Title Page

Table of Contents

Introduction _____________________________________________________________ 1

Influence of Project Leadership on Building Effective Project Teams in Loganair _______ 1

How Loganair can Enhance Communication Between old and new Staff ______________ 4

How Loganair can Manage Potential Conflicts within Project Team ___________________ 6

Conclusion and Recommendations _____________________________________________ 8

PROJECT LEADERSHIP, TEAMS AND BEHAVIOURS
BSM 202

COURSEWORK

AYOBAMI VICTORIA EKUNDAYO

2211207

15TH DECEMBER, 2022

ROBERT GORDON UNIVERSITY, ABERDEEN

INTRODUCTION

Project leadership, when effective, has the potential to build effective project team and
develop staff strategies to plan and integrate team activities in any sector, including airline
industry. Studies have indicated that leadership is a key tool for managing projects in complex and
ever-changing business environment (Nixon, Harrington and Parker, 2012). In order to effectively
build a project team, quality project leadership is required. Loganair is a Scottish regional airline
and one of the leading airlines in the United Kingdom. The company is seeking to recruit new
airline workers and is in dire need of strategies to enhance communication between old and new
staff as well as conflict management techniques to curb potential conflicts after the recruitment
process. I have been appointed to be in charge of the initiative tagged +“Leading the Team and
Managing Change Initiative”, which is set up to examine the current working climate in Loganair
and suggest how team spirits could be established. My duty is to create a report that proposes how
Loganair can effectively lead project teams and manage both old and new staff to enhance team
working and improve the project working climate.
This report is further sectionalised into four parts. The first section evaluates the influence
of project leadership in building effective project teams in Loganair. The second section analyses
how communication could be effective for old and new staff within project teams in Loganair. The
third section discusses how Loganair can manage potential conflict within project teams. The last
section concludes and makes relevant recommendations.

INFLUENCE OF PROJECT LEADERSHIP ON BUILDING EFFECTIVE PROJECT

TEAMS IN LOGANAIR

Loganair needs to build a project team that will work together in collaboration towards
achieving its organisation’s goals and objectives. However, Lognair must understand the great
influence of project leadership in building effective project teams. Failure to do so may result to a
situation where teams do not work well. Team building is a cardinal function of human resource
management (Turne et. al, 2008). The processes of team building are ultimately complex and
required leadership to create a common goal for the team and design the paths to follow
(Grynchenko, Ponomoyov and Lobach, 2018). Project leadership influences team building through
four major functions (Klien et al., 2009) which are goal setting, role clarification, interpersonal
processes and problem solving. Supporting this view, Tarasiuk (2009) opines that leadership

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brings together a group of people who seem to be committed to a common purpose and goals. It is
leadership that foster effective collective information processing (Kahai, Sosik, and Avolio, 1997).

Given to the importance of leadership in team building, this report identifies the following
steps through which Loganair can use to build its team. (See figure 1 below).

Figure 1: Team building processes

Controlling

Securing

Information
flow

Conflict
resolution

Coaching and
devlopment

Rewarding

Granting of
autonomy

Feedback

 Controlling

The first step through which Loganair can influence on building effective team is through
controlling. Controlling implies managing and tracking the progress of the project. After goal
setting, leaders must take charge by controlling both the human and material resources. According
to Grynchenko, Ponomoyov and Lobach (2018), “the control of the level of mastering skills in
building a project team should be combined with the analysis of the assessment of the leader‘s
actions conducted by the team members.”

 Securing

Another way to influence effective team building is securing. Here, the duty of the leaders
is to identify potential risks and implement appropriate security responses and strategies. IKIGAI
Consulting (2018) insisted that security is at its core, a project management issue. As it must be
noted, security can be enshrined with the Loganair project’s scope as well as contractual
relationships with their suppliers and subcontractors. This will go a long way building an effective
project team for Loganair.

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  Information flow

Building a project team requires adequate flow of information. A good relationship

between the leader and the team can be enhanced through a workable information channel.
Information is necessary to clarify roles within the team and create better understanding.

 Conflict Resolution

Leadership can also build an effective project team through conflict resolution (Weinkauf
and Hoegl, 2002). Aga et, al (2016) also posited that smooth interpersonal process, which forms an
essential part of conflict resolution, help to build unity and cohesion among team members. Project
leaders can adopt various conflict resolution strategies to clear up any hidden agenda among team
members and promote peaceful coexistence.

 Coaching and Development

There is an agreement in the literature with respect to the essential role of coaching and
development in building a project team (Grynchenko, Ponomoyov and Lobach, 2018). Leaders do
influence team building through provision of training (Grynchenko, Ponomoyov and Lobach,
2018), coaching and developmental programmes.

 Rewarding

Recognising hard work and rewarding the team members is another way through which
leadership influence team building. Loganair should implement a rewarding system that will
motivate the project team members so as to boost productivity.

 Granting of Autonomy

What this implies is granting team members a great deal of freedom to make choices during
the execution of the project. Project leaders can build effective project team by outlining goals of a
project but still give their subordinates the privilege to decide the best way to achieve those goals.

 Feedback

Here, both the leaders and the team members must embark on feedback activities.
Feedback improves the team confidence. Talukhaba, Mutunga and Miruka (2011) were of the
opinion that feedback must not be absent because when it is absent, it leads to delay in project plan
and execution.

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HOW LOGANAIR CAN ENHANCE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN OLD AND NEW
STAFF

For the old and new staff of Loganair to forge ahead, there is need for effective
communication which may be lacking at the initial stage of recruitment. Loganair needs to
understand that communication, as agreed by many scholars, is the lifeblood of a project (Awati,
2010). The old and new staff of Loganair need to collaborate, share and integrate information to
realise project objectives and organisational goals. As Emmitt (2010) puts it, “communication
remains the process of acquiring all relevant information, interpreting this information and
effectively disseminating the information to persons who might need it.” However, one of the
major problems in most business organisations is how to improve effective communication among
workers, especially among old and new staff.

