A subject matter expert is someone who deeply understands the workings of a machine, a process, or a particular area. Subject matter experts are greatly sought after, so they tend to become leaders.

A project manager needs to have a proficient level of subject matter expertise for him or her to fare well in the project. The advantages are myriad; the benefits will be there for both the project manager and the client to appreciate.

To become a subject matter expert, you need to immerse yourself in the field with the aim of learning everything about it. It could be a good idea to take graduate courses and get certifications in the field of interest to advance your knowledge and competencies in it.

Why is it important?

It helps you to relate well with the subject matter of the project, understand how and what is needed to be done and, in some cases, reduce the costs that will accrue from hiring professionals from outside when a grey area needs to be addressed.

The project manager can oversee better than subordinates who are also experts in the same field, and possibly cut back on a lot of excesses which are bound to occur, and would go unnoticed if the project manager had no idea of what was going on.

A project manager can become a subject matter expert!

By simply being exposed to a variety of project sites and applying yourself to learning, with the ingredient of humility, you as a project manager can come to know a lot about a specific topic. It isn’t impossible. It can happen. Open yourself to new things, be willing to learn, study, read, and talk.

This article is part of an ebook that goes through 12 skills that every project manager should master, showing their importance and some actions you can perform to become better at them. To download the ebook click here: