Required Project Managers Skills - Research Paper Example

LEADERSHIP AND THE PROJECT MANAGER STUDENT NAME ________________ ABSTRACT The Leadership and the Project Manager research deals with the importance of leadership in project management. All managers have some sort of leadership responsibility and unfortunately not every manager can lead nor is every leader can managed. Most project managers are selected because of their ability to balance their technical and managerial functions. An ideal project manager motivates, influence, and set examples to his team thus it is essential to have a good leadership and management skills. Leadership is critical and without strong leadership, failure of the project is foreseeable. Through a literature review, this research paper arranged some relevant and essential information regarding leadership and required project manager’s skills and used it to establish the connection between leadership and good project management. 1. Introduction “Leaders and managers are not synonymous terms”1. However, although leaders and managers are not the same, many believe that project managers should exhibit the characteristics of both during different times on the project. Moreover, understanding when to switch from leadership to management and then back again is a finely tuned and necessary talent. The leadership skills of project managers are being recognized as a critical success factor as many believe that project success is not only determined by technical performance but high level of satisfaction concerning the project outcome among the key people on the project team and key user or clientele of the project effort. However, knowing leadership as the key to project success is not enough as we need to further understand the connection between leadership and good project management. This research paper will bring to light the importance of leadership skills to a project manager. 2. Leadership and the Project Manager 2.1 Leadership and Management Good project managers can handle both the authority and the responsibility necessary to guide the project. Management of the project and leadership go hand in hand (Baker et al. 18). Project managers do more than put out fires and keep the project on track as they need to be innovative and adapt to ever-changing circumstance (Gray & Larson 318). As a leader, a team will expect him to be honest, competent, and inspirational as well as skilled in the use of project management techniques. Although there are many dimensions of leadership, the literature has traditionally focuses on two. The task and social-psychological dimensions (Cobb 5). “Leadership is not the same as management”2 and it is not the same as leading a department (Heerkens 18). Leadership can be defined as a style of behavior designed to integrate both the organizational requirements and one’s personal interest into the pursuit of some objective (Kerzner 220). Leadership is critical to the successful completion of a project and an effective introduction or improvement of project management (Harrison & Lock 265). It involves recognizing and articulating the need to 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 (Gray & Larson 318). All managers have some sort of leadership responsibility and not every manager is a leader nor is every leader is a manager (Taylor 62). Project managers are often selected or not selected because of their leadership styles. The most common reason for not selecting an individual is his inability to balance the technical and managerial project functions (Kerzner 220). Because the project manager’s job is mostly about dealing with people, motivating, influencing, and setting examples (Lester 303), it is absolutely essential that one exercise leadership as well as management skills. Leadership is the art of getting others to want to do something that a project manager should be done (Lewis, 29). A project leader is that individual who leads a project team during the project life cycle and accomplishes the project objective on time and within budget. Project leadership is the presence and processes carried out within an organization role that assumes responsibility for the needs and rights of those people who chose to follow the leader in accomplishing project results (Ireland 383). 2.2 Leadership Styles An important part of leadership is the ‘style’ with which the leader carries out the role. “Leadership style should not necessarily be consistent in all activities”3. On the contrary, project leaders should be as flexible as possible, gearing their leadership style to the specific situation and the individuals involved, that is, within the key elements of any leadership situation the leader, the led, and the situation (Ireland 385). The project manager who is task-oriented is characterized as a strong, competent, dominant leader who centralizes decision-making, problem-solving, planning and control. Conventional theory indicates that such leadership style will result to high production and goal attainment rate than employee-oriented approach in the short term. Decisions will be made more rapidly, although their implementation may be slower. Moreover, emergencies and crises will be tackled more effectively. However, it is also believed that under this leadership style, personal needs and interest of employees will have low priority, employee morale may be low, hostility may be high, employee creativity and initiative may be