Intro to Leadership and Management

Hello! In designing and delivering this chapter I have drawn upon 30 years of experience;
both as a Leadership and Management practitioner in a range of complex scenarios, and
as a graduate of three of the foremost leadership centres of learning in the world. I very
much look forward to sharing this experience with you during Chapter 2.

The defined learning objectives of this chapter are to:

Evaluate advanced structured product-based project management, project

assurance, quality control, change and risk management techniques.

Apply leadership and project management skills to a range of operational scenarios,

recognise personal management and leadership strengths and weaknesses, and
develop individual effective management techniques.

This chapter builds upon your previous studies and will explore Leadership and
Management and its relevance to Portfolio, Programme, and Project Management (P3M)
activity; of which the Project Management processes and concepts we explored in Chapter
1 form but a part.

The Learning outcomes for this lecture are:

• To recall and illustrate interdependencies between leadership and

management activity.

• To examine and describe the principles of good leadership and management.

• To identify fundamental ethical leadership and management behaviours.

Intro to Leadership and Management

So, let us start by looking at some ideas about Leadership and Management, beginning
with some examples of popular ideas about L&M that I believe to be little more than
unhelpful myths and which sometimes discourage individuals from developing themselves
as leaders and managers:

• Leadership and Management are separate activities and require different types of
people to be good at each.

• Leaders are born – it is just a fact of life that some people will always be better
leaders and managers than others.

• All necessary skills can be learned from the vast range of Leadership and
Management material available and applied as a template in any situation.

Taking these ideas one at a time, let us examine whether they have any basis in fact.

Firstly let's look at the idea that Leadership and Management are separate activities or
disciplines, which require different ways of thinking. This idea has been popular for a very
long time and only in recent years have those with practical experience of L&M begun to
question it. Many books have been written which seek to portray Management as a cold
logical science requiring skills such as planning, organising, and co-ordination, and
Leadership as a much less logical activity, requiring human emotion to inspire and
motivate other people.

One well known example of this is Warren Bennis' 1989 book 'On becoming a leader' in
which he sets out to define some of the differences between Leaders and Managers. As
you can see from the slide he seeks to separate the leader from the manager in a
simplistic and linear way, with the manager seen as being the lesser individual.

The manager administers; the leader innovates.

The manager maintains; the leader develops.

The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.

The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

The manager imitates; the leader originates.

The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

Intro to Leadership and Management

In a clinical and artificial environment it may be possible to identify some differences
between activities which we have chosen to describe as management and those we
describe as leadership, but we do not live and work in such and environment. Although the
activities required within L&M functions are not identical I do not believe the artificial
separation of L&M is helpful or necessary; rather we should view them as overlapping and
complimentary activities and skills which need to be applied as appropriate to each
situation.

It may be that in times past that the individual being managed or led had such little say in
what they were required to do and in how a task was to be completed, that L&M of the
time could be cold, logical, and without thought as to the needs of the individual, but this is
not the case in the modern workplace. The modern employee is educated and aware and
as such will respond most effectively to high quality leadership and management which
considers the requirements of the task or output, but in the context of the people who are
to achieve it; their needs, skills, knowledge, and their potential to enhance or improve any
given situation. Remember this as it is an idea we will return to shortly.

Next, the idea that leaders are born and it is just fate as to whether you will make a good
leader or not. It is certainly true to say that people exposed to L&M opportunities and
challenges early in life may well go on to be more effective leaders and managers in time,
but this is a factor of experience not birth – and there is no guarantee that such an
outcome will indeed occur. The key to becoming proficient in L&M is experience,
underpinned by understanding. Experience, no matter how small the task, is hugely
important in developing us as leader and managers and we should take every opportunity
offered to develop our L&M skills, but we should also apply understanding to each
situation – of the principles of L&M, of your own performance, of how the team responded
to your style, and of how the outcome could have differed or have been improved. Leaders
are not born, they learn by doing, and the very best never stop learning.

Lastly let's explore the idea that L&M can be just learned using books and other material,
and that the theories and templates therein can be applied to any situation. It is
undoubtedly true that learning material can be useful, after all this lecture is one example!
But this must be reinforced with practical experience and with an understanding that what
worked in one scenario and which forms the basis of one book, theory, or template, may
not work at all well in a different time and place. All L&M books are variations of the same
theme and should be underpinned by the same essential principles we will discuss shortly.
Read and think, but my advice is to be very careful not to adopt a particular process
template or one size fits all approach to the practical application of L&M in the real world.

Why? Because Leadership and management in any scenario involves many variable
factors, not least people who are unpredictable, frustrating, and fallible, yet wonderfully
innovative and adaptable, at their best when they know what they have to do and why, and
when they are well led.

