To be honest, I’m sick and tired of the discussion about hard and soft skills in Project Management. In every meeting, every training and every conversation we used to say: Well, the contemporary project manager need hard skills AND soft skills.

We all know that a project manager needs to know how to plan and control the project. That used to be the hard skills. Since there has been a change in project management, also called the change to the more process wisely working with an eye for the HUMAN factor in projects, the soft skills came in. For years it was completely normal to distinguish hard and soft skills. Everyone knew why you said it and what you mean with it.

BUT! Nowadays, during every meeting, training and conversation, people hesitate to call it hard and soft. Either they draw a converted comma in the air while pronouncing ‘soft’ skills. Or they immediately say: well, we shouldn’t call it soft, because most of the time the soft skills are more important. And they make it possible for project manager to differentiate themselves.

Well, I totally agree! Soft skills are more important! So, there are three options. One, we stop feeling ourselves guilty when using the word ‘soft’ for the most important skills of a project manager. It’s just a word. Two, from now one, we call the soft skills hard skills and vice versa. Or three, we bundle the skills and call them together the ‘required skills’. Your choice…

(LS – AMIconsultancy)