Construction Project Managers must have these 5 critical skills to be successful at their jobs. We invite you to review these skills and take them into consideration to better yourself or help you identify the correct people to manage your projects.

Communication

Communication and the ability to communicate clearly are key skills that all project managers need. As construction project managers, clearly communicating what is to be done and when it is to be done is vastly important to the quality and success of a project.

Risk Management

Being able to assess a situation and provide risk control from beginning to end is another key skill. Risk management doesn’t just mean that they manage the risk at the poor points, but that they see the potential risk before it happens and work their best to try to put a stop to it ahead of time. Risk management must be a priority for those looking for the best project managers.

Technology

Technology is another key skill that plays into the success of a construction project manager. This not only includes having a broad understanding, but also a specific technical grip on what goes on throughout the construction industry, whether on the site or in the office. The project manager should know how to utilize construction management software and other tools to aid in the success of the team and the project itself.

Negotiation

Another necessary skill for construction project managers to have is negotiation. Having strong negotiation skills and having a knack for negotiation tactics will help project managers diligently manager their budgets and resources better. Directing people isn’t easy, and negotiation plays a significant role in doing it successfully while not angering or pitting teams and others against each other.

Team Management

Finally, team management is one of the most difficult and necessary skills to master. People are all different, and they have strengths and weaknesses that make them who they are. The skill of team management takes those strengths and weaknesses and makes them work together in a smooth running method. This skill is one of the most important, and you can’t have a good project manager without it. Otherwise, the team would fall apart.

When you bundle all of these skills up you will have found the best project manager you can get. Instead of trying to have 9 people make a baby in a month, think rather of the quote from Cornelious Fichtner.

“The P in PM is as much about ‘people management’ as it is about ‘project management’.”

That is something important to remember above all. All of these skills will make someone good at managing people, and if they are good at managing people, they will most assuredly be good at managing projects.