Unit: 6

PROJECT LEADER & PROJECT LEADERSHIP

PROJECT LEADERSHIP

• Project leadership is the act of leading a team / People towards the successful
completion of a project
• Project leadership requires skills in both management and leadership
• Project management leadership is one of the special project management techniques
that enable the project manager to lead and manage the project team, project
stakeholders and other project participants.
• Project management leadership is a process by which a project manager can direct,
guide and influence the behavior and work of the project team towards accomplishing
the project objectives.
• Project managers needs to have leadership competencies to manage their teams
effectively and deliver projects successfully
PROJECT LEADERSHIP

LEADERS MANAGERS

Innovate Administer

Seek Challenges Seek to maintain status quo

Think Long Term Think short to mid term

Motivate & Inspire Control

Worry about doing right things Worry about doing things right

Wide circle of influence Limited influence

 Unit: 6

PROJECT LEADERSHIP SKILLS

PROJECT LEADERSHIP SKILLS

• Leaders are not made, neither they are born; they emerge
• Hence Leadership can be developed up to certain extend and it’s a learnable skills:
• There are many traits that a leaders needs to posses; some traits & skills are generic
while some are specific w.r.t the industry or actions the leader is involved in. Some of
the most popular and well accepted skills are:
– Team management
– Conflict resolution
– Servant leadership
– Motivation
– Communication
– Proposing and shepherding changes
– Creating solutions
PROJECT LEADERSHIP SKILLS

1 - TEAM MANAGEMENT
• Project leaders are the captain of their team.
• This doesn’t mean they’re necessarily the best player. But that they know how to set-up
their team and each individual member for success.
• Project managers are responsible of team harmony
• Rewards & Recognition become integral part to ensure people working on a project are
happy and satisfied
• Resource allocation and ensuring proper distribution of tasks is also important so that
nobody should feel burdened or overworked
PROJECT LEADERSHIP SKILLS

2 - CONFLICT RESOLUTION
• Conflict is biggest reason of project slowdown
• Hence conflict resolution is most important skills which is mandatory for project leader
• Conflict can happen between 2 project managers; or 2 process heads or 2 employee
working in same function of cross function.
• Leader listens to both parties, understand their respective view points and aims to find a
Win-Win situation, which can favor the entire project.
• However in most cases, identifying a win-win situation is just a myth. Solutions
implemented often discourage or disengages either one of the parties
PROJECT LEADERSHIP SKILLS

3 - SERVENT LEADERSHIP
• This is a leadership philosophy in which the main goal is to serve the individual’s needs
rather than just the interests of the company.
• Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy in which the main goal of the leader is to
serve people. i.e. putting people first
• It is very different from traditional leadership where the leader's main focus is the
thriving of their company or organizations
• These leaders possess a serve-first mindset, and they are focused on empowering and
uplifting those who work for them.
• They are serving instead of commanding, showing humility instead authority, and always
looking to enhance the development of their staff members in ways that unlock
potential, creativity and sense of purpose.
PROJECT LEADERSHIP SKILLS

3 - SERVENT LEADERSHIP
• Servant leaders posses various traits like:

– He/she Values diverse opinions

– Cultivates a culture of trust
– Develop other leaders
– Helps people with their personal life issues
– Encourages others
– Sell instead of tells
– Thinks “You” and not “me”
– Thinks long term
– Acts with humility
PROJECT LEADERSHIP SKILLS

4 - MOTIVATION
• Every is excited and motivated at start; but most people often loose out on motivation
mid-way. This is also called “The Messy Middle”
• It can happen due to various reasons = Change of scope; uncertainties; mistakes;
unstable environment etc..
• Its responsibility of PM to understand such situations and should come up with time to
time activities to pump up the team.
• Regular interactions, feedbacks, team bonding activities etc.. helps team to sail through
such phases
PROJECT LEADERSHIP SKILLS

