CHAPTER 10: Leadership: Being an Effective Project

Manager

1. Keys to being an effective project manager is building

cooperative relationships among different groups of
people to complete projects.

2. Managers require a broad influence base to be

effective in this area

Managing versus Leading a Project

Managing Project Stakeholders
3. the project manager would simply implement the
7. Stakeholders are people and organizations that are
project plan and the project would be completed. The
actively involved in the project, or whose interests may
project manager would work with others to formulate a
be positively or negatively affected by the project
schedule, organize a project team, keep track of
8. Too often when new project managers do find time
progress, and announce what needs to be done next,
to work directly on the project, they adopt a hands-on
and then everyone would charge along. Project
approach to managing the project. They choose this
managers are responsible for integrating assigned
style not because they are power-hungry egomaniacs
resources to complete the project according to plan.
but because they are eager to achieve results.
However, Good management brings about order and
stability by formulating plans and objectives, designing
structures and procedures, monitoring results against
plans, and taking corrective action when necessary.

4. The project manager’s job is to get the project back

on track. A manager expedites certain activities; figures
out ways to solve technical problems; serves as
peacemaker when tensions rise; and makes appropriate
tradeoffs among time, cost, and scope of the project.
5. Leadership involves recognizing and articulating the
need to significantly alter the direction and operation of
the project, aligning people to the new direction, and
motivating them to work together to overcome hurdles
produced by the change and to realize new objectives.
6. One of the things that makes good project managers
so valuable to an organization is that they have the
ability to both manage and lead a project. In doing so
they recognize the need to manage project interfaces
and build a social network that allows them to find out
what needs to be done and obtain the cooperation
necessary to achieve it.
In shorts!
The manager- Plans & budgets, Organizes & staffs and
Controls & problem solves.
The leader- Sets & direction, aligns people, and
motivates & inspires partners.
The nature of these dependencies is identified here:
1. The project team manages and completes project
work. Most participants want to do a good job, but they
are also concerned with their other obligations and how
their involvement on the project will contribute to their
personal goals and aspirations
2. Project managers naturally compete with each other
for resources and the support of top management. At
the same time they often have to share resources and
exchange information.
3. Administrative support groups, such as human
resources, information systems, purchasing agents, and
maintenance, provide valuable support services. At the
same time they impose constraints and requirements
on the project such as the documentation of
expenditures and the timely and accurate delivery of
information,
4. Functional managers, depending on how the project
is organized, can play a minor or major role toward
project success. They may be responsible for assigning
project personnel, resolving technical dilemmas, and
overseeing the completion of significant segments of
the project work.
5. Top management approves funding of the project
and establishes priorities within the organization.
6. Project sponsors champion the project and use their
influence to gain approval of the project.
7. Contractors may do all the actual work, in some
cases, with the project team merely coordinating their
contributions
8. Government agencies place constraints on project
work. Permits need to be secured. Construction work
has to be built to code. New drugs have to pass a
rigorous battery of U.S. Food and Drug Administration
tests. Other products have to meet safety standards.
9. Other organizations, depending on the nature of the
project, may directly or indirectly affect the project.
10. Customers define the scope of the project, and
ultimate project success rests in their satisfaction
Influence as Exchange
law of reciprocity
 “one good deed deserves another, and likewise,
one bad deed deserves another.”
 “Quid pro quo (something for something).” Or
in today’s vernacular: “
 You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
 Law of Hammurabi
 Currencies (Cohen and Bradford, 1990 cited in
Larson and Gray, 2014).
Social Network Building
1. Mapping Dependencies - It is always better to
overestimate rather than underestimate dependencies
- identifying those on whom the project
depends for success. The project manager and his or her
key assistants need to ask the following questions:
• Whose cooperation will we need?
• Whose agreement or approval will we need?
• Whose opposition would keep us from accomplishing
the project?
2. Management by Wandering Around (MBWA- building
a supportive social network. And somewhat of a
misnomer in that there is a purpose/pattern behind the
“wandering”.
3. Managing Upward Relations- Research consistently
points out that project success is strongly affected by
the degree to which a project has the support of top
management. Such support is reflected in an
appropriate budget, responsiveness to unexpected
needs, and a clear signal to others in the organization of
