It's no wonder corporations and their CIO's are asking what the core competencies are for Project Managers and how those competencies can be acquired. Many of the largest and most successful consulting companies, such as Andersen Consulting, IBM's ISSC, Keane, and CSC Consulting, to name a few, have recognized the importance of these core competencies and have developed programs to ensure that their project managers can develop and demonstrate these competencies. Soft skills involve behavior, attitudes, and communication styles. Courses can be provided around these skills so that project managers can learn how to be a leader of work teams. Models can be provided and the models can be emulated.
Hard skills refer to the mechanical skills of planning, scheduling, and controlling.
Hard skills are easier to acquire and excel at than soft skills. It requires the tenacity to see the actions through to the results. The basic objective of every Project Manager is to get the team members and stakeholders to take action. The best way to do this is through influence versus mandatory edicts. The ability to adapt and deal with situations and manage expectations during periods of change is critical to the Project Manager's image as a partner and leader, especially in the eyes of a project's stakeholders.