Intro to Leadership and Management

The words on the screen in front of you now are one way of expressing what I believe to
be the basic principles which should support leaders as they develop L&M approaches
and solutions in any given situation.

Experience – the key to successful L&M – I simply cannot over-emphasise how important
this is. Remember, you will make mistakes, this is part of life and can be a positive thing as
long as we recognise them for what they are and learn from them.
Communication – this is something which runs through every leadership activity I can
think of and which you must learn to do, and do well.
Know yourself – we all have strengths and weaknesses – learn to recognise them.
Gain confidence – confidence is a big part of being able to inspire and motivate – so be
confident in yourself.
Know your people – you can not expect to adapt your leadership to the team and the
task without knowing your people, what they can do and what they cant do, and why.
Recognise failure – This is subtly different from making mistakes, and if done well can
prevent mistakes occurring – learn to see the early signs of failure and to think about what
you will do.
Self-discipline – if you want to lead you must set the example from the outset, self
discipline is central to achieving this and gaining respect.
Be organised – leaders can have flair and style, but all the flair in the world will not offset
a disorganised approach to L&M.
Robust but selfless style – people do not dislike strong leadership when necessary, but
they do dislike self-serving leadership which ignores the achievements of others.
Listen – you are leading human beings, wonderful sentient people with an innate ability to
think and innovate – use this resource and listen to those around you.
Never stop learning – the best L&M practitioners never do.
Delegate – your job is to get the best from your team and the resources available. An all
controlling micro-managed approach does not inspire confidence in your people or display
faith in their ability to think and innovate.
Plan for contingency – things will go wrong so always have a back up plan or two. It is
rare that a plan survives intact from initiation to conclusion, so be prepared to change
course to avoid storms.
Make decisions, and make them in time – L&M experience and ability is worth little if
you aren’t able to make timely decisions – risk is unavoidable and striving for a 100%
solution will just lead to failure as you miss a deadline or an opportunity passes you by.
If any of these ideas are new to you or you feel you want to explore them in more detail
then don’t worry, there will be plenty of opportunity to do so as we work through the rest of

Intro to Leadership and Management

the package. I recommend you write the key words down and use them as a handy
reference guide during the course, and in your day to day role as an L&M practitioner. Feel
free to develop your own explanation of what each principle means to you – these are but
one interpretation.

In the second half of this lecture we are going to introduce some fundamental, what might
be described as ethical, leadership and management behaviours.

So what do we mean by leadership behaviours in terms of those listed here? Well this is a
term used to describe ways of thinking and working which support the principles of
leadership we have just outlined. The behaviours we will discuss are not separate from
each other and in a real world situation may not appear as individual behaviours, but for
learning purposes we will examine each in isolation first before bringing them back
together.

At the end of this segment you should be able to identify some simple types of L&M
behaviour and why they are important to effective L&M. You should also be able to identify
some common indicators of poor L&M behaviour.

Let’s start with Objectivity.

Objectivity in its simplest sense is about fairness and the application of fair judgement
unhindered by bias or personal feeling.

Sticking to known facts as the basis of any judgement is key in maintaining objectivity –
contrasted with subjectivity where feeling, views, and bias form key elements of ways of
thinking and working. So why is this important?

Well, we now know that one of the principles of leadership is the need to make decisions.
No matter what the task or the size of the team you have been given to achieve it you will
have to make at least one decision. It is incredibly important in an L&M scenario that you
analyse the facts of a situation, and exclude any personal feelings or bias.

Feelings and bias are naturally exclusive, and potential divisive, factors. We all have
personal viewpoints – maybe it is your down to the football team you support, or an
experience from your past, or something which has happened in the world; whatever the
reason it is unlikely you will find yourself in a situation where all those for whom you are
exercising L&M responsibility will be in total agreement with every view you might hold. As
a result the application of an even slightly subjective approach could be incredibly divisive
within a team and result in a less than optimum outcome.

Imagine if you were to make all of your L&M decisions based on a view that supporters of
your preferred football team were naturally harder working than supporters of another
team. You have no proof that this is the case, but it is a view which you have been
exposed to you over a number of years. If you allow this way of thinking to creep into your
judgement, you have lost objectivity and begun the process of moving from a fair to an
unfair decision making process.

Intro to Leadership and Management

This may sound like a somewhat silly example, but similar things do occur – a recent news
report was about an Irish teacher applicant who had been excluded from the short list for a
teaching post abroad – due to a subjective perception that Irish people have a tendency to
drink too much alcohol. Objectivity was lost early on in this decision making process and
as a result any following judgement became unfair by definition.

