1. Good listener
2. Good communicator
3. Attention to details -fanatically so.
4. Can take direction and execute the client's wishes rather than their own
5. Extremely organized

Certification is not in the top 5 requirements. Though a pmp certification can help let people know that project management is something you take seriously. It is not a guarantee that someone is a good project manager but it does convey a high level of interest in the field.

For people who are looking to get into project management as a career switch I've seen the certification make a difference for them in getting a job.

Nick,

My top five requirements would be:

1. Good communicator. I would ask to see some of his previous communication plans on his previous projects. The communication plan would help me see how he organizes his communication around his audience. I would want to see if he is a good listener, if he can read queues, or body language, and if he can communicate with clarity and with less jargon.

2. Leadership style: I would like to see his leadership style and if he can work with any situation and company’s culture. Is he a follower? Is he a leader? Does he lead by example or by theory only? Does he lead through influence or through referring to an executive sponsor, etc. As a PM, your leadership style will contribute a lot to your and to the project’s success. Your leadership style will help in securing resources, communicating with non friendly stakeholders, making people want to work for you, impressing your friends and enemies alike and gaining the trust of your sponsors and executive management.

3. Problem Solver: I would want to know the way he handles problems of all sorts. As a project manager, you are not expected to know everything. Your talent, however, is to be able to think rationally and come up with solutions.

4. Politician: I don’t mean by that how much he BS (excuse my language) to the sponsors. What I mean here is his ability to judge people’s positions and priorities, to evaluate sponsors’ actions, to work with the project around the company’s priorities, to work with the functional managers to get committed resources (to some degree) and to do stakeholder analysis.

5. Technical capabilities as a project manager: I would like to see his style of planning, estimating, risk management, issues management, quality management, configuration management, etc. I would ask for sample of his previous work or have a discussion with him to see how he handles these critical tasks.

And NO, the certification won’t be one of the top criteria in my opinion. I have seen a lot of PMPs unfortunately, who have only passed a test and received the certification but do not know much about project management.

Hope this helps.

I published an article, 8 Skills Needed On The Project Management Road To Success, which is a summary of the main skills needed to be successful as a PM. If I had to hire a project manager I would definitely look for these skills.

1. Leadership and Management Skills

Leaders share and communicate a common vision (future state or end goal); they gain agreement and establish the future direction. They motivate others. Managers are results driven and focus on getting work done against agreed requirements. A good project manager will constantly switch from a leader to a manager as situations require.

2. Excellent Communicator

All communications on your project should be clear and complete. As a project manager you will have to deal with both written and oral communications. Some examples are documents, meetings, reviews, reports, and assessments.

3. Good Organiser

Let’s just think of the aspects you will need to organize; project filing including all documentation, contracts, e-mails, memo’s, reviews, meetings, specialist documents, requirements and specifications, reports, changes, issues, risks, etc. It’s almost impossible to stay organized without having Time Management Skills.

4. Competent and Consistent Planner

The skill of planning can’t be underestimated (and neither can estimating!). There are known and logical steps in creating plans. As a project manager you will certainly own the Project Plan, but it must be created with input from the team. Examples are Test Plans, Risk Management Plans, Hand-over Plans, Benefit Realisation Plans, etc. Planning should become second nature to you.

5. A Problem Solver

The skill of planning can’t be underestimated (and neither can estimating!). There are known and logical steps in creating plans. As a project manager you will certainly own the Project Plan, but it must be created with input from the team. Examples are Test Plans, Risk Management Plans, Hand-over Plans, Benefit Realisation Plans, etc. As long as you’re aware that planning should become second nature to you.

PS:To me the PMP certification is just proof that you are a professional who knows your theory and has proven experience of 3-5 years project management work. To be really competent you need the right combination of skills, natural abilities and passion.

Your Virtualpm, Linky

If we are talking AGILE PM's, then there are other key metrics to success. Being an Agile PM is an art, so lets talk about some of that artistic magic…

For more details goto: **http://ow.ly/LDYJ**

(1) Enabling your team to own the project – When everyone owns the project – they also own the success of the project or product adoption. Many PM’s today are contractors that are handed a project from a PMO department with an End-Date, Budget, and Scope already dictated to them. How does a PM hit these expectations handed to them? If a team is going to truly “own” the project, then they must buy into these set expectations to have a chance of being successful. Agile PM’s success will be directly tied to their ability to build that “buy in” by all team members.

(2) Ability to mix Methodology Practices - Knowing where and when it is appropriate to mix methodology practices can enable a project to meet those triple constraints mentioned above more precisely. Many IT organizations use ITIL or other Waterfall methodology which works for them just fine. When a PM starts applying Agile practices to projects – I have found that estimating, bugeting, and hitting those milestones becomes much more accurate.

(3) Build Key Relationships - Agile PMs know there are stakeholders, customers, project team members, outside vendors and others typically. To meet expectations and enable team ownership, an Agile PM must have those relationships in place to get the inside scoop. Inside scoop on what? The hidden expectations, hidden agendas, competing priorities your team members are battling with, etc. Successful Agile PM’s must know and deal with these issues and risks – and relationships are the key way to discover and manage them.

Hope this helps.

My five:

1. Communication: if you can't convey what you're trying to do (and when things go wrong), you can't lead or manage
2. Willingness - perhaps Eagerness - to admit fault, error, and delay: if you're the PM, it's your fault when something you promised doesn't happen. Don't blame-shift, admit it early and often - it will build your credibility immensely
3. Experience: it doesn't matter the size or scope, show you've managed a project through all of its phases - even if it failed. If it failed, explain why - going back to point 2, show me what you learned from it
4. Teachability: you don't know it all yet - your job is to find those who can get the project done; learn from them - you may never become the "expert", but being teachable will show that you're willing to try
5. Background: I want to see a PM who has a background in more than one area - perhaps an English major who became a system admin, or a nurse who moved to engineering. Exposure to a variety of fields, experiences, and ways of thinking will show, to some extent, a willingness and aptitude to lateral thinking, and finding the "best" way to get something done

there's a good mix of what I would pick for 4 of my top five, so I won't re-list them, but I would add:

• a recommendation from someone who I have worked with before, who has also worked with the PM being considered