Project Management - Module 1: Working with Teams - Coursework Example

This is the fundamental premise behind adapting to non-technical challenges in the project management cycle as a good volume of problems stem from interpersonal relationship conflicts, disagreements over project management, or a general inability to mobilize internal and external stakeholder motivations to meet timeline and productivity expectations. No model of technical best practice is going to identify solutions that would be viable in these circumstances due to the dynamics of human behavior and human needs fulfillment.

Thus, the manager must take on a leadership role that support autonomy, establishes behavioral role modeling, and encourages others to manage adaptive challenges. The model of adaptive leadership would also teach the project manager to instill a positive change when quality becomes an issue in the project. To gain team commitment to meeting quality standards, the project leader may have to create incentive programs or create a corporate culture of quality through training or by consistently reiterating a project vision or mission to gain loyalty and support.

The concept of reducing stress in adaptive situations could, in a project environment, allow for free expression of challenges faced to reach a group consensus about how to proceed with better quality outputs. This is a form of positive reinforcement, while also promoting conflict, which can be a source of creativity and opportunity for new ideas to be generated (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997). Change as it pertains to quality may simply be changing attitudes toward building a unified culture of excellence in task performance.

Some of the fundamental principles of adaptive leadership apply to the typical project in terms of how the project manager should be reviewing current challenges. The concept of identifying the challenge is similar to a typical project management scenario which involves assessing the external stakeholder environment or reviewing labor-related scenarios to witness where project slowdowns are occurring. The analytical portion of adaptive leadership to create a concrete definition of barriers to successful project delivery is similar to a typical project.

Furthermore, the concept of maintaining disciplined attention is also similar to a typical project management scenario. The project manager must be ever-alert to individuals who are avoiding work, exposing conflict when and where it is occurring to re-install a sense of motivation and task completion based on project expectations and goals. The project manager in a typical project will often have to handle interpersonal disagreements that lead to conflict, and subsequently work slow-downs, acting as a mediator between differing stakeholder perspectives.

Control through leadership as described by Kendrick (2006) is relevant especially as it pertains to maintaining relationships. Motivational strategies and inspirational behaviors are critical factors to adaptive change since adaptation involves building collective confidence and esteem in order to effectively delegate responsibilities. Facilitating open discussion to discuss