So as an L&M practicioner you must do all you can to remain objective. We are human
beings and all hold views and biases, no matter what our background. The challenge for
us all is to recognise when we have begun to move away from judgement based purely on
the facts toward some form of bias or unfair judgement based on a non-factual view.

Moving on let's now examine the need for Self-discipline

Self-discipline demands you set and maintain a good example. It does not mean you have
to deprive yourself of everything that might make a task easier and life more comfortable,
but as soon as you have responsibility for others people this can only be only if you are
able to extend these same opportunities to others. Wherever possible you should always
avoid unfairly benefitting from your position as leader, particularly if this is at the expense
of others on your team.

Setting an example is sometimes very hard indeed as in doing so you may have to make
your life tougher than those of the team around you. This might mean longer hours or a
heavier workload, or it might mean enforcing unpopular and unwelcome safety regulations.
Whatever the situation might be, it is my experience that a failure to set and follow an
example leads to division, poor team ethos, and in the worst cases, leadership failure.

In recent years in the UK there was a clear failure of self-discipline among politicians in
that, while they broke no laws or parliamentary rules at the time, their interpretation of the
regulations regarding expenses was exceptionally broad and morally questionable. This in
turn led to a public outcry and media campaign with the result that several Members of
Parliament lost their seats and at least one served a prison sentence. So what, you may
ask? – Well at the heart of this issue was a failure of self-discipline among people who
were privileged to hold senior leadership roles and in whom the electorate had expressed
faith to act in the best interests of the UK. As a result faith in political leadership and
politicians in general was severely damaged.

If you extend this example to a team and leader scenario you will see that it does not take
much thought to see how self-discipline is essential to maintaining team cohesion, respect,
and reputation. Think about situations you have found yourself in as a leader or team
member and how self-discipline, or a lack of it, has impacted the team and the outcome.

Intro to Leadership and Management

The next behaviour is Selflessness.

In some ways this can be seen as just a component of self discipline, but I believe there is
much more to it than that. The idea of selflessness is the placing of the needs of others
ahead of your own. Selflessness and self discipline are inextricably linked, but let us
explore the how selflessness is a central behaviour within effective L&M.

While self-discipline is about ensuring you do not benefit at the expense of others
selflessness takes this idea one step further and is about ensuring others prosper and that
their needs are met even if it means your own needs have to take second place. At the
simplest level this can mean giving up your free time to help a team member develop as
an individual or simply ensuring your people all eat before you do. Whatever the situation
few things do more to generate respect and cohesion between a team and a leader than
simple acts of selflessness.

Take the example of the Leader who gives their team members the opportunity to display
initiative in developing better ways of working that results in a better and more efficient
outcome to a task. In itself this is excellent leadership behaviour, but now consider the
situation where that same leader, rather than just taking credit for a task well done actually
creates an opportunity for the innovative team members to display their achievements –
perhaps through a senior management visit or nominating them for an award. This selfless
approach to rewarding hard work will ultimately benefit the team through recognition as
being good, and the leader as someone with a reputation for getting the best from their
people.

By this stage you should be developing a sense of the kind of behaviours we should look
for in ourselves and others as high quality L&M practitioners. As we move on to consider
the last two behaviours you should continue to draw upon your own experiences and what
lessons you can learn from them. Ready to move on? Good – lets look at taking
responsibility.

Responsibility is a privilege. Even in the most patriarchal societies it is given as a reward,

and while modern society has moved on from the assignment of responsibility as a form of
patronage it should never be forgotten that; we are privileged to be placed in L&M roles,
and that with such authority comes responsibility.

So what does responsibility mean in an L&M context? I believe it extends to all aspects of
what we do as L&M practicioners, but in simple terms it means responsibility for three
fundamentals:

Team

Self

Outcomes

Intro to Leadership and Management

The range of possible areas of responsibility is a huge subject in itself and one we will
explore in more detail in future modules, but at its heart is an expectation that the leader
will take and retain responsibility for those things over which he or she is able to exercise
authority or control. This may be difficult to clearly define, especially as situations do not
exist in a vacuum and external influences are always at play. Responsibility should not,
however, automatically mean or infer the apportionment of blame when things go wrong.
This unfortunate misunderstanding, or misuse, of the meaning of responsibility can be one
of the reasons why people seek to avoid L&M roles and is unhelpful in the extreme.
Consider the following situation:

You are leading a small team managing the refurbishment of a port facility. One of your
team members goes into the nearby town one evening, and after drinking too much, gets
into a fight with a local. The police step in and separate the fighters, but not before pictures
have been taken and the local press informed. On the face of it, and to avoid reputational
damage to the Company, you might consider resigning and departing the location on the
same flight as the disgraced team member, but is this right?

