HKSM

A set of people-focused techniques (for example, facilitation, active listening, conflict management, negotiation) used to build trust, align stakeholders, and enable effective decisions. Applied throughout the project to elicit information, resolve issues, and improve team performance.

Key Points

• These skills are applied in conversations and meetings to gather insights, influence outcomes, and create shared understanding.
• Common components include facilitation, coaching, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, influencing, negotiation, and team building.
• They are used across planning and delivery to analyze team dynamics, surface risks, and support timely decision-making.
• Outputs are mostly qualitative: agreements, action items, clarified roles, and documented decisions.
• Effectiveness depends on psychological safety, organizational culture, and the project leader's behavior and credibility.
• Pair interpersonal work with transparent documentation in logs and plans to sustain results.

Purpose of Analysis

Use interpersonal and team skills to analyze stakeholder motivations, engagement levels, and team dynamics; uncover root causes of conflict or delays; identify misalignments in expectations or roles; and determine the most effective interventions to improve collaboration and performance.

Method Steps

• Clarify the objective and success criteria for the interaction (for example, align on scope, resolve a conflict, decide on an approach).
• Select the engagement format: one-on-one interviews, facilitated workshop, daily standup, retrospective, or ad hoc huddle.
• Plan the session: agenda, timeboxes, roles, ground rules, decision method, and psychological safety norms.
• Elicit perspectives using active listening, open questions, and inclusive turn-taking; capture facts, assumptions, and interests.
• Observe verbal and nonverbal cues to detect concerns, power dynamics, and unstated constraints.
• Synthesize themes, separate symptoms from causes, and frame options; use negotiation and influencing to build shared understanding.
• Confirm decisions, actions, owners, and due dates; document agreements and communicate them to affected stakeholders.
• Follow up to verify commitments, adjust plans, and reinforce the working agreements.

Inputs Needed

• Stakeholder register and engagement assessments.
• Team roster, roles and responsibilities, and working agreements.
• Communication plan and meeting guidelines.
• Issue and risk logs, recent performance or flow metrics, and feedback from retrospectives.
• Organizational culture norms and escalation paths.

Outputs Produced

• Documented decisions, action items, and commitments with owners and dates.
• Updated issue, risk, and assumption logs.
• Refined stakeholder engagement and communication approaches.
• Team working agreements, clarified roles, or decision rules.
• Lessons learned entries and facilitation notes for future reference.

Interpretation Tips

• Triangulate: validate what you hear with multiple sources to reduce bias.
• Distinguish positions from interests; address the underlying needs, not just stated demands.
• Watch for systemic causes (policies, incentives, capacity) behind interpersonal tension.
• Account for cultural and personality differences when choosing engagement tactics.
• Convert qualitative insights into clear, trackable actions and decisions.

Example

A cross-functional team keeps missing handoffs. The project manager schedules a 90-minute workshop. Using facilitation, active listening, and a neutral stance, the team maps the current handoff flow, surfaces pain points, and clarifies decision rights. They negotiate a new working agreement, define a simple RACI for handoffs, and capture three actions with owners and dates. The issue log and communication plan are updated, and a follow-up check is set for the next sprint review.

Pitfalls

• Jumping to solutions without fully hearing all perspectives.
• Allowing dominant voices to crowd out quieter stakeholders.
• Failing to document and communicate agreements, leading to rework.
• Ignoring power dynamics or organizational constraints that block change.
• Treating one meeting as a fix-all instead of planning follow-up and reinforcement.
• Using confrontational language that reduces trust and psychological safety.

PMP Example Question

Several stakeholders disagree on acceptance criteria for a key deliverable, and tension is rising. What should the project manager do first to apply interpersonal and team skills effectively?

1. Send a detailed email asking stakeholders to vote on the criteria by end of day.
2. Escalate the conflict to the sponsor for a decision.
3. Facilitate a structured discussion using active listening to surface concerns and agree on next steps.
4. Update the project charter to include the preferred criteria.

Correct Answer: C — Facilitate a structured discussion using active listening to surface concerns and agree on next steps.

Explanation: Interpersonal and team skills are best applied through facilitation and active listening to build shared understanding and align on actions before escalating. Email voting or unilateral updates may entrench positions and reduce buy-in.