4 Key Skills for Global Project Managers

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The increased global competition and search for a sustainable competitive advantage grows in importance, highlighting the need for global project managers.

As globalisation grows today, project management in today’s world increases in complexity. The great diversity of the world’s cultures makes it impossible for any project manager, no matter how skilled and experienced, to understand fully all the cultures that may be encountered. Cultural competence is key.

Some of the main reasons why you should get a certification as an international project manager include increased demand, acquire a unique set of skills and increased chances of project success. Some of the key skills needed by project managers to be internationally ready are adaptability, being culturally sensitive and being an excellent communicator. Furthermore, there is an increasing need to manage projects on a global scale.

Thanks to advances in technology and infrastructure, the project manager has to have several key skills when managing a global team. There is also an increased global competition and the search for a sustainable competitive advantage grows in importance. Hence, it is important for project managers to adapt to today’s demands by having the right skill sets. Here are 4 key skills for global project managers.

1. Adaptability
2. Strategy
3. Empowering employees
4. Managing remote and international teams

1. Adaptability

Adaptability is a necessary skill that global project managers need to master in order to be successful. With the increasing speed of projects, a skilled global project manager must be able to adapt to new tools, new market dynamics and more.

2. Strategy

With automation on the rise, an international project manager’s skill is their ability to take on a more strategic role. An international project manager must be able to strategise to best meet the needs of stakeholders and deliver on it.  To achieve project success in today’s climate, they must consider the bigger picture. This includes their skills in business environment analysis, change management, risk management, international finance and contracts, culture analysis and more.

3. Empowering the team

Great leadership is an essential skill to be a good project manager. A good project manager leads and manages teams; sets the vision, motivates the team, serves them, coaches them and inspire others.

Project managers lead from both a strategic and operational perspective – communicate the vision and get team (and organizational) buy-in, resolve conflict, set goals, and evaluate performance and make sure team members have the tools they need to get things done. An empowered project team is able to solve complicated problems faster and more effectively.

4. Managing remote and international teams

Leading a geographically dispersed team is a key skill for international projects to have. An excellent project manager is one who is an excellent communicator and skilled to break down any language barriers present with working internationally (with teams or stakeholders).

They are required to coordinate project teams and work with the relevant local stakeholders. By successfully managing stakeholders, they successfully set the project scope, ensure project requirements are aligned and mitigate risks and issues without affecting the project timeline. Hence, they resolve or prevent any potential issues and ensuring that the right information is clearly delivered.

With over 97% of organizations believing project management is critical to business performance and organizational success, the need for global project managers to be well-equipped with the right skills increasingly important. In summary, an effective international project manager is flexible, excellent at problem solving and highly sociable. They must have these set of attributes and be able to deliver projects successfully anywhere.

International Project Manager is a 3-day AAPM-accredited training course held from 15-17 April 2019 (Kuala Lumpur) and 22-24 May 2019 (Singapore), designed for delegates to gain an essential understanding of international business and the role of international projects and their management. The course will cover key issues of international finances, international contracts, project risk management and more.

15-17 April 2019 (Kuala Lumpur)

22-24 May 2019 (Singapore)