Ask yourself the following questions.

Did you set absolutely clear boundaries for team behaviour and this team member
contravened those rules – have you demonstrated responsibility?

Will you act quickly to either discipline and remove, or discipline and retain under strict
supervision in accordance with Company policy and any local legal requirements, the
offending team member – have you demonstrated responsibility?

Will you put a positive communication strategy in place to make it clear what Company
policy is on such matters and how you wholly support the actions of the police; including
inviting local press and VIPs to visit the site and see how the company is benefiting the
local economy – have you demonstrated responsibility?

In my opinion, if you have answered yes to the three questions above you are
demonstrating a good understanding of responsibility in the context of high quality L&M
behaviours and to take on the fault of the individual is both unnecessary and overly
damaging to the task, the team, and yourself. The point I am making is understand what
responsibility means to you as a Leader and how to exercise it – especially when things go
wrong.

Right. Let's move on to the final leadership behaviour I wish to discuss in this lecture – the
one which is built upon the previous 4 and which is perhaps the most fundamental L&M
behaviour of all namely;

Intro to Leadership and Management

Decision making

One thing that is common between all leaders and managers, whether they are highly
effective, inclusive, and popular individuals, or the worst kind of dictator, is the fact that
they will have to make decisions. Throughout history leaders have been defined by other
people looking to them to make decisions. In some cases these decisions were poorly
received by the populace and the leader did not retain their position (or their life) for very
much longer, but decisions were made.

Simply put – if you are not able to make a decision within the timescale that a situation
demands you are not an effective leader/manager. It is often said that a 60% solution in
time is better than a 90% solution too late – this little phrase is a very useful reminder of
the need to fulfil all of our L&M responsibilities.

Decision making is not easy – quite the opposite in many cases, because having done
everything you can to remain objective, exercise self-discipline, be selfless, and take
responsibility you may have to make a decision which is going to make your life and those
of your team much harder, but which the task demands. It is times like this that leaders
really earn their money; a perfect solution will not be achievable and risk must be taken –
you could get it wrong. But the alternative of wringing your hands and putting off the
inevitable will ultimately only make matters worse, as you will probably have to make the
same decision anyway and will just have much less time to put it into effect.

In my 30 years experience I have seen, and taken, many decisions. I am very clear that I
have also got it wrong on more than one occasion, but I have always had the need to
make a decision at the forefront of my mind. I have been in situations where a leader has
failed to make a decision until it is too late and the outcome has always been a poor
outcome, coupled with a collapse in team morale and cohesion – in some cases resulting
in a failure to complete the task given.

As L&M practitioners we should also beware of making hasty or snap decisions. In some
circumstances such as where life is a risk they are entirely necessary as any delay can
lead to disaster, but they should be the exception rather than the rule. It is always worth
taking a moment to consider whether you have all the facts you need and have conducted
a proper analysis of the situation before proceeding to making a decision. If you have time
then it is worth using a visual decision making aid such as a mind map or question based
process. But whatever your approach, process, and situation – make a timely decision!

In this lecture we have examined some traditional ideas about differences between
Leadership and Management and have discovered that these are not separate, but highly
complementary and overlapping skills and activities.

I have introduced some key principles of L&M which I believe can be used as the
foundation for an adaptive application of L&M in any scenario and to help you understand
L&M opportunities and challenges as they arise.

Intro to Leadership and Management

And finally we have examined some fundamental leadership and management behaviours,
discussed their importance to effective L&M, and explored why L&M practitioners should
learn to recognise and apply such behaviours. We have also identified a subset of poor
behaviours which I recommend you keep in mind as we will come back to them during the
remainder of the chapter.

By now you should have met the learning outcomes of this lecture – take a moment to
remind yourself what they were and to confirm you have achieved them. They were:

• To recall and illustrate interdependencies between leadership and

management activity.

• To examine and describe the principles of good leadership and management.

• To identify fundamental ethical leadership and management behaviours.

Intro to Leadership and Management

Attributions:
The content of this course is copyright to the Marine Learning Alliance (MLA) and you
MAY NOT share it with anyone else by any means, without prior permission from the MLA.
Content provided in this module is provided for YOUR INDIVIDUAL USE ONLY. All
pictorial images and diagrams used in this lecture have been created by MLA or are
copyright free, unless otherwise stated. Where an image has not been created by MLA
appropriate acknowledgement is given.

Intro to Leadership and Management