Book Title: Human Resource Skills for the Project Manager Author: Vijay K. Verma

Project management is one of the most prominent subjects in business today. The ability to complete projects successfully has become a strategic focus of organizations that are becoming more and keener at improving their ability to achieve their objectives by organizing their work into projects. For those who are interested to know about the softer side of project management, this is a very good book to read. It focuses on, as its title suggests, on “Human Resource Skills for the Project Manager: The Human Aspects of Project Management, Volume 2,” by Vijay K Verma. Concise and to the point, the book consolidates multiple research efforts on the subject of soft skills and their importance in managing projects.

 Recent studies show that a successful project manager is among the most important contributors to project success. Research also suggests that communication skills are the most important skills for a successful project manager. Therefore, it serves project managers well to focus on understanding the importance of these skills and improving on them, which can start by reading books like this one on the subject.

The book covers six main topics; communication, motivation, conflict management, stress management, negotiation, and leadership. These are key subjects when discussing soft skills for project managers. The author addresses these topics with attention to the fact that his audience being project managers, as their specific needs on these topics require a special focus beyond a generic one on the subject. In addition, the book appendices include personality tests to help the readers assess their style and skills in communication, motivation, and leadership.

This is a paperback with a bit more than 250 pages that was published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) in 1996. PMI is the leading not for profit organization that aims at the advancement of the project management profession. Each chapter in the book is fairly independent of other chapters, which makes it easier for a reader to pick the sequence in which to read without having to read in the traditional cover to cover way.

The research and academic style is dominant in the book, even though it discusses practical issues and offers very practical and useful advice that is proven to work on actual projects. It provides a solid knowledge base, based on which one can build his soft skills through actual practice.

My favorite part of the book is the one that talks about power and influence in project management. I liked specifically the part that deals with the subject of politics in project management and how it should be perceived and handled by the project manager. Some of the strategies to adopt by project managers as recommended by the book include ensuring top management support, building the team, and developing personal power.

The conflict management section might be the most unconventional of the book. It accurately depicts conflicts on projects as a positive force that ensures everybody stay sharp and focused on the project goals, if these conflicts are managed well and do not get out of control.

Of the appendices, the communication style assessment is particularly interesting, as it helps one determine current personal communication style, which sheds light on one’s strengths in communication, and how it affects the ability to manage different stages of the project, as each stage requires different communication styles.

This book is not only for people who take on formally a project manager role. Most managers and team members informally take on that role on regular basis at work. This book helps them understand the softer aspects of project management which will help them improve their chances of project success.