Characteristics of an Effective Project Leader - Coursework Example

Characteristics of an Effective Project Leader: A Literature Review Student Name Institution: Date: Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 1 2.0 Implications of Project Success or Failure 1 3.0 Characteristics of an Effective Project Leader 3 a)Effective communication skills and interpersonal sensibility 3 b)Technical competency 4 c)Good team builder 5 d)Good negotiation skills 5 e)Strategic planning 6 f)Organization 6 g)Good decision maker 6 h)Calm and collected under pressure 7 References 8 1.0 Introduction A project would be considered well done if it is finished on time, within its budgeted cost and meets its specified performance. These three are the most important parameters used to evaluate project success. If project success is measured by these parameters, then it means that managing the human factors is the key to project implementation and success. This puts more pressure on the leadership of the project and/or on those who are in charge of appointing project team leaders. Whether you are in charge of appointing project team leaders or you are the project leader, the first step is to ensure that you build a team with the desired skills and abilities to complete the project successfully. Project managers experience performance pressure, especially with increased prevalence of managerial practices such as downsizing, outsourcing, continuous improvement and total quality management. This has placed internal project managers in a situation where they are vulnerable to having no renewal for their contracts. This paper is a literature review of the characteristics of an effective project manager. The paper analyzes the implications of project success or failure and identifies the key competencies required of a good project leader. In discussing these characteristics, this paper emphasizes management of projects within an organizational framework. 2.0 Implications of Project Success or Failure To understand what is required of a good project leader, it is of great significance to gain an insight in to the implications of project success or failure. According to Ramos & Mota (2014), a project is a cost and time constrained operation that is intended to produce a set of deliverables that are well defined and upto the expected quality standards. Effective project management requires the project leader to have certain characteristics such as the ability to meet project objectives and balance restrictions, sufficient knowledge and understanding of project management, and having a sence of leadership (Taherdoost & Keshavarzsaleh, 2016). This will be discussed in detail under the competencies desired for a successful project leader. In order to take charge of a project, a project leader has to meet certain requirements that will provide an effective implementation of a set of tools and techniques, and factors that the project leader has at that moment. In addition to this, there is also the concern of the type of technology to use (Ramos & Mota, 2014). Most of the time, the performance of a particular project is associated with its end result. Nevertheless, good leadership remains the key to success in any project. It is necessary to evaluate: attitude and technical skills, strengths, weaknesses and experience, sense of leadership and other human factors to have a greater potential of better project management. Traditionally, the performance of a given project is measured using three basic criteria: budget cost, time and requirements (see figure 1). Figure 1: Traditional view of project success or failure (Ramos & Mota, 2014). Although this structure has been criticized, most semi-complex projects routinely employ this structure to determine the success of a project e.g. in IT projects (Ramos & Mota, 2014). These three criteria are clear benchmarks upon which success or failure can be judged after a project is completed and handed over to the client. Thus, the project manager should be in a position to understand the interrelation and implication of these three objectives. During the 1980s, Dr. Martin Barnes came up with a triangle that illustrates the interrelationship between cost, time and performance (see figure 2). Figure 2: Barnes triangle (Lock, 2013). 3.0 Characteristics of an Effective Project Leader a) Effective communication skills and interpersonal sensibility Excellent communication skills are crucial for a project leader to communicate in an effective way with the rest of the project team, and people at different levels within and outside an organization. Leading a project team needs a project leader to be ble to communicate the vision, goals, requrements and expectaions of a particular project to other people involved in the project (Pettersen, 1991). Winning the support of other people demand that a leader should be able to engage them through communicattion tailored for the appropriate audience. The leader should be approachable and accessible whenever he/she is needed. The project leader depends on the activities of other people that he/she has limited formal authority. Effective communication from the project leader enables him/her to develop cooperative efforts between the rest of the team and stakeholders. Lack of cooperation could lead to delay of some project activities, for example, due to cashflow problems. Building and sustaining cooperative efforts require strong interpersonal skills from a functional project manager. Having strong interpersonal skills enable the project manager to work with and through other groups of people (Goodwin, 1993). Another important part of leading a team is being able to deliver and receive constructive information and also listening to other people. Muller & Turner (2010) state that when making decisions and proposing appropriate solutions to a given challenge or problem, a good leader has to take into account of the perceptions and needs of other people during the the decision making process. Essentially, effective communication and interpersonal skills are key to working well with others in a project. Poor communication among the project team, team leader and project leader can cause serous problems to a project. b) Technical competency A project leader should be able to demonstatrate to other people that he/she is competent and capable, in order to gain trust and respect from the rest of the project team. This builds confidence in the team because they feel that their project leader is in control and understands what they are doing (Jha, 2005). While others may argue that thesre is no compelling requirement for the project leader to be technically qualified, there is some level of technical competency encompassing the discipline on which the project falls required of a project leader in order to be in a positon to successfully handle any technical issues that may arise during the design and/or implementation stage of a project. Different project management environments require different competency profiles and the project leader must meet the threshold (Muller & Turner, 2007). According to Odusami & A.M.ASCE (2002), a project leader requires technical skills for the following reasons: To be in a position to provide a solution in case of a technical problem or challenge that may occur right from design to implementation. For understanding the integration of technical features to conform to the requirements of the project considering aspects such as time schedule, budget cost, and project specification. To be in a position to coordinate the functions of the technical specialists team by understanding their work and communicate with this team on a technical level. For the project leader to be able to carry out evaluation on the impacts of alternative solutions on the performance of the project, schedule, budget and specification and make an appropriate decision. c) Good team builder Meeting project deliverables within the scahdule and budget cost can turn out to be very stressfull and frustrating if you don’t work in unision for a common purpose. A project leader should be able to cohesively hold a project team together in order to meet the golas of the project. This requires a leder to understand the process and dynamics involved in transforming individual proffesionals and personalities into one team. As the team deveolps, the project leader should know which style of leadership to employ at each stage. According to Jiang (2014), the style of leadership adopted at every stage of a project will have an influence on project performance. The project leader should also be in a position to understand the styles of different players involved in a project, and how he/she can capitalize on them to solve problems (Turner & Müller, 2005). A project leader should avoid radiating a negative attitude with the rest of the team, who happen to depend on him. Focusing on the postive aspects of ecah team player inculcates cohessiveness and improves teamwork, while lowering the potential of conflicts. A good project leader should mediate any situtaions of conflict that may arise between all the project stakeholders. d) Good negotiation skills The ability to negotiate is one of the qualities needed for an effective project manager. In case of a conflict, a good negotiator will be able to settle the issue and maintain teamwork without letting the issue to grow to another level. During the implementation stage of a project, there are many agreements made (formal and informal). Contractual agreements constitute the provision of a wide range of services needed for the project – from external partners, suppliers, contactors and consultants (Udhayakumar & Karthikeyan, 2014). If implementation of a project requires grants or elaborate loans from financing agencies, the negotiation skills of the project leader will become crucial. In the course of formulating a project plan, the project team may encounter unforeseen conditions and situations at the project site that may call for re-negotiation and amendment of agreements during the implementation stage. In coping with such negotiations, it is required of a project leder to be sensitive to style of negotiation that will provide maximum benefits in relation to the project (Goodwin, 1993). This requires excellent negotiating skills. e) Strategic planning Most organizations run more than one project at a time, and therefore, there is need for setting strategies that will ensure that the stakeholder’s expectations are adequately met for each individual project. Having a proper plan before a project commences is essential in keeping track of time and goals (Zimmerer & Yasin, 1998). At the center of stretegy setting, the project leader plays a central role. As a project leader, being in a position to crete a powerful strategy requires skills that include innovation, analytical ability and foresight. The project leader should be able to analyze a situation and come up with measures to meet the set goals and plan for project implementation. A powerful strategy should aim at obtaining the desired results in a more realistic way. This involves creating ideas to solve problems and avoiding new problems. Having the ability to predict challenges means that a project leader would be in a positio to plan on how to overcome them by deciding on the most efficient course of action. f) Organization Creating a productive work environment and being able to find solutions for problems when under pressure requires some level of organization. Organization helps a project leader to remain focused and have a clear view of the bigger picture of the project and prioritize on their tasks and responsibilities at all times (Brill, et al., 2006). Many strands may be attached to a project, a project leader should be able to document each detail in order. Having organized and coherent data on the executuion actions is important when presenting results to the stakeholders as the project eader knows what data to refer to if a question or problem arises (Zakaria, et al., 2015). Hunting for information can be a slowing factor to the progress of a project. Being organized also enables a project leader to coordinate the project team that he leads more effectively and much simpler. Hence, allowing a smooth running of the project. g) Good decision maker An effective project leader require excellent decision-making skills because being a leader of a project team is all about making decisions to be acted on without delays. The decisions made by a leader of a project leader will directly impact on performance. Making innumerable decisions help define tasks that keep the project on tack (DuBois, et al., 2016). This requires quick thinking nad decisive reaction. A wrong decision may jeopardize operations in the entire project and slow it down. A good leader should also take responsibility when wrong decisions are executed. However, being composed will enable a good leader to put things together again. h) Calm and collected under pressure Many problems can be encountered in the process of designing and implemetning a project. A good project leader should not view these problems as hurdles, but instead consider the problem as an opportunity to influence the performance. The project leader should always keep calm all the time and remain grounded so that he/she does not contribute to the slow-down of the project’s momentum (Odusami & A.M.ASCE, 2002). Out of the uncertainity, a project leader should remain firm and articulate a better image of the future and pull the project together using the available resources. In conclusion, today’s project environments have become more complex, demanding even greater leadership skills than before. Timely delivery, cost effectiveness, quality and performance expectations, and other client parameters continue to be placed up a notch each time. The complex environment in which most projects operate, the requirement to deliver beyond client expectations and good performance has become the tradition. This requires a project leader with attributes discussed in the above sections in order to cope up with the dynamics of project management. References Read More