Division of Business Studies

Semester 1, 2021

Lecture #2
Topic: Leadership and Project Manager
Objective
 Understand how project management is a “leader-
intensive” profession.
 Distinguish between the role of a manager and the
characteristics of a leader.
 Understand the concept of emotional intelligence as it
relates to how project managers lead.
 Recognize traits that are strongly linked to effective project
leadership.
 Identify the key roles project champions play in project
success.
 Recognize the principles that typify the new project
leadership.
 Understand the development of project management
professionalism in the discipline
Introduction
Leadership is often recognized by its accomplishments. After cofounding Apple
in 1976, Steven Jobs served as both a visible spokesperson for the corporation
for many years, as well as the guiding hand behind many of its most significant
product developments. Starting with his work in developing many of the
technical and crowd-pleasing features of the Macintosh computer in 1984,
Jobs always made his presence felt, often to the discomfort of other members
of the organization who found his leadership style abrasive and demanding. In
fact, less than two years after the success of the Macintosh, Jobs was fired
from the company he started.

His return as an older and wiser executive a decade later sparked a

resurgence in a company that was nearly bankrupt, devoid of new ideas, and
without a strong sense of strategic direction. At the time of his return, Apple’s
market capitalization was $3 billion. However, over the following 15 years
(until his death in 2011), Jobs spearheaded some of the most innovative new
electronic consumer products ever conceived, revaluing the firm at over $350
billion. His impact on iconic products such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPod left
him with a reputation as a visionary technology leader and helped make Apple
one of the most profitable and valuable corporations in the world.
Intro’cont’d

Although there are many definitions of leadership, one

useful definition that we will employ in this session is
that leadership is the ability to inspire confidence and
support among the people who are needed to achieve
organizational goals.2 For the project manager,
leadership is the process by which she influences the
project team to get the job done!

True leadership from the project manager has been

shown time and again to be one of the most important
characteristics in successful project management. The
impact of good leadership is felt within the team and has
an effect on other functional managers and important
project stakeholders
Leaders Versus Managers
Leaders
 Do the right thing
 Develop new processes
 Innovative
 Originate
 Earn their position
 Command respect
 Focus on people
 Inspire trust
 Focused on potential
 Have long-term goal
Leaders versus Managers
Managers
 Do things right
 Maintain the status quo
 Administer
 Initiate
 State their position
 Demand respect
 Focus on systems
 Strive for control
 Focused on the bottom
 Short term view
How the Project Manager Leads

1. Acquiring Project Resources

Project resources such as personnel and
materials required are to successfully
mobilized and procured on site to achieve
the objectives and goals
2. Motivating and Building Teams
 Team building and motivation present enormously
complex hurdles, and dealing comfortably with human
processes is not part of every manager’s background

 For example, it is very common within engineering or

other technical jobs for successful employees to be
promoted to project manager. They typically become
quickly adept at dealing with the technical challenges of
project management but have a difficult time
understanding and mastering the human challenges.
Their background, training, education, and experiences
have prepared them well for technical problems but
have neglected the equally critical behavioral elements
in successful project management.
Motivating and Building Teams

 Motivation is the ability to recognize

talent, recruit it to the project team, mold
a team of interactive and collaborative
workers, and apply motivational
techniques as necessary.
Having a Vision and Fighting Fires
Successful project managers must operate on
boundaries.
 The boundary dividing technical and behavioral
problems is one example, and project managers
need to be comfortable with both tasks
 Another boundary is the distinction between
being a strategic visionary and a day-to-day
firefighter.
 Project managers work with conceptual plans,
develop the project scope in line with
organizational directives, and understand how
their project is expected to fit into the company’s
project portfolio.
Communicating

