Course summary

This course covers critical interpersonal skills for project managers, with a focus on building and leading high-performing teams, managing people, and engaging and influencing stakeholders to successfully deliver project outcomes. You will also learn the fundamentals of project management.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• manage a simple project using a structured approach
• apply key project planning activities including scheduling, budgeting, and managing risk
• monitor and control a project at a high-level including reporting progress and managing change in a controlled manner
• close a project including conducting a post-implementation review
• build a project team
• empower individuals and teams to get the best results including creating an environment for psychological safety
• apply different leadership styles to suit different project phases and contexts
• develop communication, facilitation and negotiation skills to more effectively engage with people
• develop an awareness of psychological models and EQ Frameworks for consideration for future professional development.

Content

Module 1: Introduction to project management

Initiating a project

• Preparing the project charter
• Identifying stakeholders

Planning a project

• Identifying project scope
• Creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Developing a project schedule
• Defining a project budget
• Planning stakeholder engagement and communication
• Identifying, recording and evaluating risks

Monitoring and controlling a project

• Executing a project from start to finish
• Reporting on project progress
• Completing a change request for approval

Closing a project

• Conducting customer handover
• Conducting a post-implementation review

Even more

• Simple tools and templates that can be used on your project straight away
• Exploring advanced tools beyond the course
• Content aligned to the latest project management theory including PMBOK Edition 8, and artificial intelligence (AI)

Module 2: Forming and leading teams

Forming and leading teams

• Team roles that may exist on your projects
• Building high-performing teams
• Adaptive leadership approaches
• Motivating the team
• Embracing diversity on projects

Leading others

• Personality traits, learning styles and leadership styles
• Adaptive approaches for effective stakeholder engagement
• International standards for leadership and emotional intelligence

Managing relationships

• Stakeholder analysis techniques, including network thinking, stakeholder dynamics and relationships
• Tailoring communications for audience and purpose
• Facilitation techniques for running effective meetings and workshops
• Negotiation techniques and conflict resolution

Prerequisites

None

Who this course is for

This course is for professionals involved in planning, coordinating or delivering projects and business improvement initiatives in their organisation. It applies across structured and fast-moving project environments, including engineering, construction, health, education, government, commercial and non-profit sectors.

• Project managers looking to improve planning, delivery and oversight
• ‘Accidental’ project managers managing projects without formal training
• Team leaders, supervisors and business leaders responsible for project outcomes
• Project coordinators, business analysts and subject matter experts
• Change leaders, managers and support staff involved in organisational initiatives
• Anyone working on projects who wants to better manage timelines, stakeholders and priorities

Delivery style

This two-day course focuses on experiential learning. Content is broken into 10-15 minute blocks and is immediately followed by group activities that put theory into practice.

A range of interactive methods will be used including:

• storytelling and the use of professional examples to illustrate key concepts
• self-reflection and group discussions
• case studies where the concepts are actively applied
• individual and team-based activities and presentations
• suggested readings to support continued learning after the course.

Materials

You will receive:

• online course materials with case study activities
• an online project management toolkit with templates
• a course Statement of Completion.

What you need to do before the course

Please complete the Communication and Learning Styles Questionnaire using the PDF document below. The results from this questionnaire are important to parts of the course and must be completed prior to the completion of Module 2.

Communication and Learning Styles Questionnaire

Please bring your laptop to class to access the course learning materials.