the importance of cooperation.
4. Leading by Example- A highly visible, interactive
management style is not only essential to building and
sustaining cooperative relationships, it also allows
project managers to utilize their most powerful
leadership tool—their own behavior.
To be effective, project managers must “walk the talk”
(see Figure 10.4). Six aspects of leading by example are
discussed next:
 Priorities- Actions speak louder than words.
Subordinates and others discern project
managers’ priorities by how they spend their
time.
 Urgency -Through their actions project
managers can convey a sense of urgency, which
 can permeate project activities. This urgency in
part can be conveyed through stringent
deadlines, frequent status report meetings, and
aggressive solutions for expediting the project.
 Problem Solving How project managers respond
to problems sets the tone for how others tackle
problems
 Cooperation -How project managers act toward
outsiders influences how team members
interact with outsiders
 Standards of Performance Veteran project
managers recognize that if they want
participants to exceed project expectations then
they have to exceed others’ expectations of a
good project manager,
 Ethics How others respond to ethical dilemmas
that arise in the course of a project will be
influenced by how the project manager has
responded to similar dilemmas.
Qualities of an Effective Project Manager
• Innovate and maintain stability. Project managers
have to put out fires, restore order, and get the project
back on track. At the same time they need to be
innovative and develop new, better ways of doing
things. Innovations unravel stable routines and spark
new disturbances that have to be dealt with.
• See the big picture while getting your hands dirty.
Project managers have to see the big picture and how
their project fits within the larger strategy of their firm.
There are also times when they must get deeply
involved in project work and technology. If they don’t
worry about the details, who will?
• Encourage individuals but stress the team. Project
managers have to motivate, cajole, and entice individual
performers while at the same time maintaining
teamwork. They have to be careful that they are
considered fair and consistent in their treatment of
team members while at the same time treating each
member as a special individual
• Hands-off/Hands-on. Project managers have to
intervene, resolve stalemates, solve technical problems,
and insist on different approaches. At the same time
they have to recognize when it is appropriate to sit on
the sidelines and let other people figure out what to do.
• Flexible but firm. Project managers have to be
adaptable and responsive to events and outcomes that
occur on the project. At the same time they have to
hold the line at times and tough it out when everyone
else wants to give up.
• Team versus organizational loyalties. Project
managers need to forge a unified project team whose
members stimulate one another to extraordinary
performance. But at the same time they have to
counter the excesses of cohesion and the team’s
resistance to outside ideas. They have to cultivate
loyalties to both the team and the parent organization.
TRAITS OF AN EFFECTIVE PROJECT MANAGER
1. Systems thinker. Project managers must be able to
take a holistic rather than a reductionist approach to
projects. Instead of breaking up a project into individual
pieces (planning, budget) and managing it by
understanding each part, a systems perspective focuses
on trying to understand how relevant project factors
collectively interact to produce project outcomes. The
key to success then becomes managing the interaction
between different parts and not the parts themselves.
2. Personal integrity. Before you can lead and manage
others, you have to be able to lead and manage
yourself. Begin by establishing a firm sense of who you
are, what you stand for, and how you should behave.
This inner strength provides the buoyancy to endure the
ups and downs of the project life cycle and the
credibility essential to sustaining the trust of others.
3. Proactive. Good project managers take action before
it is needed to prevent small concerns from escalating
into major problems. They spend the majority of their
time working within their sphere of influence to solve
problems and not dwelling on things they have little
control over. Project managers can’t be whiners.
4. High emotional intelligence (EQ). Project
management is not for the meek. Project managers
have to have command of their emotions and be able to
respond constructively to others when things get a bit
out of control. See the Research Highlight: Emotional
Intelligence to read more about this quality.
5. General business perspective. Because the primary
role of a project manager is to integrate the
contributions of different business and technical
disciplines, it is important that a manager have a
general grasp of business fundamentals and how the
different functional disciplines interact to contribute to
a successful business.
6. Effective time management. Time is a manager’s
scarcest resource. Project managers have to be able to
budget their time wisely and quickly adjust their
priorities. They need to balance their interactions so no
one feels ignored.
7. Skillful politician. Project managers have to be able to
deal effectively with a wide range of people and win
their support and endorsement of their project. They
need to be able to sell the virtues of their project
without compromising the truth.

