Everyday there is news about artificial intelligence (AI) and its importance in both our personal and professional lives. As Life Science Project Managers, the obvious application of AI by us is for project productivity. However, have you thought about the application of AI to enhance PMI’s Power Skills? According to the 2023 Annual PMI Global Survey on Project Management (see 2023 PMI Pulse of the Profession ), the top three ways project managers use AI are reporting (34%), decision support (33%), and communication (26%). This report goes on to further say “while AI can take on productivity tasks like planning and budgeting, project managers are also using AI as a tool to sharpen specific power skills, so their human interactions and strategic decisions are stronger.” As a PMP and Learning & Development professional, I was intrigued to understand more. If you are too, then read on.

According to PMI’s Pulse of the Profession 2023 report, the four most important Power Skills are:

• Collaborative Leadership
• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Strategic Thinking

Project managers can leverage AI to enhance these skills in a few of the following ways:

Collaborative Leadership:Let’s look first at the definition of collaborative leadership. According to Dr. Edward Marshall of Duke University, collaborative leadership is defined as “an ethical, principle-based philosophy of service that builds a leadership culture of psychological safety, ownership, and trust that empowers the workforce to be their best selves so they can do their best work and produce superior results.” AI can assist PMs in fostering this by providing tools which enable real-time partnership, task assignment and progress tracking. This in turn promotes transparency, accountability and enhances team collaboration.

Communication:So much has been written about how AI can impact communication in general - this Forbes article is just a tip of the iceberg to start learning more. Thinking specifically about Life Science Project Management, AI can enhance communication by providing intelligent chatbots or virtual assistants that can answer queries, provide project updates, or even facilitate virtual meetings. AI can even be used to improve accuracy and efficiency of communication especially important for project stakeholders.

Problem-Solving:The role of AI in assisting with problem-solving is a little more obvious. AI can assist Life Science PMs in this space by analyzing large datasets, identifying patterns, and even providing insights. This analysis can be partnered with data visualization tools to enable a Life Science PM to make better decisions and identify project risks. This can all be done quicker and more accurately than traditional methods.

Strategic Thinking:AI can support Life Science PMs in strategic thinking by providing predictive analytics and scenario modeling capabilities. Furthermore, Machine Learning algorithms can analyze historical project data, identify trends, and help Life Science PMs make better informed strategic decisions. AI can also facilitate scenario planning by simulating different project scenarios, enabling project managers to evaluate potential outcomes and adjust their strategies accordingly.

One final thought.It is important to note that AI is an excellent tool for Life Science project managers to sharpen specific power skills and ultimately strengthen their human interactions. Lest we never forget, AI is just that – a tool. A tool that should be used to augment our skills rather than to rely solely on. The combination of human expertise and AI used correctly is a combination with the potential to be as incredible as Luke Skywalker and R2-d2, Batman and the Batmobile and my favorite peanut butter & chocolate.