Leadership Strategies for Effective Project Managers – Ep 102

Why do AEC project managers struggle to lead without direct reports?

Most AEC project managers are responsible for delivering projects through people, but without formal supervisory authority. That means they must rely entirely on personal influence, trust, and relationship-building to get work done. This creates a unique challenge: they are accountable for outcomes they cannot enforce through hierarchy.

• Most AEC PMs lead projects without direct reports
• They must influence peers and stakeholders rather than direct them
• Success depends on trust and personal credibility, not hierarchy

What happens when technical experts are promoted to PM roles without preparation?

When engineers and architects are promoted to project manager roles, they are often expected to shift from doing technical work to leading through influence — with little preparation for that transition. Without targeted development, firms may unknowingly set these professionals up to struggle. The skills that made them great engineers don’t automatically translate to effective people leadership.

• Promotion to PM is a significant role shift, not just a title change
• Many firms lack formal PM career paths or leadership training
• Underprepared project managers face avoidable, costly challenges

How does the required skill mix shift as engineers move into PM roles?

Colin describes how the skill mix shifts across three roles common in AEC firms: engineer/architect, project manager, and office manager or business unit leader. Technical skills dominate early in a career, but interpersonal skills grow in importance at the PM level — and leadership skills become the defining factor at the executive level. None of these skills disappear; their relative importance changes.

• Technical skills are highest for engineers; still needed, but secondary for PMs
• Interpersonal skills spike in importance at the PM level
• Leadership skills are the defining factor for business leaders and above

What specific behavioral gaps do most AEC project managers have?

Based on over eight years of behavior assessments with engineering and architecture firms, Colin and his team have observed a consistent pattern: project managers come into their roles having mastered achievement-oriented behaviors like being analytical, self-motivated, organized, and persistent. However, the interpersonal behaviors — confidence, directness, assertiveness, and presence — are significantly underdeveloped.

• Achievement skills (analytical, organized, persistent) are typically strong
• Interpersonal skills (confidence, directness, assertiveness) are commonly underdeveloped
• Leadership behaviors (risk-taking, accountability, motivating others) also need development

Why does Colin George call interpersonal skills “the hardest skills” — not soft skills?

Colin challenges the common label of “soft skills” as misleading. In his view, technical skills are difficult to learn — but the hardest thing to do is get work done through people. Leading through influence, maintaining accountability, and building trust without authority are far harder to master than any technical discipline. He intentionally uses the term “hardest skills” to reflect that reality.

• “Soft skills” undersells the difficulty of people leadership
• Getting work done through others is harder than technical mastery
• Colin’s preferred term: “the hardest skills.”

What leadership behaviors do project managers need to develop?

Beyond interpersonal skills, Colin identifies specific leadership behaviors AEC project managers must develop: comfort with taking risk, maintaining accountability, taking ownership of decisions, and creating an environment that motivates others to achieve. These behaviors require intentional development — they don’t emerge automatically from technical experience.

• Comfort with risk and decision ownership
• Holding teams accountable without formal authority
• Creating a motivating, high-achievement environment

How should AEC firms prepare employees for project management roles?

Colin’s advice to firm leaders: think holistically about PM development. Rather than treating leadership training as a separate add-on, firms should integrate interpersonal and leadership skill development alongside technical training — and begin this preparation before people are placed in PM roles. Mentorship, modeling, and behavior assessments are all practical tools for building this pipeline.

• Start development before the promotion, not after
• Pair technical training with interpersonal and leadership skill building
• Use mentorship, observation, and behavior assessments as development tools

What is a behavior assessment, and how does it support PM development?

A behavior assessment helps project managers understand which behaviors are expected for success in their role — and how their current behavioral patterns compare. Rather than addressing what’s visible on a resume, these assessments go beneath the surface to identify gaps in interpersonal and leadership skills, giving individuals a personalized picture of where to focus their development.

• Reveals behavioral strengths and gaps specific to the PM role
• Helps individuals target their development where it matters most
• Supports firms in building data-informed leadership programs

What is the single most important thing firm leaders can do to improve project outcomes?

When asked to distill his advice to one takeaway, Colin challenged firm leaders to treat the project manager role as a true leadership position. Leadership, in his view, boils down to one word: influence. And influence is built through behavior — not words, but consistent actions. Investing in holistic PM development that builds the hardest skills is what will have the greatest impact on project success.

• Treat the PM role as a leadership position, not just a delivery function
• Influence is built through behavior, not title or authority
• Holistic development — technical and behavioral — drives the best outcomes