Unveiling the core competencies of the successful project manager through the application of multiobjective

Since the project manager (PM) has an essential role in project performance, investing in a manager's competencies means investing in the success of the manager's projects. The objective of this exploratory study was to find the core project managers' competencies composed of behaviors, skills, and knowledge that influence the project performance through four pillars: cost, quality, scope, and time. A variable selection method called the multiobjective genetic algorithm was applied to achieve this objective. The results show that, among others, emotional stability, verbal communication, knowledge in multidisciplinary topics influence project performance. These results can help in decision making when directing efforts towards recruitment and training of project management professionals. This study also contributes to scientific research in social sciences introducing the multiobjective genetic algorithm as an alternative technic for variables selection. This technic reduces the number of variables keeping the explicative power of the phenomenon analyzed.