Running head: LEADING LEAN PROJECTS 1

Leading Lean Projects

Name

Institution
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LEADING LEAN PROJECTS

Introduction

In a situation where the goals, needs, and interests of two or more people interfere

with one another, conflicts always arise. Conflicts are common and inevitable in families,

schools, and workplaces. Conflict may involve partners, organization and client, team

members in projects or departments in an organization because of the different needs and

priorities of stakeholders. If the conflicts are not properly managed they can lead to a lack of

productivity and loss of trust. This paper looks at the appropriate approaches to solving

conflicts between different parties involved in a project.

Handling the Conflict with my Partner

In a scenario where I have difficulties agreeing with my partner over the design of the

house, I will handle the conflict by giving my partner what she wants because if we continue

disagreeing about the layout and the inclusion of the home. Continued disagreements would

also delay our discussion with the builder on cost estimation and even miss out on their

current promotion of the solar energy system and we would also lose the eligibility to apply

for the Keystart Program. Therefore, to end this disagreement and begin the project on time, I

will perceive the design and inclusion of the house minor. This approach of solving conflicts

is called the accommodating strategy (Yusuf & Pretorius, 2017). This strategy requires one

party to sacrifice its needs and preferences and go with those of the other party (Folger,

Poole & Stutman, 2017; Michaels & Strawinska-Zanko, 2018). In accommodating strategy,

one party should be lay does its interests for the interests of the other party.
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In my opinion, the accommodating strategy would be the best approach to manage

this conflict because it would not only help me to end the disagreements I have with my

partner and have the project commence on time, but also would help to preserve the

relationship with my partner. This strategy would also help us to take advantage of the

builder’s current promotion of the free 5Kw solar energy system and apply for the Keystart

program. The approach would also encourage my partner’s full participation in the project.

Handling the Conflict with the Builder

I would handle the conflict with the builder using the collaborative strategy. This

strategy of conflict resolution is an approach where the two parties involved in the conflict

strive to find a solution that accommodates the needs and concerns of the other party so that

all parties can feel they have gotten what they wanted. The aim of this approach is to make

each party feel satisfied and valued in the project. The collaborating strategy of conflict

management requires the mediator to listen to the concerns, needs, wants and fears of other

parties in the conflict. The goal of the approach is to ensure that every party feels

comfortable and free to express their point of view. Therefore, this approach should be mild

and non-confrontational.

I feel that the collaborating approach would be an appropriate strategy to manage

conflict with the builder. For instance, when it comes to cost estimation, this strategy will

help in finding a win-win solution that will satisfy the concerns of both of us. The builder

will have an opportunity to give his cost estimation after which I will give my budget, we

shall then discuss to reach a common ground where both of us will be comfortable. This

approach will also help both of us to identify the underlying concerns of the other person and
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find an alternative that satisfies everyone’s needs (Binder, 2016). For example, I shall

discuss the inclusions that we want so that the builder can give his views and advice on what

is good what is not. Therefore the collaborative strategy is appropriate for this type of

conflict because it helps two parties to come to a mutually beneficial solution.

Leadership Style

The leadership style that would be used to successfully manage the project to

completion is the charismatic style. I would use this style to convey the overall mission of

the project to the builder. As a charismatic leader, I would not get involved in the day-to-day

details of the project, rather I would concentrate on aligning the objectives of the project and

motivate the builder to keep moving in the desired direction and ensure that every single

detail about the project is observed and adhered to (Blaskovics, 2014). Using the charismatic

leadership style will enable the successful completion of the project because this style will

help me to treat every challenge as an opportunity to make things better (Harrison & Lock,

2017). The style will also enable me to focus on solutions rather than problems because it

will help to find solutions for the problems faced during the project.

The charismatic style of leadership will appropriate for this project because of many

reasons. First, the style will instill tenacity and determination. It will help me as a leader to

focus on meeting the challenges head-on and push forward rather than focusing on the

possibility of giving up (Cunningham, Salomone & Wielgus, 2015). Also, Charismatic style

fosters humility, this would help me to consider the concerns and ideas of other stakeholders

in the project and convey value for each stakeholder to make them feel their concerns and

ideas are valued and that they are a part of a team working towards the same goal. Lastly,
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this style of leadership will also help to ensure higher productivity and innovation. As the

leader of the project, this style will help me to focus more on establishing trust and respect

for other stakeholders as well as the builders of the project. This will motivate the employees

to adhere to the high expectations of the project and work towards achieving the goal of the

project (Rahim, 2017). This will increase the productivity of the employees towards the

project.
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References

Binder, J. (2016). Global project management: communication, collaboration and management

across borders. Routledge.

Blaskovics, B. (2014). Impact of leadership styles on project success–the case of a multinational

company. Dynamic Relationships Management Journal, 3(2), 21-36.

Cunningham, J., Salomone, J., & Wielgus, N. (2015). Project Management Leadership Style: A

Team Member Perspective. International Journal of Global Business, 8(2).

Folger, J., Poole, M. S., & Stutman, R. K. (2017). Working through conflict: Strategies for

relationships, groups, and organizations. Routledge.

Harrison, F., & Lock, D. (2017). Advanced project management: a structured approach.

Routledge.

Michaels, J. L., & Strawinska-Zanko, U. (2018). A Dynamical Approach to Conflict

Management in Teams. In Mathematical Modeling of Social Relationships (pp. 119-146).

Springer, Cham.

Rahim, M. A. (2017). Managing conflict in organizations. Routledge.

Yusuf, A. S., & Pretorius, J. H. C. (2017). Conflict management in projects (pp. 817-823). IEEE.