Skill

Project management requires a recognition of the specific SKILLS of each of your team members. He or she then makes sure that the skills of each team member are harmonized to create a stronger group. This is one aspect of effective project management.

A SKILL is being able to do a task or action that requires a special ability or knowledge.

A good project manager recognizes the specific abilities of each of their team members. These may be acquired skills, based on past work experience, or they may be innate abilities, such as an outgoing personality. These abilities must be recognized and drawn from in order to maximize the group effort.

Similarly, each team member will have their own range of knowledge. Much of this comes from prior experience. However, a good deal will depend on the information that the project manager provides to his or her team. Your ability to provide your team with the necessary information will be a key factor in their success.

No team, however skilled, can perform adeptly without these two factors, abilities and knowledge. Making sure that your team has a broad range of skills and helping them to enhance one another is the essence of effective project management.

This term is defined in the 3rd edition of the PMBOK but not in the 4th.