Project Leadership Final Assessment

Studying project leadership has been interesting to me to discover some of the ways

that leading is different than managing. This has been somewhat of a reoccurring theme in my

courses as the two are very closely related. Throughout my coursework I have done many self-

evaluations of my leadership skills and now more specifically project leadership. For the sake of

this reflection, I have narrowed down two strengths and two growth opportunities to focus on.

Scheduling and problem-solving are skills that I have strongly developed in my personal life and

workplace. More recently, I have been focusing on effective communication and decision-

making. I’d also like to touch on a skill that is completely new to me, budgeting. All of these

skills are important for project leadership and this course has helped me become more aware

of how I can use them.

I have to admit that I am a bit of a control-freak and of course that comes with its pros

and cons. One of the benefits is that I plan and schedule very carefully. I take into consideration

many different aspects when planning to be as accurate as possible. Although I have not

formally planned and led a specific project in my career experience, I have studied planning a

bit and have confidence that I will be able to implement what I have learned successfully.

Determining an accurate and achievable timeline for a project takes skill. A valuable part of

planning is involving the subject matter experts to get an idea of how much time should be

allotted to various tasks. This step taken by a project leader shows that they value the

contributions of the team members they are working with. Another part of planning a project

requires flexibility and adaptability. Things do not always go according to plan and will have to

be adjusted along the way. Unexpected events can cause the project to fall behind schedule
and knowing this ahead of time means you can plan in a bit of extra room where you think it

might be needed.

When it comes to problem-solving, I believe that I am good at it because I have a curious

mind. I am intrigued by the challenge and enjoy studying and working through situations to find

a solution. I’ve learned with problem-solving that you have to keep an open mind and expand

the way you think about things. How can this problem be rectified? What can be done

differently to avoid this problem happening again? The company that I work for implements

problem-solving meetings on a monthly basis. Usually what takes place is an assessment of the

current protocol to determine what was missing that led to the problem that occurred. One

situation we had to deal with was related to inputting credit applications that were received by

mail. Frequently, the handwriting was difficult to read and was at the discretion of the person

inputting the information to interpret. However, this was leading to declines that ended up

being overturned after closer review. What we determined to be the best practice for unclear

information was to leave it blank, place the application on hold, and have an underwriter

contact the customer for clarification. The information being used included legal name, social

security numbers, place of employment, etc. What seems like a minor misspelling could have a

negative impact on the customer. In the problem-solving meetings we spend time breaking

down the problem to determine the original cause and make sure that it does not become a

reoccurring problem.

Another aspect that I enjoyed learning about problem-solving in relation to leading a

project is taking a proactive step than reactive. With this method, predictions can be made

about possible problems that may occur and being prepared to address it. For example, when
creating files for a program, they should be backed up so that if something happens with the

original it is not back to square one. Testing a product throughout the project can also minimize

the number of problems that occur because they are found and addressed before moving on

and becoming a bigger problem.

Effective communication is a skill that I have been working on a lot since I’ve started the

organizational leadership program. It has helped me significantly in my personal and

professional life. Actually, what has been the most beneficial for me is learning about active

listening. When you are keyed into what your teammate is discussing with you, you are able to

process and respond appropriately and this will lead to the best outcome. I had a colleague in

my previous job that I always struggled to communicate with. It was as if we were having two

different conversations with each other and led to a lot of frustration between us. I sort of used

this situation as a training ground to work on my communication. I started taking time to listen

carefully to what she was telling me about and then asking her questions for clarification and

follow-up. I also took the opportunity to asses my own thoughts before sharing them with her

to make sure I was giving the information needed and not expecting to have my mind read. It

took patience from both of us to learn to communicate better but was very beneficial to our

relationship.

When leading a project, effective communication can make a huge difference in the

process. Clear expectations must be given but the rapport needs to be developed such that it is

a safe place for asking questions and giving or receiving feedback. The project leader also has

the responsibility of communicating with the sponsors and stakeholders and relaying that

information back to the team. When the team understands what is expected of them, they are
more likely to be successful in their performance. As a leader, I want the team I am working

with to be comfortable discussing the workflow or asking questions. I also want to be confident

when I am reporting to management about the status or any changes that may be needed.

