The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management

The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management

by Zachary Wong
Released December 2018
Publisher(s): Berrett-Koehler Publishers
ISBN: 9781523097951

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Zachary Wong offers practical strategies, skills, and tools to help project managers diagnose and solve their toughest people problems. Based on decades in the trenches, the book shows how to confront and correct bad behavior, increase team performance and inclusion, turn around difficult people and poor performers, get people to do what you want them to do, boost employee motivation and attitude, reduce change resistance and risk aversion, and manage difficult bosses.

Wong believes that the best team leaders are problem-solvers and facilitators, so this book provides problem-solving models and tools to diagnose people problems, and facilitative methods, processes, and techniques to correct them. It's an approach that can be personalized to fit any person or situation. Each skill is explained with a well-balanced mix of case stories, examples, strategies, processes, tools, and techniques along with illustrations, graphics, tables, and other visuals to clarify key concepts and their workplace application. To reinforce the most important learnings, Wong includes a “Memory Card” and “Skill Summary” at the end of each chapter.

Nothing is harder than leading people and managing project teams. Being successful takes a combination of knowing human psychology, organizational behaviors, and human factors; having supervisory, process, and communication skills; ensuring good teamwork, high integrity, and strong leadership; and having the ability to integrate and apply these skills to a diverse work team. The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management is designed for individuals, team leaders, and managers who oversee and coordinate the daily performance of others and who are seeking solutions that they can apply immediately.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Introduction
  7. Skill One How to Diagnose and Correct People Problems: The Wedge
    1. The New Organizational Wedge Model—No More Pyramids
    2. Leveraging the Power and Resources of Individuals, Teams, and Management
    3. Using the Wedge to Manage Performance and People Problems
    4. Skill One Summary
  8. Skill Two How to Be Tough on People Problems without Being Tough on People: The Three Hats
    1. Case 2.1: Managing Tough Situations—Juggling Your Roles as a Team Leader
    2. Case 2.2: It’s Tough to Let Go—Delegating Responsibilities to Others
    3. Case 2.3: Being a Tough Leader—Displaying Genuine Leadership
    4. The Toughest Challenge for a Team Leader
    5. Six Ways to Bring Out Your Best
    6. Skill Two Summary
  9. Skill Three How to Build Highly Successful Teams: The Loop
    1. Case 3.1: The Company Merger—Forming a New Team
    2. What Motivates and Demotivates People to Stay Engaged
    3. Keeping Your Team Together during Conflicts
    4. Case 3.2: The Tuna Fish Sandwich—Preventing Conflicts
    5. Choosing between “We” and “Me”
    6. The Value of Good Teamwork
    7. The Six Inclusive Behaviors of Highly Successful Teams
    8. Skill Three Summary
  10. Skill Four How to Boost People’s Attitudes, Happiness, and Performance: The Ice Cream Cone
    1. Case 4.1: The Ice Cream Cone—The Importance of Keeping a Good Attitude
    2. The Different Attitude Levels of People
    3. What Drives Positive and Negative Attitudes
    4. How to Improve the Attitude and Performance of Your Team
    5. Case 4.2: The Finger Cut—Focus on the Behavior, Not the Outcome
    6. Empowerment Raises People’s Attitudes
    7. How to Treat People the Right Way for Maximum Impact
    8. Skill Four Summary
  11. Skill Five How to Turn Around Difficult People and Underperformers: Roll the Ball Forward
    1. Case 5.1: Why We Don’t Confront Poor Performers
    2. The Ten Toughest People to Work With
    3. Characteristics of Difficult People and Underperformers
    4. How to Get Poor Performers Back on Track
    5. What Holds Back Difficult People and Underperformers
    6. Strategies for Correcting Difficult and Underperforming Behaviors
    7. Process Model for Turning Around Difficult People, Underperformers, and Other Problem Employees
    8. The Best Tips and Techniques for Difficult Conversations
    9. Be Aware of Difficult Overachievers
    10. Skill Five Summary
  12. Skill Six How to Motivate the Right Team Behaviors: The ABC Boxes
    1. Case 6.1: The Ambitious Project Manager—Does the End Justify the Means?
    2. The Best Model for Facilitating Team Behaviors
    3. Triggering the Right Team Behaviors: Box A
    4. Defining Your Team’s Critical Success Behaviors: Box B
    5. The Most Important Skill for Sustaining Desired Team Behaviors: Box C
    6. Case 6.2: Sharing Best Practices—How to Shape a New Team Behavior
    7. Skill Six Summary
  13. Skill Seven How to Succeed When Faced with Change, Problems, and New Challenges: The Black Box Effect
    1. Case 7.1: The Cross-Country Championship—The Risk Taker
    2. How Uncertainty, Fear, and Risks Affect People: The Black Box Effect
    3. The Secrets to Overcoming the Uncertainty of the Circumstance
    4. The Secrets to Overcoming the Uncertainty of Your Ability to Perform
    5. Case 7.2, Part 1: Overcoming the Risk and Fear of Giving a Presentation—The First Two Steps
    6. The Secrets to Overcoming the Uncertainty of a Bad Outcome
    7. Case 7.2, Part 2: Overcoming the Risk and Fear of Giving a Presentation—The Third Step
    8. How Risk Taking Has Enabled Your Success
    9. Skill Seven Summary
  14. Skill Eight How to Gain Favor and Influence with Your Boss: Be More Visible
    1. Working Well with Your Boss: Your Happiness Depends on It
    2. Averting the One Thing That Every one Fears from the Boss
    3. The Key to Managing Up
    4. Strategies for Gaining Favor and Influence with Your Boss
    5. How to Get That Promotion You Want
    6. Managing a Bad Boss
    7. Case 8.1: Conflict with Your Boss—Doing the Right Thing
    8. Working with a Difficult Boss
    9. Skill Eight Summary
  15. Epilogue
  16. References
  17. Acknowledgments
  18. Index
  19. About the Author

Product information

  • Title: The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management
  • Author(s): Zachary Wong
  • Release date: December 2018
  • Publisher(s): Berrett-Koehler Publishers
  • ISBN: 9781523097951