Key Messages
How To Combine Project Management And Emotional Intelligence For Success
If you want to be a successful project manager, it’s important to understand how emotional intelligence and project management are connected.
And if you’re looking for guidance on combining the two, this is the book for you!
In its pages you’ll discover why emotional intelligence is especially vital for project managers, why setting emotional boundaries can help you in so many ways, and how to build strong relationships with stakeholders.
It gives practical advice that will help you become a superb project manager!
So read this book and learn the skills necessary to take your project management abilities to the next level.
Using Emotional Intelligence To Give Yourself A Competitive Edge In Project Management
Emotional intelligence can be a major asset to any project manager that wants to advance their career.
It enables them to interact productively with their team, clients, and stakeholders.
Furthermore, studies have shown that a manager’s emotional intelligence can have an impact on the success of a project, even more so than IQ alone.
In addition, managers with strong emotional intelligence skills can develop positive relationships with those they work with, giving them a competitive edge in the increasingly competitive field of project management.
More and more people are taking the PMP (Project Management Professional) certification every year and it’s important for project managers to stand out from the rest.
Having well-honed emotional intelligence skills can set you apart from other managers and give you better chances for obtaining high-quality projects and using your best skills.
Gaining Self-Awareness Is The Key To Building Emotional Intelligence
The foundation of emotional intelligence is self-awareness.
This is the ability to be aware of your own emotions and the effect they have on those you are interacting with.
It’s comprised of three components—emotional self-awareness, self-assessment and self-confidence.
To be successful, its critical to master each component.
Emotional Self-Awareness entails understanding your own feelings.
Recognizing negative or difficult emotions can be a challenge, but luckily there is a tool that can help – the SASHET (Sad, Angry, Scared, Happy, Excited and Tender) framework.
Finding which family of emotion you are in at any given moment serves as an excellent starting point for developing emotional insight.
The next step towards achieving Self-Awareness is mastering Self-Assessment – or being able to recognize both your strengths and weaknesses as well as adjusting behavior based on feedback from other people or events.
Finally, to truly become emotionally intelligent, it’s also necessary to build up Self-Confidence .
Being centered despite whatever is going on around you requires complete assurance in yourself which in turn helps maintain composure no matter what situation presents itself.
How To Develop Self-Management Skills And Avoid An Emotional Breakdown
As a project manager, it is paramount that you know how to manage yourself and your own emotions.
When the amygdala, the reactive part of your brain, kicks in and takes over before you can process the situation logically, you run the risk of having a breakdown.
That’s why it is so important to understand the importance of self-management.
The key to successfully managing your emotions is being able to pause and give your neocortex some time: Recognize what your emotions are telling you, think about them logically and make wise decisions accordingly.
For example, if you feel scared or intimidated by a task – don’t try to avoid it altogether, but get creative with your approach and take some control back!
Adopting strong practices such as self-control can also empower you in emotional situations since it will help you stay calm when overwhelmed – The first step to achieving this is identifying potential triggers.
On top of that, taking care of yourself both physically and mentally can do wonders for reducing stress levels which will ultimately increase emotional control.
Lastly an established network of support is invaluable – So don’t hesitate to seek guidance when needed!
It Takes Empathy, Objectivity And Boundaries To Build Strong Relationships
Social awareness is an integral part of understanding the people around you and developing emotional intelligence.
It’s comprised of four parts: empathy, seeing others clearly, organizational awareness, and setting emotional boundaries.
Empathy is key in understanding how others feel – it’s more than just listening to what they’re saying; it’s about looking deeper into their words and figuring out what kind of underlying emotions they’re displaying.
As a project manager, this means using empathetic listening so that you can get a fuller picture of the situation at hand.
On top of that, you also have to be able to accurately assess the strengths and weaknesses of those around you – something which requires objectively perceiving others no matter your opinion on them.
Furthermore, having “organizational awareness” means being in tune with the power structure of your organization and its associated emotions.
Lastly, it’s important to set up emotional boundaries to protect yourself from being swayed by someone else’s attitude or feelings too strongly.
To achieve this, alter your language so that you take responsibility for your own emotions rather than attaching them externally to someone else.
Relationship Management: Establishing Stakeholder Relationships And Developing Others
Project managers must use relationship management to build positive relationships between teams and stakeholders.
It’s an essential part of being a successful project manager.
Relationship management has two key components: establishing stakeholder relationships and developing others.
For the former, identify all the project stakeholders first – anyone who affects or is affected by the project – such as team members, vendors, sponsors and so on.
Get as much information about them as possible, figure out what your most effective relationship would be with each one, then start building that relationship by focusing on their goals and interests and how they communicate.
Once you’ve built up strong relationships with these stakeholders, next comes developing others – meaning your own team members.
Giving them targeted feedback on their strengths, providing useful advice whenever you can and coaching them to success are all great ways of investing in your team and ensuring collaborative relationships between everyone involved in your project.
The Importance Of Team Leadership And Emotional Intelligence For Project Managers
As a project manager, one of your main responsibilities is to successfully lead your team.
Emotional intelligence plays a major role in this, as it’s how you create the right atmosphere and help manage any conflicts within the team.
Positive communication is key here, as it sets the right emotional tone between yourself and everyone you interact with.
This applies to both talking to stakeholders and conducting interviews when hiring new staff.
In situations where emotions begin to run high, it’s important to maintain control of your own in order to produce constructive outcomes.
You’ll need empathy and open dialogue in order to find compromises that make everyone feel they’ve been heard and their needs met without too much sacrifice on either side.
Wrap Up
The Emotional Intelligence for Project Managers book makes the case that emotional intelligence should be a priority for project managers, as their success often depends on their relationships with team members and stakeholders.
It emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, managing one’s own emotions and those of others, and being a good listener in order to build trust and foster successful collaborations.
Having this knowledge and using it wisely not only brings greater satisfaction to the workplace but also provides a competitive edge over other project management teams.
As a final tip, the author suggests taking time out of your day to do something that strengthens relationships with key people by having lunch or engaging in dialogue with them outside of work.
Overall, mastering emotional intelligence is essential for project managers looking to get ahead.