5 - COMMUNICATION
• Project leader is a chief communicator and his/her style of communication plays a vital
role in establishing the team culture
• Project leader is differentiated by their ability to be seen as objective, transparent,
trustworthy, focused, and confident.
• Effective Communication is significant for managers in the organizations so as to
perform the basic functions of management, i.e., Planning, Organizing, Leading and
Controlling.
• Communication helps managers to perform their jobs and responsibilities in better
fashion
• Good and effective communication is an essential tool in achieving productivity and
maintaining strong, lasting working relationships at all levels of an organization.
PROJECT LEADERSHIP SKILLS

6 - PROPOSING AND SHEPHERDING CHANGES

• Sometime project is hit with uncertainties or unusual request form client or threat of
competition increase, in such cases the tea members go clue less and loose out on the
direction of work
• Leadership skills are tested in such turbulent times.
• In such scenarios; the project might demand additional skillsets or knowledge
management to be infused in resources to carry forward further tasks.
• Project leader need to propose right direction and also lead them till the end.
PROJECT LEADERSHIP SKILLS

6 - CREATING SOLUTIONS
• A great project leader doesn’t just address problems; they create solutions.
• Solutions should hit the problem hard and it also needs to be communicated to entire
team.
• Project leaders doesn't analyze the problem from surface level, but digs inside to
come-up with real cause.
• These cause and its impact is further calculated to discover right & most feasible
solution to the given problem.
• Hence Creating solution is an ART
 Unit: 6

ETHICS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

ETHICS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• Project management is driven by decisions. A PM has to take 100s of decision during

planning and executing every individual project.
• Some decisions are small and barely noticed while others are prominent; but every
decision needs deeper thought as they involve people, resources and the environment.
• Many times these factors are in conflict, creating a dilemma and perhaps significant
risks; this is where ETHICS plays a vital role before taking a decision
• While Ethics are important for all organizations and their employees and other
stakeholders, they are more important for project managers who execute complex
projects and interact with a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Being ethical and following ethical norms can be said to be prerequisites for project
managers who have to practice ethics and observe ethical rules.
ETHICS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

WHY ETHICS ARE IMPORTANT IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

• It elevates the profession and raises future standards.

• It increases the faith and trust others bestow.
• It imprints on individual moral mindsets and behaviors.
• It improves business relationships at all levels.
• It promotes fair decision making.
• It reduces project risks.
• It provides a greater chance of success.
• It reduces anxiety and stress and ultimately turnover in projects.
 Unit: 6

PROJECT TERMINATION
PROJECT TERMINATION
• Project Termination is a situation when a given project is supposed to be closed or finalized because
there’s no more need or sense for further continuation.
• Project Termination can happen in case of Project success or Project failure
• It’s the last phase of Project Life Cycle
• A formal project closing meeting should be scheduled and conducted normally with the project
sponsor, steering committee and project manager as the key attendees.
• There are 4 types of Project termination
– Termination by Extinction  Resource or need for final product is over or Goals & objectives
are met
– Termination by Addition  Project property is transferred to other entity
– Termination by Integration  Project is integrated with other project (Shared resource or
shared infrastructure)
– Termination by Starvation  Budget over or Budget Transferred
PROJECT TERMINATION

REASONS FOR PROJECT TERMINATION

• Technical Failure
• Requirements become unrealistic
• Requirements or specifications change against the underlying contract
• Lack of project planning or lack of risk management
• Intended product becomes obsolete, is not any longer needed
• Inadequate human resources, tools, or material are not available
• The project profit lower than expected: Due to high project cost or low project revenue
The parent organization changes its business strategy or no longer exist
• Unprecedented circumstances E.g. Covid19, Earthquake, flooding etc..
• Lack of management support or Lack of customer support etc.
PROJECT TERMINATION

ALLIED PROCEDURES DURING PROJECT TERMINATION

• Close outstanding agreements with suppliers

• Transfer any responsibilities (if necessary)
• Dismiss or re-assign the team
• Release all remaining resources
• Close the project book (resolve all accounting and finance issues)
• Document lessons learned
• Accept (reject) the product
• Install and use the product.