Leadership: Being an Effective Project Manager - Research Paper Example

? Leaderships: Being an Effective Project Manager January 15, Table of Contents Page…………………………………………………………………1 Table of Contents……………………………………………………........2 Abstract………………………………………………………………… 3 Introduction……………………………………………………………… 4 History of Project Management…………………………………………...4 Leadership in Project Management Profession………………………….4-7 Project Management Leadership Applications…………………………….7 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………8 References………………………………………………………………….9 Abstract As corporations have evolved the human resources of companies have been used in a different manner than in the past. A hot trend in the workplace today is the use of teams to complete projects. Projects allow companies to segment the work in a manner that allows unity of employees so that the workers can interact with each other to enhance the productive of the firm. To keep these teams functional a project manager (PM) must implement leadership. Leadership can help in the coordination of the efforts of employees working in teams. Project managers use leadership as a tool to improve the functionality of a team. Introduction One of the hottest trends in the business world is the use of team projects to achieve work tasks. Teamwork has become a critical success factor in the 21st century. The effectiveness of a team is highly dependent on the ability of its leader to motivate the staff and ensure that each team member complete their task on time. Time management is often problematic in team projects when a leader is not present to coordinate the efforts of the team. The project manager is looked upon by the team members as the guiding force that leads them. The purpose of this paper is to describe leadership and its application in the project management field. History of Project Management The management profession became more important in the middle part of the 20th century as companies began to internationalize their operations. “Although there has been some form of project management since early civilization, project management in the modern sense began in the 1950s” (Projectsmart, 2012). Project management replaced the exclusive use of Gant charts as the primary tool to make decisions in team settings. Once the computer era came upon society project managers were better able to dissect information to make better decisions. The globalization movement of the 1990’s accelerated the pace in which project managers depended on information tools to keep track of data and information. Project management in the 21st century has allowed companies the speed up the implementation process of important projects. Leadership in Project Management Profession Leadership is an essential trait that project managers must develop in order to become effective managers that can handle the pressures associated with the increase in velocity during the 21st century. Leadership can be defined as a special case of interpersonal influence that gets an individual or group to do what the leader wants done (Shermerhorn & Hunt & Osborn, 2003, pg. 286). A project manager can enhance the performance of the team through the use of leadership. Project managers have to become effective communicators in order to develop their leadership skills. Communication is a two way ordeal because both the sender and the receptor must connect for a message to be transmitted and understood properly. An example of a setting in which communication must be precise and properly transmitted is military team projects. During combat soldiers depend on the instructions of its leader which must transmit precise orders to the crew to ensure success. Project managers that are good leaders have similar traits, characteristics, and attributes that enhance their leadership in their relations with other team members. Ten leadership qualities of a project manager are: Inspires a shared vision Integrity Good communicator Enthusiasm Empathy Competence Ability to delegate task Being able to handle pressure Team building skills Problem solving skills (Barry, 2011). When a leader shares his thoughts and ideas with the rest of the group they must have the emotional maturity to compromise in order to achieve a share vision to proceed with the project plan. A good project manager does not let his or her ego disrupt judgment during the decision making process. Integrity is an important trait because a project manager that has integrity receives the support of the team members. Integrity refers to adherence to moral and ethical principles, soundness of moral character, and honesty (Dictionary, 2012). Communications skills are imperative for project managers to connect with the team and inspire the team to achieve synergy. Synergy occurs when the whole becomes more important than the sum of its parts. An enthusiastic project manager provides energy to the team by keeping a positive attitude at all times despite the constraints and challenges members of teams often face. A project manager that displays empathy cares about the feelings and well being of its crew. During projects the project manager has to effectively assigned tasks to each of the team members. The process also entails providing support to the team members to increase their chances of succeeding and submitting all project deliverables within the required timeline. Proper uses of time management can help a project manager monitor the work of the team members. A project manager cannot falter under pressure. Being able to handle pressure is an attribute that is common among all types of managers. Companies seem to increase the pressure often in team settings because they expect multiple employees to achieve faster results than employees working individually. The project manager is expected to implement team building skills during the manager’s interaction with the team. Upon completion of a team project the members must become more adept and experienced employees that when called up their ability to deliver once again in a team setting will be enhanced. Problem solving skills utilizes data to create information that can be used to find solutions to common problems in the workplace or team settings such as interpersonal conflict (Schermerhorn, et al., 2003). Project Management Leadership Applications Project managers can use leadership skills to directly achieve better results. An example of a leadership application that can be used to improve team performance is delegating power. The use of delegation of power can enhance the leadership abilities of other team members. The project manager must monitor the performance of a team member that is delegated more responsibility. A project manager can serve as a mentor of a talented employee that the company wants to prepare for a future managerial position. Team settings are a great training tool that can be used by companies to accelerate the leadership learning process. Due to the fact that responsibility is limited to small groups of people the risk associated with the training task are limited in comparison with hiring a person that has cero leadership and managerial experience. The use of project management can be applied to advance learning settings such as a brainstorming session. “Brainstorming is a process for developing creative solutions to problems” (Nwlink, 2010). A project manager can provide valuable assessment of the scenario during a brainstorming session. He can lead the communication process in order to inspire the collective minds of the group which create an environment that is suitable for creativity and the generation of ideas that can be applied to solve real problems the company might be facing. Conclusion Project management has become an important managerial position in the workplace that employees encounter in 2012. The companies operating today want to optimize the utilization of their most valuable asset which is its human capital. Team formations are a great way for companies to achieve greater contributions from its workers. A way to ensure that employees are effective in team settings is by having a project manager that has superb leadership skills. Project managers that properly use their leadership skills are better able to guide their teams towards successfully completing projects in a timely manner. References Barry, T. (2011). Top 10 Leadership Qualities of a Project Managers. Retrieved January 15, 2012 from http://www.projecttimes.com/articles/top-10-leadership-qualities-of-a-project-manager.html Dictionary.com (2012). Integrity. Retrieved January 15, 2012 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/integrity Nwlink.com (2010). Brainstorming. Retrieved January 15, 2012 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/perform/brainstorm.html Schermerhorn, J., Hunt, J., Osborn, R. (2003). Organizational Behavior (8th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. Projectsmart.co.uk. (2012). History of Project Management. Retrieved January 15, 2012 from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/history-of-project-management.html Read More