stifled, and when the strong leader leaves, the organization will tend to fall apart (Harrison & Lock 266). In contrast, employee-oriented project manager is characterized by a high emphasis on participation and teamwork in decision-making, problem-solving, planning and control. Under this leadership style, personal needs and interest of employees will have a high priority, production and goal achievement will be higher in the longer term than with the task-oriented approach. Employee creativity and initiative will be increased, morale and employee satisfaction will be high, and commitment will strong. However, decision-making will take longer, but implementation may be faster (Harrison & Lock 267). Authoritarian leaders gets job done, but they are more concerned about the tasks or products than about the employees. Autocratic leadership style can be identified with the early, classical approach to management (Miller 15). In the long term, this approach of leadership can be devastating to the organization, but it can be of value, depending on what organizations need at that instant. A manager practicing this leadership style is likely to make decisions without input from staff, to give orders without explanation or defense, and to expect the orders to be obeyed (Miller 15). Authoritarian leaders can provide structure and information, but only that information they deem pertinent or necessary. They also make decisions about what must be done, make rules, promise rewards, and threaten punishment for failure or disobedience. These leaders depend on their position and knowledge of policy to regulate the behavior of employees. Authoritarian leadership is seen as being dictatorial or managing by intimidation. This style of leadership is the most difficult style to balance so that its use does not create resentment of or resistance to the leaders. This kind of leadership involves punitive and disciplinary actions thus productivity tends to deteriorate. Punishment increases tension in individuals and groups. Employees who are single out for punishment exhibit resentment, and they tend to infect the rest of the group with their resentment. Consequently, the leader suffers from a loss of respect and credibility, and the entire process begins to deteriorate. As morale and performance diminish, the autocratic leader reacts by increasing pressure and threatening more discipline, thus hastening the demise of the project, process, or group (Taylor 64). In contrast, a democratic or egalitarian leader will actively involve him or herself in the leadership role, but this leader’s emphasis will be on the employee and relationships. This type of leader is more interested in subordinates’ contributions to the process or team, encourages consensus decision-making, and seeks out subordinates for input before making a decision which can vary from pure democratic majority rule to decision making strongly facilitated by the leader (Ferraro 280). Supervisors with democratic leadership styles are characterized by adequate authority, communication downward, sympathy, lack of arbitraries, and lack of hypercritical attitudes toward employees (Taylor 64). Generally, it is common that in a person-oriented environment, employees or team members are happier and productivity is greater. According to Ferraro, most people like the democratic style because they want to be heard, even if they do not get their way (280). Democratic leadership is effective in any team environment, provided the leader recognizes that his or her ultimate responsibility is to ensure that the team is functioning smoothly and productively. Fulfilling that responsibility can require the leader to make decisions outside the democratic process. Hence, a democratic leadership style is preferable in project management, but it must be balanced against the urgency of project requirements. Some studies4 suggest that project managers could use all the leadership style defined by the continuum theory as circumstances dictate but when leading a team of mature and experienced specialist, the project manager would use more a democratic leadership style with low task and higher relationship focus (Uher & Loosemore 256). However, even good things can be carried to extreme. A leadership style that consistently reinforces the correct performance of team members by approval and suggestions for improvement, results in better performance and higher achievement than those that permit maximum participation, as in the democratic style. Hence, democratic leadership without sensitivity to the individual’s needs for fulfillment and achievement will have an adverse effect on the team. The challenge for the leader, then, is to balance his or her democratic leadership style against the teams’ and the project’s needs (Taylor 65). Permissive leadership or laissez-faire leadership provides the least structure and control and is also referred to as the delegating approach. Little or no direction is provided as co-workers develop their own goals, make their own decisions, and take responsibility for their own management. Managers concentrate on providing maximum support and freedom for co-workers, and decision making is dispersed throughout the group (Ellis & Harley 17). Advantages of this style of leadership include providing maximum freedom for individuals, and presumably increased motivation of subordinates to perform at high levels because of this independence. However, this