What are the best ways to continuously improve your project leadership skills?

To continuously improve your project leadership skills, actively seek feedback from team members and peers, and be open to constructive criticism. Engage in ongoing learning through professional courses, workshops, and industry literature. Embrace reflective practices to assess and learn from both successes and failures. Additionally, cultivate soft skills like communication, empathy, and adaptability, and stay updated with evolving project management methodologies and tools.

Leave your emotions out of it and have an open door policy for feedback including constructive criticism. Feedback has only come with negativity when I allowed my personal emotions to drive the acceptance of the advice being given. Allow others to pour into your life and use it as the fuel to drive you to a higher place of understanding which is a skill within itself. Emotional intelligence. A skill only few master.

3 Hacks to Continuously Improve Your Project Leadership Skills Seek feedback: Regularly solicit honest feedback from team members, mentors, and stakeholders. Analyze feedback constructively and implement improvements in communication, delegation, and decision-making. Embrace learning: Continuously seek opportunities to learn new skills and knowledge relevant to project management. Attend workshops, read industry publications, and network with experienced professionals. Reflect and refine: Regularly take time to reflect on your leadership style and project outcomes. Identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to refine your approach and become a more effective leader.

When I aimed to improve my project leadership skills, I first looked at what I'm good at and where I could improve. I used various tools and models tailored for leadership assessment. These tools highlighted my strengths and areas needing growth. They helped me set clear, reachable goals for self-improvement and offered guidance on how to reach those goals.

The way I like to do this in my personal growth is by thinking of someone who I wish to be like in my career and then in every situation think what would “so and so” do. This helps me to zoom out of my own focused thinking which may be tunnel vision at times and offers opportunity to try it someone”s way besides my own. It also molds me into thinking like the great leaders I admire and offers some insight into why they may think that way at all. These practices over time will turn you into the leader you want to be.

When I wanted to get better at leading projects, seeking feedback and coaching made a huge difference. I asked my team, peers, mentors, and clients for feedback. Their insights helped me see what I was doing well and where I could grow. Coaching, whether from someone within or outside my organization, also played a crucial role.

Seek peer and leader feedback internally. Some companies call it 360 degree feedback using your internal management tool like Workday etc. Ask for authentic responses and details inputs that are actionable.

Focus on project leaders with the most successful projects. You might have to search a little because they don't advertise. Who is always on-time, within budget, and with happy team members and customers? Follow them and embrace their best practices. Ignore the fire-fighting heroes. They often feed on adrenalin and sometimes start their own fires.

To improve my project leadership skills, learning was key. I observed, listened, and asked questions, picking up valuable insights from different project leaders. Their experiences and practices offered diverse perspectives that enriched my own leadership style. Exploring other fields like psychology or design thinking also brought new approaches to project leadership. Books, podcasts, and courses were handy tools, letting me tap into a wealth of knowledge from various sources to enhance my skills.

Again, learn from the best. They have already done the work of the experiments and found answers that give results. This is much faster than doing your own trial & error.

This can be done at a systemic, leadership level. I have run several Benchmarking Events where we identified the best-performing projects based on effective KPIs and asked the teams to share their Best Practices with executives. The follow-up assignment was a Roadmap from each leader to show which Best Practices they would adopt with expected results. We used this to drive significant, measurable improvements in our product development process.

Improving project leadership is a journey where you start by spotting what you're good at and what needs work. I'd say getting feedback from others is like gold, it helps you grow. Learn from pros and even other fields to spice up your game. Don't fear trying new things. Experiment, adjust, and embrace change, it's where the real magic happens. Sharing is caring! Pass on what you know to lift others up.