Communication can be enhanced between old and new in Loganair if the airline company
does the following. First, draw up a communication plan. Second, draw up a unique
communication model with which Loganair will work in few years to come.

1. Loganair’s Communication plan

A communication plan is a tool to enhancing communication in project management

(Burke, 2007). It is usually a policy-driven approach that stakeholders use to provide company
with certain information. Without it, effective communication among workers may be
unachievable. Loganair should agree upon a communication plan to provide a clear direction for
old and new staff in the project team. The Loganair’s communication plan can be drawn as
follows.

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 Table 1: Loganair’s Communication plan

Who Loganair needs to determine who communicates what information to whom.

This includes the sender and receiver of the message. It may involve the
stakeholders, project managers, old and new staff of Loganair.

What This implies the scope of communication and the format it takes. Here,
Loganair should always develop information or message that will unite the
workers.

When This is actual time that information is being shared. How often it occurs and
when receives. Constant and instant information need to be shared among old
and new staff in order to foster unity and cohesion. Loganair can achieve this
through proper scheduling.

Feedback This connotes that information is being received and well understood. Where
information is misinterpreted, there is likely for misunderstanding to ensue
among the team members.

Filing This implies how information is documented and archived.

How This implies the method via which the information should be disseminated. This
may include email, telephone, social media outlets, documents, meeting, and
presentation.

After when a communication plan has been successfully depicted, Loganair needs to draw
up a communication model. The communication model can be used to depict any idea or thought
to be shared within the company. The model, as shown in Table 2 below, focuses on cost, scope,
time, and quality. All these factors influence communication on matters relating integration,
human resource management, finance, procurement, risks, health and safety, claims and
environment.

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Figure 2: Loganair’s Communication Model

Scope

Quality Quality

Cost Quality Time

and

Environmental
Procurement
Integration

resources

Finance
Human

Claims
Health
safety
Risks

Communication

Derived from Communication Foundation Model

HOW LOGANAIR CAN MANAGE POTENTIAL CONFLICTS WITHIN PROJECT

TEAM

A project team always comprises of people of different perceptions, beliefs and opinion
(PMI, 2010). These differences often lead to conflict which needs to be well managed for it not to
become exacerbated. When left unresolved, it could be detrimental to project performance (Yu-
Chin Liu et.al. 2011) According to Wall and Callister (1995) conflicts implies “a process in which
one party perceives that his or her interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another
party”. Put differently, Rahim (2002) sees conflict as “an interactive process manifested in
incompatibility, disagreement, or dissonance within or between social entities i.e., individual,
group, organizations, etc.;” In project management, conflicts are inevitable and they take various
forms. Conflict could be in form of in-fighting between two or more project members who
unavoidably disagree on a creative vision.

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 Efforts have been made to develop various conflict resolution techniques in project
management. There are integrative approach, accommodation approach, avoidance approach,
problem-solving approach and many more (Follet, 1926; Wysocki, 2009). Project managers can
employ one or mixture of any of the approaches in managing conflicts within project teams. In
another circumstances, Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy (2009) identified five approaches to conflict
resolution in project management. They include compromising (otherwise known as sharing),
competing, collaborating, accommodating and avoiding approaches. All these approaches have
their own unique features and come with diverse merits and demerits. This explains why
organisations should determine when a certain approach is suitable.

In the case of Loganair, this report recommends the collaborating approach. This approach
is a win-win approach that is often used to minimise negative feelings. Unlike avoiding approach,
the collaborating approach is such that allows each and every worker to collaborate with others to
identify a lasting solution to an existing conflict. This report considers the collaborating approach
the most effective that Loganair can use to manage potential conflict within project team. In doing
so, Loganair must adopt the following steps.

1. Conflict issues must be raised. Until the conflict issue is identified, Loganair can move to
the next step.
2. Loganair must be curious to solve the identified conflict issue.
3. Loganair must make efforts at understanding and appreciating others’ perspectives. Here,
identified concerns must be underlined.
4. Loganair must develop a shared purpose statement by including all parties concerns, needs,
desires and interests.
5. Loganair then move to generate solutions. To arrive these solutions, all parties must work
together to brainstorm solutions that will be a lasting one.
6. Here, all options must be ranked and the best amidst should be agreed upon.
7. Lastly, Loganair can devise a plan for implementation of the chosen solution. Such solution
can be further evaluated.

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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

From the forgoing, it can be seen that project leadership is a determinant of successful
project management. Project leadership has a great and significance influence in building an
effective project team. From the above analysis, it can be seen that project leadership helps to
manage conflict within project team and develops a communication plan to enhance relationship
among team members. Loganair, as prominent airline company in the United Kingdom needs to
pay attention to the role of leading in team building and conflict resolution. It is shown in the
report that Loganair has many conflict resolution strategies at its disposal. However, it is advisable
that Loganair adopts the collaborating approach in managing potential conflict within project
teams. Given to this, there are a few measure that Loganair must put in place to remain a giant in
the airline industry in the United Kingdom. The following recommendations are suggested.

i. For Loganair to be able to unite old and new staff, it must develop an attractive
compensation package. It must be noted that offering an attractive compensation
package could be one of the most effective tools to retaining employees.
ii. Loganair can also ensure it provides a cross cultural training for its employees. This
will go a long way in helping Loganair to curb all conflict arising from cultural and
religious differences.
iii. Loganair must be candid with the adoption of the collaborating approach as suggested
in this report. It must do away with avoidance approach as this might lead to unresolved
conflict.

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