Flexible Approach to Leadership Style and Skills - Essay Example

Different phases of the project life cycle require a flexible approach in leadership style and skills By Executive Summary How often have you heard it said that planning is dissipating of time? No sooner is the plan completed than someone comes along to change it. These same naysayers would also argue that the plan, once completed is disregarded and merely put on the shelf so the team can get down to doing some real work. To people management, we mean the planning activity that involves deciding on the types of people in form of resources that are required to fulfill the requirements of the project. In other words the types of skills and number of workers we need to complete the project (kwysocki, 1997). Whenever we talk about the methods implicated in the project management we in general refer those methods towards the management of people as well as resources. The management of people is the management of workers. Management of people guides us about the roles and duties that a worker can perform in a project for making a project successful. It also guides management what type of staff should reserve for a specific project (Kerzner, 2003). A project manager or leader plays an important role in the success and failure of a project. This paper explains different leadership tactics and qualities during the different life cycle stages of the project. This paper explains the contemporary leadership traits, skills, and behaviors principles, comprising interesting developing views in the changing project life cycle stages, It has placed the gap between extant theory and leadership in technology projects lacks practitioner reflection-in-action, in that existing literature does not prove what effective global project managers actually do within the dynamic situational context of multiple competing demands. First of all we will discuss the qualities of a leader, the important point to mention is that: this section will discuss the project’s manger or leader’s project handling qualities, tests and important abilities that he must have in the changing environment. Then next section explains the different qualities and project management styles those are necessary for the project in the each life cycle stages of the project. The last section contains the conclusion and references. Suggested different project management approaches are correct for different stages of project (Kenneth, 1998). This would suggest that different project management styles, and thus different competency profiles and leadership styles for the project manager would be appropriate for different phases of project. Why we emphasis the leadership or its qualities, the answer is given in following points: by (Langer 1989) the project manager’s leadership style influences project success; Different leadership styles are appropriate for different phases of project. Life-cycle stage: All organizations undertook projects from several life-cycle stages, but none said it was a noteworthy aspect in selecting the project manager. The feasibility and execution stages would be managed by somebody from the business, but the design stage by somebody from the information systems department. The reason is design requires technical knowledge, whereas other stages require business knowledge (Hobbs et al, 2005). Throughout the life-cycle, conscientiousness and communication is important (Kenneth, 1998). At the design stage managing resources is also vital, and motivation and sensitivity at the commissioning stage (Burke, 2003). Strategic standpoint is detrimental to project success, except during feasibility and close-out (Hans, 2002). It would seem that it is important for the project manager to focus on the task, and leave the linking of the project to corporate business objectives to other project governance roles, such as the sponsor. During feasibility we can understand that strategic perspective may be more important, but it was not positively correlated to project success, just not negatively correlated. Perhaps if there is any strength to their mock-up, it applies more to project team member roles rather that project leadership style, and so would be more appropriately analyzed using instruments for examining team performance (Crawford, 2005). Discovering why leadership is valuable at all organizational levels managing and leading people and projects to the satisfaction of the sponsor(s), the team, and the stakeholders, commonly have need of interpersonal ability, technical competencies, and cognitive aptitude, along with the capability to understand the situation and people then dynamically integrate appropriate leadership behaviors (Kenneth, 1998). Leading and managing functions are complimentary yet interdependent, and both are required in the same position, at all levels in the organization. Variations of leadership trait theory emphasizes the social capability of leadership effectiveness as part of a managers role-set in that networking, the development and continuation of mutual organizational relationships, has been linked to managerial effectiveness’’ furthermore, organizational leadership has been viewed as an interpersonal managerial role having to do with motivating subordinates (Cohen, 2000). Cultivating relationships across the organization, mostly vertical and horizontal, multilevel and multi-domain, impact leadership, and can result in a reputation for usefulness by meeting the varying expectations of supervisors, subordinates, and peers. Thus there is a multifaceted dependency between leadership traits, role-sets, relationship building skills, and stakeholder prospect management, with the key point being that motivational leadership behavior across broad stakeholder’s increases leader effectiveness (Hobbs et al, 2005). Leadership is usually classified as a characteristic or trait (skill to direct), an object/role set (behavior category required to get work done), adjective (type of managerial or executive superiority), the function of power, or as a progression (motivating, influencing, inspiring, coaching, mentoring, facilitating, etc.). Leadership is also classified by the aspects that impact it, which from a meta-level standpoint are: the organizational context, including the larger macro-environment, the business situation (task environment), and the internal organizational and/or project characteristics (Crawford, 2005). Effective leadership as traits, skills or behaviors: Many authors have argued for and against whether leadership is an inborn trait or that it can be developed. In general, the consensus is that leadership can be developed and is a grouping of qualities, awareness, and processes. Leaders need more than pure ability, skill, and innate attributes. A person does not become a leader by virtue of the possession of some combination of traits. The guide of personal characteristics of the leader must bear some relevant relationship to the characteristics, activities, and goals of the followers. Traits are considered to be patterns of personality attributes, such as skills, values, needs, and behaviors, which are relatively stable in the sense that they tend to repeat over time. Skills are abilities to do things, satisfy needs, and make decisions, in a useful manner (Cohen, 2000). The consensus from literature is that there are patterns of definite leadership skills, activities, and behaviors which are related to leader effectiveness, namely: acquiring status through demonstrating group facilitation and performance, intelligence, task understanding, initiative, persistence, self-confidence, sensitive