In most professional spheres, hard skills take precedence. They are evaluated during recruitment, proven via academic degrees and certifications, and generally regarded highly by employers and clients. As a result, soft skills are often pushed out of the limelight. 但软技能对于职场成功至关重要，可以极大地增加个人对团队和组织的影响. 如今，建立人际关系和发表引人入胜的演讲等能力对许多团队来说变得更加重要 working remotely.

Soft skills encompass a wide range of problem-solving, creative, adaptable, time-management, and interpersonal competencies, all of which are integral in project management. 让我们来看看如何提高你的项目管理技能，通过专注于三个容易被忽视的技能，但它们可以区分一个好的项目 project manager from an exceptional one. During my 15 years in project management, 培养这些特质帮助我克服了许多挑战.

1. Assertive Communication

How do project managers use people skills? Well, for a project manager, communication is everything, but assertive communication can be hugely valuable in getting things done. 运行复杂的项目需要管理来自不同组织的涉众, cultures, locations, and levels.

It is important not to confuse assertiveness with arrogance or aggressiveness. A good way to avoid this is to lead with your own perspective. For example, instead of saying, “你在妨碍团队，因为他们总是对你的任务状态感到困惑,” you could assertively say, “如果我们不及时更新Jira的门票，我发现很难知道我们在项目中的位置. 我将感谢您的支持，更频繁地更新门票，以便我们可以提高透明度.”

Giving feedback is key in driving high-quality output, 但是，建设性地、不加评判地这样做，会让你发展和维持积极的关系，并在冲突中达成双方满意的解决方案——这是构建强大而开放的文化的基石. Similarly, 权力本身并不足以让个人在截止日期前称职地完成任务——你需要挖掘内在的动机，比如想要支持团队. This is far more effective than telling people what to do.

自信的沟通并不容易，需要情绪的灵活性:在不舒服的情况下，不要让你的情绪控制你的态度. Rather, approach these situations in a mindful and productive way, always being cognizant of the higher purpose. Your message should be communicated from a place of compassion, even if your conversational partner is not able to meet you there.

This comparison table can help you understand the differences among passive, assertive, and aggressive tones when communicating with others:

By communicating assertively, 我能够在高压的情况下与不同的利益相关者群体有效地合作, manage tensions, and successfully launch projects on time. 检查自己的沟通风格和最常用的短语，找出需要改进的地方, then practice rephrasing your passive or aggressive language. This is initially easier to do in writing, as you have more time to articulate thoughts; eventually, this style of communication will flow into your speech. There are a number of helpful online courses on this topic if you want further instruction. Personal development books, such as How to Be Assertive in Any Situation, can also be great resources.

2. Knowledge Sharing

The central task of a project manager 是建立一个团队，每个人都有必要的技能来推动项目向前发展. 你可能没有资源去招募最有经验的人，也没有能力去指导别人, so being able to transfer knowledge is key. This could mean educating junior team members on how to build their skills, training stakeholders in Agile to make collaboration smoother, 或者提高决策者的技术知识，使他们能够做出更明智的选择.

你不太可能有足够的时间来举办正式的培训课程, 但是作为导师是一种有效的方式，可以持续分享知识，并在跟进日常项目工作的同时赋予团队成员权力.

To be a good mentor, 提供一个安全的学习空间，让人们可以提出问题，公开自己的弱点，而不用担心受到批评. 对团队成员表现出真正的兴趣:了解他们并理解他们的目标. You don’t have to adhere to a formal framework, 但是如果一个人需要更多的学习支持——如果时间允许的话——安排定期的一对一会议，你可以用更有针对性的方式加深他们对某些领域的理解.

如果你不确定如何开始指导，或者你想在导师的角色中成长, check out your company’s L&D resources, read expert advice, or find your own mentor. You can ask your manager to fulfill this role, 但不要害怕与公司里的其他人或职业关系网中的朋友联系.

通过鼓励更大的自主权，指导使我更有效率，更好地管理分散的、缺乏经验的团队成员, solidifying their foundation of project management knowledge, and improving their confidence.

3. Authenticity

在考虑如何成为一名优秀的项目经理时，你不能忽视培养信任的能力. 在工作场所，真实性是一个挑战，但如果一个项目要顺利进行，信任是至关重要的. We instinctively look for sincerity in our peers—it’s a hardwired survival tool. 我们的大脑不断地扫描他人行为中的不一致之处，如果感觉不对劲，它会提醒我们.

你的团队成员需要知道，他们可以依靠你带领他们朝着正确的方向前进，并且应该能够在问题像滚雪球一样演变成更严重的问题之前找到你. Depending on the nature of your projects, you may frequently work with new team members, 因此，能够通过真实性快速建立信任和融洽关系是一个巨大的好处.

Authentic doesn’t mean “perfect.” You may not always make the correct decision—but owning your mistakes and showing vulnerability are important leadership characteristics. Authentic doesn’t mean unprofessional, either. 你可以分享你个人生活的细节，在尊重界限的同时做你自己.

Like the two previous soft skills, you can acquire and hone authenticity. Practice honesty and transparency, follow through on your promises, listen actively to your team members, articulate your own challenges, and recognize both good and bad work.

By showing up as myself and being open about my own vulnerabilities, I’ve been able to create safe and trusting relationships with colleagues. 他们觉得有问题可以来找我，我们一起寻找解决方案.

Project Management Soft Skills Require Continuous Commitment

Proficiency in budgeting, scheduling, planning and forecasting, and operational software is critical to effective project management. Your role is as much about managing people as it is about managing projects, so having soft skills in your professional toolkit is also vital. By communicating assertively, sharing knowledge, and being authentic, you can develop a strong team, build trust, gain support, and create an environment in which others not only can but want to do their best work. Like any skill, these require commitment to master, so set aside some professional development time to improve and strengthen them.