Since I have not yet led any projects in my career, something that I know will be a

challenge to me as I learn is making critical decisions in the process. I am a perfectionist and

have a fear of making the wrong decision and how that scenario would unfold. When I was a

supervisor in the bank, I had to make decisions when dealing with customer issues but they

were on a case-by-case basis and I had regulations to guide me. I think that the kind of

decisions that a project leader makes are different because they have specific criteria to meet

for their stakeholders. In the bank, my decisions were pretty clear-cut because they were

mostly related to procedures. On a project, a wrong decision can affect the outcome entirely.

What will be most important to me when it comes time to make decisions while working on a

project is that I have all the necessary information. This may require some data gathering or

analyzing to be well informed before acting. In my life I have had to make many major

decisions, so I know I am capable of doing so. When it comes to project management, I will

learn a lot through experience.

A skill that was new to me in using the Harvard Project Management Simulation was

budgeting. Now, I use a specific budget for the way I handle my own finances but I have

discovered that this is a different process when it comes to project management. The project

leader does not get to decide what their budget is, so they have to work with what they are

given. Hopefully, the stakeholders have an idea of what they are preparing for when

establishing their budget so that it can be reasonable. I think there is a lot of research to be
done in this step of the planning. I did not get this feeling when working on the simulation. In

the process of the simulations, I was never able to complete the project within the budget. I

found this very frustrating because I can’t imagine that it is impossible. This is where I learned a

bit about the compromises on a project. Sometimes it may be necessary to inform the

stakeholders that while their deadline is achievable, it is going to cost more than expected. This

will be important to determine from the start so that the project does not fail to be completed

if it runs out of funding. It may also happen that a change in development may require more

than expected and this would be a conversation to have with the stakeholders as soon as it

arises. Every detail of the project has to be monitored constantly for its affect on the budget.

I really enjoyed using the Harvard Project Management Simulation program in this

course. In my professional experience, I have never personally led a project, although I have

been involved in many. This simulation gave me so many new aspects to consider. I would say

that my style would be hands-on and closely involved with the team and the stakeholders. I see

the project leader as a gatekeeper between the two groups. I noticed that I kept wanting to ask

the team questions when they would be “bored” yet not completing many tasks or “stressed”

but reporting confidence in their ability to complete the project on time. I also wanted to be

able to communicate with management about the budget or timeline. I realized here how

important communication really is when working with a team.

What I appreciated most about the simulations was being able to analyze the data of

how my decisions affected the project. I could see a breakdown in tasks, budget, and timeline. I

wondered throughout this experience what it would look like in reality to be able to asses the

project you are working on regularly as you go. Would I be making graphs myself? How is all of
the information tracked? When would I have the time to do this? Practicing these simulations

helped me see the actual lifecycle of a project. It was interesting how each one had unique

challenges to be addressed. I had mixed feelings about the fact that we could run through the

simulation as many times as we wanted to. Of course, it was really great to be able to make

changes and try again and figure out what is going on but after a few attempts it became more

of a numbers game. I know in real life I will not have the option of working a project over and

over until I get it right. The discussion boards were awesome regarding the simulations because

I saw so many perspectives that helped expand my thought process.

Since starting this course, I have had the opportunity to interview for two project

management positions within my company. It was interesting to learn about each one and how

different departments can utilize a project manager for their specific needs. The first one was

related to recruiting operations and the second was for customer program management. Not

surprising though, was that both roles were looking for a candidate with strong communication,

data analysis, problem solving, and critical thinking skills. As someone who has just finished the

simulations and not yet led their own project, I will admit it was intimidating to find that these

project managers were expected to run multiple projects at a time! Unfortunately, they were

also both looking for someone with experience. I will get there eventually! Until then, I have

strengthened and added many tools to my leadership toolbelt and expanded my career growth

opportunities.
Harvard Project Management Simulation Advice

1. Analyze decision results closely

After each week’s decisions are made, the program produces a load of useful

information to indicate the outcomes of the decisions that were made. At first it looks

like a bunch of graphs and numbers but when you look closely at the results, you can

see where the adjustments need to be made in the next week’s decisions. Analyzing the

outcomes was key to success because each week’s results basically led you right into

your next decision.

2. Know what the expectations are before making decisions

The simulation provides a detailed description of what the management team expects

from the project. As the leader, it is important to be very familiar with this so that

appropriate decisions can be made throughout the life of the project. Having this

knowledge will also help keep the project on track as a guide for meeting the terms.

3. Don’t let a road bump derail the entire project

There are many situations that will arise during a project that will require adjustments

to be made to the plans. How the problem is addressed is crucial to the success or

failure of the project. Take a deep breath, asses what has occurred, and implement a

plan of action. Utilize the resources that are available to you to keep moving forward.