The Importance of Soft Skills and it Project Managers’ Personality Type

Authors

  • Cíntia Araújo Nove de Julho University
  • Cristiane Drebes Pedron Nove de Julho University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2016.v1i1.8

Keywords:

MBTI, soft skills, project manager competencies, information technology, competence development

Abstract

Information technology (IT) is a strategic element in business as it is fundamental to create value to organizations. To be efficient, project managers need to develop other competencies besides their technical skills (“hard skills”). This paper aims to show the importance of soft skills in the development of IT project managers’ competencies by answering the following questions (1) “which is the impact of “soft skills” on IT projects management?” and (2) “the personality type of the project manager can influence the development of his/her soft skills?”. To answer these questions, we conducted an exploratory and qualitative research. To collect data, we interviewed IT project managers and applied the MBTI test to identify their personality type. As we crossed the results of MBTI tests and content of the interviews, we noticed that some professionals have a personality type that might hinder them from developing some soft skills. Another important finding is that leadership and communication are the most important soft skills in project management according to IT project managers.  This research contributes to the academia as it indicates opportunities for further studies on the relationship of personality type and competence development. A managerial implication of research results is that managers and leaders can use personality tests such as MBTI to prevent relationship conflicts in teams as well as to design training programs that best suit their subordinates’ personality traits.

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Author Biographies

Cíntia Araújo, Nove de Julho University

Doctorate student in Administration at Nove de Julho University, in São Paulo, Brazil. She earned a master’s degree on Administration with emphasis on Project Management at Nove de Julho University. Cintia’s main areas of interest are Team and Organizational Commitment, Competencies, Project Management, Customer Relationship Management, Information Technology and Innovation.

Cristiane Drebes Pedron, Nove de Julho University

Professor of Business Studies at UNINOVE – Universidade Nove de Julho in São Paulo, Brazil. She received a Ph.D. from ISEG - University of Lisbon, Portugal. Her research interests include the use of information technology to innovate Customer Relationship Management.

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Published

2016-07-18

How to Cite

Araújo, C., & Pedron, C. D. (2016). The Importance of Soft Skills and it Project Managers’ Personality Type. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 1(1), 40–59. https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2016.v1i1.8