A Day In The Life Of An Assistant Program Manager At American Biotech Co.
Angel, an Assistant Program Manager, emphasizes that the most crucial skill is "people skills," advocating for treating everyone with respect regardless of position – a "good dude theory" approach. This "cross-functional leadership" necessitates influencing others to achieve project goals, relying not on authority but on strong interpersonal skills to foster effective teamwork and ultimately successful project outcomes.
Project Management, Leadership, Communication, Teamwork, People Skills
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Angel Torres
Assistant Program Manager
American Biotech Co.
University of California, Davis
University of Oklahoma, Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership (2022); University of California, Los Angeles, Masters in Business Administration (2025)
Political Science, American Studies
Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical
Operations and Project Management
Disabled, Scholarship Recipient, Veteran
Video Highlights
1. Excellent people skills are crucial for success as a project manager, even more so than hierarchical authority.
2. Project managers need to be cross-functional leaders who influence and guide diverse teams towards shared goals.
3. Strong people skills are foundational to becoming a good follower and ultimately, a good leader, by fostering collaboration and effective mission accomplishment.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
For my job, and I'll say this about any job, my second profession has been people skills. Be nice; be a good person. Treat everyone like a person, not their position.
Never treat them lower or higher than you. Always treat them as you would want to be treated. It's literally the golden rule.
If you have those people skills, you can be a good leader. As project managers, we're always talking about this. Not many people directly work for a project manager, if any.
You're a cross-functional leader, meaning you have to influence people to accomplish their goals and project milestones. This ensures you and the whole team are successful.
You cannot rely solely on lawful authority or organizational hierarchy to get people to act. Because of this, you need people skills to be a good and effective leader.
Good people skills are how you start to be a good follower. A good follower becomes a good leader if they continue to focus on developing their people and accomplishing their mission effectively.