8. Optimist. Project managers have to display a can-do

attitude. They have to be able to find rays of sunlight in
a dismal day and keep people’s attention positive. A
good sense of humor and a playful attitude are often a
project manager’s greatest strength.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) describes the ability or skill

to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of one’s
self and others.

Goleman divided EQ into the following five emotional

competences:

• Self-awareness—knowing your emotions, recognizing

feelings as they occur, and understanding the link
beween your emotions and your behavior. Self-
awareness is reflected in confidence, realistic
assessment of personal strengths/weaknesses, and
ability to make fun of oneself.

• Self-regulation—being able to control disruptive

impulses and moods and respond appropriately to
situations. Self regulation is reflected in trustworthiness
and openness to change.

• Self-motivation—being able to gather up your feelings

and pursue goals with energy, passion, and persistence.
The hallmarks of self-motivation include a strong desire
to achieve and internal optimism.

• Empathy—being able to recognize the feelings of

others and tuning into their verbal and nonverbal cues.
Empathy is reflected in the ability to sustain
relationships and in cross-cultural sensitivity.

• Social skills—being able to build social networks and

rapport with different kinds of people. Social skills
include being able to lead change, resolve conflicts, and
build effective teams
CHAPTER 11: Managing Project Teams
1. The magic and power of teams is captured in the
term “synergy,” which is derived from the Greek word
sunergos: “working together.”
 positive synergy can be found in the phrase
“The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”
Positive Synergy 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 10
 negative synergy occurs when the whole is less
than the sum of the parts.
Negative Synergy 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 5 2 (or even 22)
2. Synergy perhaps can best be seen on a basketball
court, a soccer pitch, or a football field where
teammates play as one to defeat a superior foe.
3. The following is a set of characteristics commonly
associated with high-performing teams that exhibit
positive synergy:
1. The team shares a sense of common purpose,
and each member is willing to work toward achieving
project objectives.
2. The team identifies individual talents and
expertise and uses them, depending on the project’s
needs at any given time. At these times, the team
willingly accepts the influence and leadership of the
members whose skills are relevant to the immediate
task.
3. Roles are balanced and shared to facilitate
both the accomplishment of tasks and feelings of group
cohesion and morale
4. The team exerts energy toward problem
solving rather than allowing itself to be drained by
interpersonal issues or competitive struggles.
5. Differences of opinion are encouraged and
freely expressed.
6. To encourage risk taking and creativity,
mistakes are treated as opportunities for learning rather
than reasons for punishment.
7. Members set high personal standards of
performance and encourage each other to realize the
objectives of the project.
8. Members identify with the team and consider it an
important source of both professional and personal
growth
The Five-Stage Team Development Model
1. Forming. During this initial stage the members get
acquainted with each other and understand the scope
of the project. They begin to establish ground rules by
trying to find out what behaviors are acceptable with
respect to both the project (what role they will play,
what performance expectations are) and interpersonal
relations (who’s really in charge). This stage is
completed once members begin to think of themselves
as part of a group.
2. Storming. As the name suggests, this stage is marked
by a high degree of internal conflict. Members accept
that they are part of a project group but resist the
constraints that the project and group put on their
individuality.
3. Norming. The third stage is one in which close
relationships develop and the group demonstrates
cohesiveness. Feelings of camaraderie and shared
responsibility for the project are heightened.
4. Performing. The team operating structure at this
point is fully functional and accepted. Group energy has
moved from getting to know each other and how the
group will work together to accomplishing the project
goals.
5. Adjourning. For conventional work groups,
performing is the last stage of their development.
Situational Factors Affecting Team Development
Experience and research indicate that high-performance
project teams are much more likely to develop under
the following conditions:
• There are 10 or fewer members per team.
• Members volunteer to serve on the project team.
• Members serve on the project from beginning to end.
• Members are assigned to the project full time.
• Members are part of an organization culture that
fosters cooperation and trust.
• Members report solely to the project manager.
• All relevant functional areas are represented on the
team.
• The project involves a compelling objective.
• Members are located within conversational distance
of each other
A. Recruiting Project Members - The process of
