Course length 

2 days

Why come on this course?

People are one of the most important parts of a project, but people management skills are often overlooked in favour of technical skills by project managers. However, effective people management, team management, influencing and communication skills, enable project managers to gain commitment from the project team and achieve the performance needed to successfully deliver against objectives.

Who is it for?

You will benefit from this course if you are an experienced or new project manager who wish to develop your people management skills, whether you are managing team members working full time on the project or who have other responsibilities and demands on your time.

What will I learn?

By the end of this course you will:

• Recognise the importance of running a successful project to the organisation 
• Explain the importance of people management in projects 
• List the skills required to manage people when running a project 
• Identify the line/ project manager’s responsibilities for managing people 
• State the range of leadership styles available 
• Discuss the criteria for deciding which style is appropriate 
• Use a style at each stage of the life-cycle of the project 
• Recognise the difference between a project team and a work team 
• Demonstrate how to map the project team 
• State the stages of team development 
• Build team roles 
• Set objectives for team members 
• Define a process for effective delegation 
• Recognise the do’s and don’ts of delegation 
• Recognise and avoid de-motivational factors 
• Develop and build motivation after setbacks have been experienced 
• Use recognition within the project to motivate 
• Build persuasive communication skills to gain buy-in from team colleagues and stakeholders 
• Learn techniques to ensure your communication is clear, concise and clearly understood 
• Identify and develop a more active and effective listening process 
• Enhance your questioning skills 
• Communicate challenging or sensitive messages and minimising conflict 
• Manage conflict and dealing with difficult situations and people 
• Define stress and its causes 
• Recognise the causes and symptoms of stress in yourself and others 
• Identify how personality type can affect an individual’s ability to cope with stress 
• Recognise the five stages of stress management and how reframing can help limit stressful responses 
• State practical methods for reducing stress in yourself and others

Course contents

• Personal objectives for the course
• Who is included in the project team?
• What problems do you experience?
• The importance of your success as a project manager
• What is project management?
• The differences between line management and project management
• The skills required to run a project
• The action centred leadership model
• Leadership style and the life cycle of the project
• Building the project team and key team roles in the project team
• Stages of team development
• Managing individuals within the project team
• Setting objectives
• Controlling projects and progress reporting
• The importance of delegation
• The significance of your communication skills
• Questioning and listening techniques
• The transactional analysis model
• Influencing strategies
• The power of behaviour
• What motivates and de-motivates your project team?
• Decision-making
• Conflict management
• The impact of stress
• Completion of a personal action plan