I know that this question depends a lot in the environment the Project Manager works in, but still want to know on the average, which skill/skill set that need to be focused more than others. To name a few skills that seems to be necessary:
I agree with those who say that effective project managers should have good project management skills. I also agree that knowing your domain, industry, and having some level of technical skills in your project's field will benefit you.
Beyond this, I would say the main skills you need are:
Other than that, all your "usual" skills of knowing how to effectively manage (keep from getting out of control) your scope, schedule, resources, team, quality, etc.
Being Organized. You are the person who has to keep everything, and everyone, together.
Leadership. There will be times when you'll need to get people moving in a direction they may not naturally head to or accept news/modify expectations they might not want to hear.
To your list I'd add:
You mention "proficient English". If this were about programming, I'd say "oh yes". But this is project management, which is much more prople oriented and less (or not at all) computer oriented. Therefore I don't see the need to speak or understand English.
You will need to speak and understand the language or languages of your project team, of course, be them English or whatever. I don't think English has any special status in project management (as opposed to programming, where it does).
If it was so easy that it needed one skill only, it wouldn't be fun. :)
The biggest help in my experience is having solid people management skills. The technical stuff is very important, but you can learn that easily. Knowing how to do the latest in project management techniques will not make for a successful project if the PM can't get people to do what it takes to get the project done.
Risk Identification, Analysis and Mitigation planning is also important for project manager.
I would add "People skills" to your list.
It's not a requirement but one of the main roles of a project manager is to actually talk to the client. Good relationships, specially making the client trust you.
Another good skill in the same direction is the ability to say NO when is needed.
Project Management Skill: This will include everything from Communication and Integration (amongst various project constraints like Time, Cost, Scope etc) Skills to Networking and people skills Domain Knowledge: This would include knowledge acquired about the Industry of your project in general and domain specific knowledge in general Personal Characteristics: A lot will depend upon the personal style of individual here. Keeping a balanced state of mind at all the time, specially during touch situations is of paramount importance here. Other skills include leadership and motivation skills
Using the skills described in the other answers (technical ability, leadership, communication, organisational), a project manager must have the ability to focus on the goal of the project, and keep all of the project team also focussed on that goal until it is delivered.
This would also include a belief in delivering a product of good to high quality (and using this as motivation for the project team).
Communication : ability to communicate within ALL levels of an organization. That is a skill this is not given to everybody, adapting your speech to the audience ;
Leadership : PM is a leadership role, it is well known that someone with no leadership in that role will not go far. You have to be strategic, pick your battles carefully and identify the right people to go to war with you ;
Respect : respect for you and everyone around you. Respect can and will lead you a long way. You don't get the buy-in from everyone around the room by yelling at them. I always say : "treat others like you'd want to be treated" and it has always worked very well so far ;
Trust : Knowledge in your area helps a lot to gain trust, if your technical resources know you understand their language, they will trust you and therefore help you deliver the project on time and in scope.
Effective Communication
That is to concisely deliver message in different ways to different people at the beginning and add details and background in a logical manner so that even a dummy can understand your meaning. It does not necessarily to present like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Just to be natural to speak and be sophisticated to think before you speak. Especially in the phase of discussion, just to initiate them or to add details above their speech. At the phase of decision making, provide some options with pros and cons. If they are active and listening, initiate them to vote. Or else, you make decision.
Interpersonal Skills for Management
That is how to interact with people with different expertise. There is a motto saying that Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right thing. But, you should always remember you are manager that how to arrange tasks according to your sub-coordinates. This is extremely important because you have have wider time-frames to execute your expertise of project management .Never do the task for a long time even your have strong technical background or related experience. Otherwise, it is your project not the team's project.
Be objective
It can be presented in macroscopic manner and microscopic manner.
Microscopic view:
Very often, some members cannot delivery work on time. Never blame them at the first time. There must be a root cause for that. Find out the root cause and provide guidance. If it is related to personal matters, chat with them separately to know more.
Macroscopic view:
Sometimes, the business requirement is not always confirmed and become solid. As a manager, it is time to interfere the task which BA or Sales is involved. Since the tasks of project is attributed by the business requirement, project manager shall shoulder (part of) the responsibilities.
As I have mentioned, the time frame compromised among the team members and stakeholders cannot be met sometimes. It is expected for the project manager to to use tools or models to anticipate the risk involved in the project and take actions.
Create a risk matrix first to summarize a list of possible project risk to occur in general.
Always prioritize the project risk and deal with the one with the highest risk first and so on. Although the level of risk cannot be objectively quantified in terms of scientific manner, we can consider it as the product of potential consequences of catastrophic events contributed by the project risk and the remaining time frame to deal with that . If the time frame is small , deal with them first.
The rest depends on the project we have taken. If it is familiar to your or your teammates expertise, encourage them to give guidance. If not, provide a time frame to carry out research and uphold regular meetings to share the technologies they have learnt.
One more thing I want to add is that there is a rising trend of using Agile Methodologies for adopting the practice of software development process, or so-called Application life-cycle management. It can be attributed by the fast advance of technologies and widespread of social networks. These can give rise to great availability for us to communicate each other. More importantly, as our age grows , our learning capabilities will eventually drop. Agile Methodologies can provide instant feedback and modification to develop the software. During the phase on iteration and daily, the senior can provide teaching to the junior with prototypes at the beginning so as to get their learning curve smooth.
Proactive - Anticipate risks, seek to resolve dependencies and risks before they derail the project
Leadership
For a project manager it is very important to have leadership qualities. This hugely determines the success of the project.
Empathy
Moreover, empathy is other quality that is very much needed. Project is executed by human beings. Understanding their view points will help you to take the project very far.
Negotiation skills
A project manager should have good negotiation skills to negotiate well for resources and deadlines.