selecting and recruiting project members will vary
across organizations. Two important factors affecting
recruitment are the importance of the project and the
management structure being used to complete the
project
Problem-solving ability. If the project is complex and
fuzzy, then a manager wants people who are good at
working under uncertainty and have strong problem
identification and solving skills. These same people are
likely to be bored and less productive working on
straightforward projects that go by the book.
• Availability. Sometimes the people who are most
available are not the ones wanted for the team.
Conversely, if members recruited are already
overcommitted, they may not be able to offer much.
• Technological expertise. Managers should be wary of
people who know too much about a specific technology.
They may be technology buffs who like to study but
have a hard time settling down and doing the work.
• Credibility. The credibility of the project is enhanced
by the reputation of the people involved in the project.
Recruiting a sufficient number of “winners” lends
confidence to the project.
• Political connections. Managers are wise to recruit
individuals who already have a good working
relationship with key stakeholders. This is particularly
true for projects operating in a matrix environment in
which a significant portion of the work will be under the
domain of a specific functional department and not the
core project team.
• Ambition, initiative, and energy. These qualities can
make up for a lot of shortcomings in other areas and
should not be underestimated.
B. ON THE JOB PROCESS
1. Conducting Project Meetings
The First Project Team Meeting- critical to the early
functioning of the project team. According to one
veteran project manager.
Establishing Ground Rules Whether as part of an
elaborate first meeting or during follow-up meetings,
the project manager must quickly begin to establish
operational ground rules for how the team will work
together.
Planning Decisions
• How will the project plan be developed?
• What tools will be used to support the project?
• Will a specific project management software package
be used? If so, which one?
• Who will enter the planning information?
• What are the specific roles and responsibilities of all
the participants?
• Who needs to be informed of decisions? How will they
be kept informed?
• What are the relative importance of cost, time, and
performance?
• What are the deliverables of the project planning
process?
• What format is appropriate for each deliverable?
• Who will approve and sign off at the completion of
each deliverable?
• Who receives each deliverable?
Tracking Decisions
• How will progress be assessed?
• At what level of detail will the project be tracked?
• How will team members get data from each other?
• How often will they get this data?
• Who will generate and distribute reports?
• Who needs to be kept informed about project
progress, and how will they be informed?
• What content/format is appropriate for each
audience?
• Meetings
Managing Change Decisions
• How will changes be instituted?
• Who will have change approval authority?
• How will plan changes be documented and evaluated?
Relationship Decisions
• What department or organizations will the team need
to interact with during the project?
• What are the roles and responsibilities of each
organization (reviewer, approver, creator, user)?
• How will all involved parties be kept informed of
deliverables, schedule dates, expectations, etc.?
Managing Subsequent Project Meetings The project
kick-off meeting is one of several kinds of meetings
required to complete a project.
Microsoft Project or Primavera may be the standard
software tool for planning and tracking.
2. Establishing a Team Identity
 Effective use of meetings
 Co-location of team members.
 Creation of project team name
 Get the team to build or do something together
early on
 Team rituals- Just as corporate rituals help
establish the unique identity of a firm, similar symbolic
actions at the project level can contribute to a unique
team subculture
3. Creating a Shared Vision
vision involves the less tangible aspects of
project performance. It refers to an image a project
team holds in common about how the project will look
upon completion, how they will work together, and/or
how customers will accept the project.
shared vision is the anSwer to the question,
“What do we want to create?” Not everyone will have
the same vision, but the images should be similar.
4. Managing Project Reward Systems
• Letters of commendation. While project managers
may not have responsibility for their team members’
performance appraisals, they can write letters
commending their project performance. These letters
can be sent to the workers’ supervisors to be placed in
their personnel files.
• Public recognition for outstanding work. Superlative
workers should be publicly recognized for their efforts.
Some project managers begin each status review
meeting with a brief mention of project workers who
have exceeded their project goals.
• Job assignments. Good project managers recognize
that, while they may not have much budgetary
authority, they do have substantial control over who
does what, with whom, when, and where. Good work
should be rewarded with desirable job assignments.
Managers should be aware of member preferences and,
