”Really enjoyed. Will recommend this program to all of my staff!” -- Participant uWaterloo course
Download Course PDF description and outline.
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Course Description
Project management excellence goes beyond producing project charters, detailed schedules and colourful status reports. Projects, whether managed using traditional or agile approaches, involve people. There are team members, clients, management, subordinates, peers, account managers, suppliers, contractors, regulators, and numerous other stakeholders. And with people, there are differing opinions, personality conflicts, office politics, and sometimes hidden agendas. That is why, in the real-world, project success or project failure often hinges on our ability to speak up when necessary and deal with issues that, if not properly dealt with, will cause problems either now or in the future.
While most of us have no problem dealing with casual conversation, when the stakes are high, multiple opinions exist, and strong emotions have been thrown into the mix, that's when we struggle. Many of us simply avoid difficult conversations — but in the long run this usually results in the situation getting worse. Others try to take on difficult conversations, but still end up making things worse.
This project management course deals with the “soft side” of project management - the people skills. But... this is not your standard communications and soft skills course. Rather than focusing on theory, this course is filled with discussions and exercises taken from real and realistic project management situations that will provide participants the confidence to apply learned techniques where it counts — in the real world.
Through this workshop, participants will learn how to solve problems through effective dialogue, negotiation and conflict resolution. Knowing how to properly conduct critical conversation is essential not only to project success, but success in all areas of life.
Who Should Attend
- Project Managers
- Resource Managers
- Team Leaders
- Account Managers
- Supervisors
- Anyone who works in a team environment and need to handle tough issues and difficult interpersonal situations and people with confidence and effectiveness
Course Materials
- Course workbook
- Reference files containing course specific and general project management materials
- Certificate of completion (framed for participants of in-house workshops)
Learning Outcomes
Topics include:
- Negotiation
- Conflict management
- Motivation
- Managing through influence
- Communication
Conduct difficult conversation with confidence
Defuse conversations that have turned “critical” so that they can get back on track and reach a productive conclusion.
Learn how to recognize when conversations are turning “critical” so that they can be turned around earlier with greater success.
Apply learned communication skills to:
- Conflict management
- Negotiation
- Leadership
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course, although it is recommended that participants have an understanding of the core tools of project management. We therefore recommend taking the Project Management Essentials (or similar) course prior to taking this course.
** When taken at the University of Waterloo, this course may be applied towards a University of Waterloo Project Management Certificate.