The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification offered by the PMI institute is an efficient way of learning the core concepts of project management. It helps candidates to develop and improve the necessary skills for a career in executive management. The exam has high standards and it’s impossible to pass the exam without extensive preparation.
Unless a candidate masters the practical application of foundational concepts of project management, it’s difficult to earn the certification. For this reason, anyone that passes the PMP examination learns various hard and soft skills needed in project management.
Candidates earn first-hand experience of fundamental project management processes, methodologies, techniques, and tools. Preparing for the PMP exam exposes candidates to current trends and best practices ongoing in project management.
It’s true that years of practical experience assist in gaining essential project management skills. However, PMP certification accelerates this process of learning and helps candidates develop these skills in a short span. In this article, we will discuss the top skills the PMP certification helps candidates develop.
Motivation
One of the first skills the PMP certification helps you develop is instilling motivation in yourself and your team. Motivation skills help that your project team members stay engaged in the project, give their best, and work together towards a common goal.
Clearing the PMP exam is significantly difficult than most people think. Candidates have to spend dozens of hours every week learning foundational concepts of project management. They have to do this while simultaneously continuing their routine jobs and responsibilities at home.
Without having the ability to motivate themselves and others, it’s impossible to continue such strenuous routines. For this reason, many PMP candidates hone their motivational skills while studying for the exam.
After clearing the examination, the same motivational skills allow PMP certified managers to create an environment that pushes their employees to give their best. Motivated team members not only meet the project goals but also stay satisfied with the work they are doing.
Because everyone has different reasons to be motivated, being a good motivator pushes PMP managers to understand what drives each of their team members. Making efforts to identify what motivates who helps managers develop a deeper understanding of their employees, making management more effective in the end.
Communication
Good communication skills are some of the most important skills for a project manager. Project managers have to spend 90% of their time communicating with other people. Unsurprisingly, many project managers consider communication as their primary job role in the organization.
According to research, ineffective communication is the primary reason for project failure. This is why your ability to understand and articulate customer needs plays a crucial role in making projects successful.
Before you attempt the PMP exam, you need to go through 35 hours of training to be eligible. During this training, instructors teach aspiring PMP candidates helpful techniques that improve their communication skills. Although on-job training helps you to improve your communication, the training provided by a certified PMI trainer will help you master the art of communication.
At the same time, while studying for the PMP exam, candidates learn how to manage and lead a team, how to resolve conflict, and how to manage stakeholders. Being PMP certified signifies de facto that you are an excellent communicator with strong leadership skills.
Problem Solving
PMP certification plays a key role in improving problem-solving skills in project managers. Project managers are trained to solve complex problems that require in-depth knowledge of project management techniques and tools.
This is why PMP-certified project managers are assigned more complex projects after they complete the certification. It can be multi-year projects, multi-millions projects, international projects with teams spread across the world, and speaking different languages.
Those projects also require a more complex risk assessment and cost structure. PMP holders are equipped with all the tools to tackle those projects confidently. That is the beauty of it, and that is why to work on most US government projects, you are required to be PMP certified.
Decision Making
A project manager requires many skills to become successful in his or her role. However, none are more important than being decisive and making good decisions at the right time. The PMP certification teaches all its candidates to become familiar with all techniques that enhance the process of decision-making.
PMP candidates are taught to value input from their team members to develop a consensus between team members and make prompt decisions to address problems immediately. As a project manager, you will often find yourself the key decision-maker in a project.
Developing a decision-making model with the help of techniques learned through PMP certification will facilitate the process of decision-making. Being a capable decision-maker allows you to benefit your organization in various ways.
Conflict Management
Conflict is inevitable in any project and being able to resolve it is a critical skill for project managers. Stakeholders and team members associated with a project often have different work styles, areas of expertise, opinions, personalities, and interests.
Aside from all these factors, other elements such as resource constraints, tight deadlines, and communication issues make it extremely difficult for project managers to handle conflict. Conflict in projects prevents teams from working collectively, distracting them from critical tasks at hand.
That said, the PMP textbooks include various techniques for effective conflict management. While studying for the exam, PMP candidates have to learn these techniques by heart and even demonstrate them in exercises related to PMP training. In the end, the PMP certification helps candidates understand different forms of conflict management, making it easier for them to resolve conflict in various situations.
Final Words
Mastering essential project management skills through the PMP certification gives project managers control over critical aspects of every project. Using the knowledge gained by the certification, managers can monitor and fine-tune the performance of their teams, regardless of the situation.
However, you don’t need to dive directly into the PMP certification to be familiar with the foundational concepts of project management. Instead, you can get a quick overview of all critical aspects of project management through a comprehensive online project management course.
Project Management Vanguard provides high-quality project management online courses to help understand the building blocks of project management. The job of a project manager is riddled with hurdles, but with the right guidance and training, you can boost your management skills and take your career to the next level.