when appropriate, accommodate them.
• Flexibility. Being willing to make exceptions to rules, if
done judiciously, can be a powerful reward. Allowing
members to work at home when a child is sick or
excusing a minor discretion can engender long-lasting
loyalty
5. Orchestrating the Decision-Making Process
 Facilitating Group Decision Making
o Problem identification.
o Generating alternatives.
o Reaching a decision.
o Follow up
6. Managing Conflict within the Project
 Encouraging Functional Conflict
- The demarcation between functional and
dysfunctional conflict is neither clear nor precise
 Managing Dysfunctional Conflict - is a much
more challenging task than encouraging functional
conflict
1. Mediate the conflict
2. Arbitrate the conflict.
3. Control the conflict.
4. Accept it.
5. Eliminate the conflict
7. Rejuvenating the Project Team
 Ownership refers to whether the team has
direct influence over the issue,
Managing Virtual Project Teams
 virtual project team in which the team
members are geographically situated so that they may
seldom, if ever, meet face-to-face as a team.
• When to e-mail. To distribute important information
and news in a one-to-one or one-to-many frame of
reference.
• When to use electronic bulletin boards. To encourage
discussion and flush out diversity of opinion on issues.
• When to videoconference. Videoconference when you
need to see each other’s face and expressions. This is
important during the early phases of a project, when
you are building relationships and developing a
common understanding of what needs to be done. Use,
again, when working on critical decisions and/ or
contentious issues.
• When to use conference calls. When people in
different locations are working with common
documents, presentations, sketches, and models. Use
for status report meetings and to sustain social
camaraderie.
• When to fly. Fly to build or repair trust. Use travel
budget to get all key players together early on to instill
commitment to the goals of the project and engage in
team-building activities.
Tips for alleviating communication problems and
enhancing the performance of virtual teams:
1. Keep team members informed on how the overall
project is going. Use shareware or develop a central
access point such as either a Web site or LAN account to
provide members with updated project schedules.
Team members need to know where they fit in the big
picture.
2. Don’t let team members vanish. Virtual teams often
experience problems getting in touch with each other.
Use an Internet scheduling software to store members’
calendars.
3. Establish a code of conduct to avoid delays. Team
members need to agree not only on what, when, and
how information will be shared but also on how and
when they will respond to it. Develop a priority system
to distinguish messages that require immediate
response from those with longer time frames.
4. Establish clear norms and protocols for surfacing
assumptions and conflicts. Because most
communication is nonvisual, project managers cannot
watch body language and facial expressions to develop
a sense of what is going on. They need to probe deeper
when communicating to force members to explain their
viewpoints, actions, and concerns more clearly; they
must double-check comprehension.
5. Share the pain. Do not require everyone to conform
to your time zone and preferences. Rotate meeting
times so that all team members have a turn working
according to their clock.
Project Team Pitfalls
1. Projectitis- pathologies that high-performance project
teams can succumb to and highlight what project
managers can do to reduce the likelihood of these
problems occurring.
2. Groupthink- as a factor that influenced the misguided
1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.
Some of the symptoms of groupthink include the
following:
• Illusion of invulnerability. The team feels invincible. It
is marked by a high degree of esprit de corps, an implicit
faith in its own wisdom, and an inordinate optimism
that allows group members to feel complacent about
the quality of their decisions.
• Whitewash of critical thinking. The group members
discuss only a few solutions, ignoring alternatives; they
fail to examine the adverse consequences that could
follow their preferred course of action; and they too
quickly dismiss any alternatives that, on the surface,
appear to be unsatisfactory.
• Negative stereotypes of outsiders. “Good guy/bad
guy” stereotypes emerge in which the group considers
any outsiders who oppose their decisions as the bad
guys, who are perceived as incompetent and malicious
and whose points are unworthy of serious
consideration.
• Direct pressure. When a team member does speak out
or question the direction in which the team is headed,
direct pressure is applied to the dissenter. He or she is
reminded that speed is important and that the aim is
agreement, not argument.
3. Bureaucratic Bypass Syndrome- is appealing and
invigorating.
4. Team Spirit Becomes Team Infatuation High-
performance project teams can be a tremendous source
of personal satisfaction. The excitement, chaos, and joy
generated by working on a challenging project can be
an invigorating experience.
5. Going native is a phrase first used by the British
Foreign Service during colonial times to describe agents
who assumed the customs, values, and prerogatives of
their foreign country assignment.