competitive. So, you’re asked to wear more hats, but you’ve only one head. What do you do? Well, follow these seven tips and you’ll have a leg up.

1. Develop business acumen
2. Understand markets
3. Know industry trends
4. Build stakeholder relationships
5. Be clear on company logistics
6. Stay informed on marketing campaigns
7. Grasp business model

Basically, you need to stay nimble on the job and always keep learning. Isn’t that always the case? The great thing about project management is that it is a flexible and adaptive discipline. 

Bonus: 3 More Ways Project Manager Roles Are Changing

Project manager roles are always in flux. Here are a few more ways in which their work continues to evolve.

Data-Driven Decision Making

While project managers have always applied data to their decision-making, the more accurate, real-time insights and tools that have become available are influencing them with increased objectivity, proactive risk identification and predictive analytics. In terms of resource allocation and optimization, data enable project managers to better allocate resources based on historical data and current project needs. When projects encounter unexpected changes, project managers can quickly pivot and reallocate resources, guided by real-time data insights.

Data-driven decision-making has also led to better reporting, detailed analytics and visualizations, which makes communicating with stakeholders more effective. Plus, clearer performance tracking improves transparency and accountability for both team members and stakeholders. Post-project analysis also has improved continuous learning and process optimization.

Integrating More Technology

Certainly, the biggest paradigm shift presently is the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered decision-making. AI can analyze historical project data, trends and patterns to predict risks, resource shortages, delays or cost overruns. It also can suggest how to optimize resources, based on workload balancing, available skill sets and project priorities.

Software innovation has also impacted the role of project managers with task automation and workflow automation that can automate task dependencies, approvals and notifications, streamlining workflows. Collaborative tools are fostering better communication. Online platforms enable real-time access to project documentation, tasks and updates and advanced data analytics and reporting make it easier for project managers to track project progress, budget, timeline and resource usage.

Developing Both Hard and Soft Skills

The embrace of both hard (technical, specialized) and soft (interpersonal, leadership) skills has significantly changed the role of project managers. There’s an increased emphasis on leadership and strategy, making project managers not just administrators or taskmasters, but leaders and strategic thinkers.

This has also enhanced stakeholder management and communication, with technical skills to create reports, track project metrics, manage budget and analyze risks, but also managing stakeholders, building relationships and influencing decision makers. Effective stakeholder communication has become central to successful project delivery.

Related Templates to Help Project Managers

While project management software is a project manager’s best friend, not all professionals are ready to upgrade. For those who need an alternative, there are templates. ProjectManager has over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that cover all aspects of managing a project across multiple industries. Here are a few that can help project managers do their jobs better.

SWOT Analysis Template

SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This free SWOT analysis template for Word, helps project managers evaluate those aspects of their project. This simple matrix is made up of a box divided into quadrants. The horizontal axis is divided into positive and negative and the vertical axis is split between external and internal. Each quarter of the box is titled for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Project managers can then list these to develop a strategic plan to propel the project forward.

Cost Benefit Analysis Template

It can be difficult to know if a project, task or activity is worth the effort. The last thing a project manager wants is to discover that they wasted resources for little or no return. Use this free cost benefit analysis template for Excel to compare what one expects to pay for a project, task or activity against what benefits or opportunities it will provide. By placing a dollar amount against every cost and benefit in the project, project managers can determine if it’s profitable, both financially and in terms of business objectives and goals.

Strategy Map Template

A strategy map is a visual representation that shows the cause-and-effect of a strategic objective. Use this free strategy map template for Excel to help with risk management as well as considering the objectives from different perspectives. This ensures that any decision a project manager makes is the right one for the whole organization and not just one aspect of it.

Pro-Tip: You cannot initiate change as you might lead a military force with an order from on high, you have to lead a movement that captures your team’s imagination. Orders are yesterday’s steering wheel, so in today’s flatter business environment win people over to your perspective not through force, but positive persuasion.

Take it further: In a previous video, Jennifer highlights in more detail the PDU requirements outlined as part of the new PMI changes.

Thanks for watching!

Video Transcription

Today we’re talking about seven ways project manager roles are changing. If you think of project management as an evolution, initially, project managers were required to have technical project management skills. Basically, they needed to understand the scope of the project, how to build a schedule, how to build a budget, assign resources, and ensure the deliverables are produced on time. Then they were required to have leadership skills, where they led the team, they motivated the team, they resolved conflict among the team so that work could get done efficiently.

Now project managers are asked to be business managers. They are required to have strategic and business management skills, really understanding the business and how the business ties into the project, and the project impacts the business. They’re being asked now to bring more to the table. To bring more to the table, they need to have an understanding of these seven ways.

One, business acumen. Really understanding the language of business, understanding financials, what the net profit is, what some of the financial reports are, understanding the annual report and what gets reported. They need to understand the customer, what the customer expectations are, what the company wants the customer to experience. They also need to have an understanding of the market, doing a market analysis and understanding how the market impacts that, and where the company and the project sits.

Also understanding the industry trends, what’s happening in the industry, where is it now, and where is it going. Also building stronger stakeholder relationships, because they can indeed help the project manager remove barriers and get things done. Also, the operations of the company, understanding more about logistics, understanding the production of the different product, the deliverables. Also understanding marketing and campaigns, and how important those are, and then maybe some legal compliance issues.

And then, again, the strategy, understanding business models and how that impacts the project. So with that, the project manager is required to be more agile, respond more quickly, be more nimble. They are asked to champion, specifically champion the customers, and they’re also being asked to anticipate those market trends so they can respond accordingly to the project.

So if you need a tool that can help you bring more to the table, then sign up for our software now at ProjectManager.