Decision Making Skills of a Project Manager

In Appendix G, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) discusses Interpersonal Skills for the project manager. We are currently reviewing these one by one in our weekly PMP® exam tip. Let’s look at decision making techniques.

There are many skills that a successful project manager must  develop and among them is good decision making skills. There are four basic styles used to reach a decision. Project managers should be familiar with all four because at some point, decisions will have to be made from each style. The styles are consultation, consensus, command and random.

Clearly, it is always good to have effective skills in this area, but it becomes more important for a Project Management Professional (PMP)^® because quite often other team members have to be involved in the decision making process.

Having a decision making model will facilitate this process. Since there are so many people involved in the project who may not agree on a decision, having a process to follow can be very helpful to gain consensus with the group.