leadership style according to Bass & Riggio has been associated to low productivity, lack of innovation, more conflict, and lack of cohesion among subordinates (207). A purely people-oriented style like laissez-faire focuses on people’s feelings but ignores the task at hand. It allows employees to act without any direction. The goals of the employer will be compromised when the laissez-faire leadership style is used (Hill et al., 237). The laissez-faire style of leadership is the exact opposite of autocratic where decisiveness and content are lacking (Fennell 161). Autocratic leaders centralize power and decision making. Democratic leaders encourage participation in decision making and distribute power. Laissez-faire leaders leave group members alone to make their own decisions (Hernon & Rossiter 52). Laissez-faire leadership according to Goethals & Burns, may be the best or the worst of leadership styles. If the leader follows the normally understood definition and standard practice of noninterference and hands-off when supposedly leading his or her followers, the worst form of leadership is manifested. However, when the twenty-first century properly prepares his or her followers, laissez-faire leadership emerges as the ultimate form of leading (820). 2.3 Leadership and other elements of project management An organization large or small is often multifaceted and life as a project manager offers many challenges (Heekens 22). For instance, the members of the project team will come from different functional work groups, which create various leadership challenges for a project manager. Project leadership is the “mortar”5 (Forsberg et al. 134) that holds the other elements of project management intact and ensures that all are being properly implemented and applied. Leadership depends on the ability to inspire or ensuring that project members are motivated on both the individual and team levels to deliver as promised within the desired project management culture. Leadership emphasizes doing the right things, while doing things right is a primary management responsibility. Leadership depends on the skillful application of techniques such as handling different personalities and maturity levels, and team composition and rewards. Experiences confirms that without strong leadership, the team is likely to stray from sound fundamentals and implement high risk, failure-prone short cuts (Forsberg et al. 134). 3. Conclusion A good project manager handles both the authority and the responsibility to guide the project. Since leadership is not the same as management, the project manager should learn to motivate and direct people to overcome hurdles and realize the project objectives. Leadership is critical to the success of the project because it is the mortar that holds the other elements of project management intact, thus selection of good leadership style is essential. Without a strong leadership, failure of the project is inevitable. A democratic leadership is more preferable in project management particularly in a team environment but the leader must recognize his ultimate responsibility and the urgency of project requirements. 4. Work Cited List Baker, Sunny et al. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Project Management, US: Alpha Books, 2003 Bass, Bernard &, Ronald E. Riggio, Transformational leadership. US: Routledge, 2006 Cobb, Anthony. Leading project teams: an introduction to the basics of project management and project team leadership. US: SAGE, 2005 Ellis, Janice & Celia Love Hartley, Managing and coordinating nursing care, US: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2004 Fennell, David A. Ecotourism programme planning. UK: CABI, 2002 Forsberg, Kevin et al., Visualizing project management: models and frameworks for mastering complex systems. US: John Wiley and Sons, 2005 Gray, Clifford & Erik W. Larson. Project management: the managerial process. US: McGraw Hill Professional, 2002 Harrison, F. L. & Dennis Lock. Advanced project management: a structured approach. UK: Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2004 Heerkens, Gary. Project management. US: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2001 Heldman, Kim. PMP: project management professional exam study guide: deluxe edition. Canada: John Wiley and Sons, 2007 Hernon, Peter & Nancy Rossiter. Making a difference: leadership and academic libraries. US: Libraries Unlimited, 2007 Hill, Signe et al., Success in practical/vocational nursing: from student to leader. US: Elsevier Health Sciences, 2004 Ireland, Lewis. Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation. US: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006 Kerzner, Harold. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. US: John Wiley and Sons, 2009 Lester, Albert. Project Management, Planning and Control: Managing Engineering, Construction and Manufacturing Projects to PMI, APM and BSI Standards, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007 Lewis, James. Fundamentals of project management. US: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 2006 Miller, Jack. Supervision in the Hospitality Industry: Leading Hospitality Human Resources, US: John Wiley and Sons, 2009 Taylor, James, A survival guide for project managers. US: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 2006, US Uher, Thomas & Martin Loosemore, Essentials of construction project management. Australia: UNSW Press, 2004 Read More