 Project Managers have to be great

Communicators.
 One of the most critical means by which
project managers can communicate is
through their ability to run productive
meetings. Meeting skills are important
because project managers spend a large
amount of time in meetings—meetings with
team members, top management, clients, and
other critical project stakeholders. Meetings
serve a number of purposes for the project
team, including;
Communicating
a. They define the project and the major team players.
b. They provide an opportunity to revise, update, and add to all
participants’ knowledge base, including facts, perceptions,
experience, judgments, and other information pertinent to the
project.
c. They assist team members in understanding how their individual
efforts fit into the overall whole of the project as well as how they
can each contribute to project success.
d. They help all stakeholders increase their commitment to the
project through participation in the management process.
e. They provide a collective opportunity to discuss the project and
decide on individual work assignments.
f. They provide visibility for the project manager’s role in managing
the project.
Characteristics of Project Managers who
lead
1. Leads by example
2. Visionary
3. Technically competent
4. Decisive
5. A good communicator
6. A good motivator
7. Stands up to top management when
necessary
8. Supports team members
9. Encourages new ideas
Leadership and Emotional Intelligence of
Project Managers
 Self-awareness
 Self-regulation
 Motivation
 Empathy
 Social Skill
Traits of Effective Project Leaders

The final study of necessary abilities for

effective project managers collected data from
58 firms on their project management
practices and the skills most important for
project managers. The researchers found seven
essential project manager abilities, including:
1. Organizing under conflict: Project
managers need the abilities to delegate, manage
their time, and handle conflict and criticism.
2. Experience: Having knowledge of project management and other
organizational procedures, experience with technical challenges, and a
background as a leader are helpful.

3. Decision making: Project managers require sound judgment,

systematic analytical ability, and decision-making skills.

4. Productive creativity: This ability refers to the need for project

managers to show creativity; develop and implement innovative ideas;
and challenge the old, established order.

5. Organizing with cooperation: Project managers must be willing to

create a positive team atmosphere, demonstrate a willingness to learn,
and engage in positive interpersonal contact

6. Cooperative leadership: This skill refers to the project manager’s

ability to motivate others, to cooperate, and to express ideas clearly.
7. Integrative thinking: Project managers need to be able to think
analytically and to involve others in the decision-making process.
Project Champions

Champions. Who are they?

 Champions do not consistently occupy the same
positions within organizations. Although senior
managers often serve as champions, many
members of the organization can play the role of
implementation champion, with different systems
or at different times with the same system
implementation project.
 Among the most common specific types of
champions are creative originator, entrepreneur,
godfather or sponsor, and project manager.
 The creative originator is usually an engineer, scientist,
or similar person who is the source of and driving force
behind the idea.
 An entrepreneur is the person who adopts the idea or
technology and actively works to sell the system
throughout the organization, eventually pushing it to
success.
 The project champion as godfather is a senior-level
manager who does everything possible to promote the
project, including obtaining the needed resources, coaching
the project team when problems arise, calming the political
waters, and protecting the project when necessary.
 A sponsor has elected to actively support acquisition and
implementation of the new technology and to do
everything in his power to facilitate this process
 Another member of the organization who
may play the role of champion is the project
manager. At one time or another, almost every
project manager has undertaken the role of
champion. When one considers the definition
of a project champion and the wide range of
duties performed in that role, it becomes clear
why the manager of the project is often in the
position to engage in championing behaviors.
The New Project Leadership

Project management requires us to harness

our abilities to lead others. These skills may or
(more likely) may not be innate; that is, for the
majority of us, leadership is not something that
we were born with. There are 4 competencies
that determine our success as project leaders.

1. The new leader understands and practices

the power of appreciation. These project
leaders are connoisseurs of talent, more
curators than creators.
2. The new leader keeps reminding people
what’s important.
3.The new leader generates and sustains trust.
4.The new leader and the led are intimate
allies.
Summary
1. Understand how project management is a “leader intensive”
profession.
2. Distinguish between the role of a manager and the
characteristics of a leader.
3. Understand the concept of emotional intelligence as it
relates to how project managers lead.
4. recognize traits that are strongly linked to effective project
leadership.
5. Identify the key roles project champions play in project
success.
6. recognize the principles that typify the new project
leadership.
7. Understand the development of project management
professionalism in the discipline.
Reference

 Lock, D. (2007). Project Management,

Ninth Edition. Hampshire
 Pinto J. (2016) Project Management,
Achieving Competitive Advantage.
Pearson Education Inc. USA
 Heagney, J, (2011) Fundamentals of
Project Management. Sayville, NY, USA.