to others needs willingness to acknowledge responsibility, ability to exert dominance and control as necessary. The four fundamental traits which seem to be shared by most successful leaders are: intelligence, maturity/broad interests, strong inner motivation/drives (self-confidence and self-efficacy), and consideration of others needs/values (emotive sensitivity) (Crawford, 2005). Many authors typically discuss several broad meta-categories of useful leader traits, such as: cognitive ability, intelligence, emotive, affective ability, and technical knowledge, and functional capability (Cohen, 2000). It is proposed here from research and practice that awareness and aptitude to take steps are in the cognitive class, but they could just as effortlessly be treated as a separate group as they are often approached in knowledge management. The Organization Life Cycle Greiner (1972) give explanation of five phases during which an organization passes and the connected adjustments in management focal point, organization arrangement, and higher management approach, managing system, and recompense emphasis those consequences. Contributing to these modification and obscuring the leaders decision-making were the time of the organization, its capacity, phases of progress (described as development during imagination, way. delegation, synchronization, and teamwork), stages of enlargement (described as crises of management, independence, manage, red tape, and indecision) and lastly, the enlargement rate of the business. It should be eminent that the organization’s project life cycle be able to be connected for optimization with leader style. These 5 stages of the organization’s project development life cycle integrated with optimal leader technique are: Greiner (1972)                             Phases Organizational project Life Cycle   Leader Style 1      Innovation                                    Conceptual 2      Transition                                     Analytic 3      Growth                                          Production 4      Consolidation                                Behavioral 5      Adaptation                                     Conceptual An organization’s project development at the modernization point needs a manager / leader whose style is mainly a blend of the theoretical and instruction styles. This manager /leader are the industrialist who has together thoughts and the drive to apply them. This mixture of styles is favorable to taking the possibilities linked with starting a novel venture. During this stage, the organization is undersized and beneath intense pressure for the rationale that of the option of breakdown. Amusingly, this state of affairs frequently guides to a consistent culture. The high stage of pressure and excitement generates a position where everybody knows what is going on. Communication is face-to-face, and there are a small number of written events. This is occasionally referred to as a hip-pocket process (Crawford, 2005). Start-up association as expected has merely two levels: one afraid with thoughts and the other with processes (Cohen, 2000). A lot of persons have ideas that they on no account apply for the reason that they do not have the wish, force, or nerve to act on them. This would be the condition of the investigator who is conceptual but does not have an instruction method and therefore does not have the essential drive. Normally, the conceptual or imaginative individual is additional paying attention in creating novel ideas than in implement­ing those thoughts. That is, conceptual and instruction styles are normally inversely associated (Hobbs et al, 2005). A distinction of the life cycle is apprehensive with research and development needed to develop novel products. Characteristically, 60 ideas initiated into R & D produce only one concluding product. The prod­uct successively has to be managed, engineered, constructed, and marketed. The imperative leadership task happens when the product has reached diffusion. But for an inventive approach is taken once more, the product life will turn down. As talked about by Schedule, significant overall expansion necessitates incessant new-product improvement to counterbalance the turn down in older products (Crawford, 2005). Comparable thoughts relate in corporations that are project-oriented, like that aerospace corporations growing missiles or aircraft. Every project as well has a life cycle. These life cycles possibly will not be as expected as customer products, other than nonetheless insists constant management concentration to the altering situation. After the unique idea is confirmed and the service or product is applied, the organi­zation starts to rise. At this position, the hip-pocket technique to administrating the organization is no longer appropriate, When Apple Computers started to move up the fun was gone. One of the associates, Wozniak got hold of his money and left. Occupations, who continuous, did not desire to run a big organization; as a result he carried in John Scullery, who was leader of the Pepsi Corporation. While the chemistry appeared to be exceptional at the start, eventually power and management became a matter among the two and Job was required out. As well as it was obvious that at this phase of the organizations project life cycle, a novel kind of leadership was necessary. This was symbolized in Scullery’s analytic choice style that he employs to build up systems, events, course of action, and the regulation compulsory to sustained development in a big organization. Although John Sculley might be winning at running a big organization, he certainly could not fashion a computer. It needs a manager with a theoretical style to fashion a novel product. On the other hand thoughts fit in to those who purchase them. Freely understood purchasing them refers to whoever is accessible and believed the thought. Throughout 1990, Sculley took on the for the most part within job: managing the growth of technology that would ultimately put back the Macintosh (Buell et al., 1990). According to Larry Tesler, Apples vice-president of higher goods, there was amazing skepticism amongst the engineers. Yet, Tesler was astonished at how shining his boss did. Sculley made use of his managerial abilities to the consolidation of growth units; shaped periodical processes review, and established daily 7:30 A.M. gatherings with his person in command engineer. As a consequence, the time for choice making shortened the expansion cycle. He proficient this: by improving communication and getting nearer to the deeds. He related his full concentration to the critical matters of development. It obtained the correct type of leader with vast self-assurance to put him or her on the firing line in this method. Long-term plan is to obtain novel prod­ucts out the door in 9 to 12 months somewhat than the 12 to 24 months it at the present. Even though Sculley’s early hard work were flourishing, he also was forced to make tracks Apple, to be substituted by a series of leaders as the association required to discover one who could effectively run the association faced with a diverse circumstances and stage of the organization’s projects life cycle (DuBrin, 1995). The adaptation stage of the association project life cycle resumes the cycle or the association is unsuccessful to acclimatize and ceases to exist. Organizations go throughout a lot of cycles, and entity departments or divisions might have diverse cycles than the in general organization. Organizations develop and vary as manage­ment shifts and grown-up, as technology alters, as opposition alteration, and as financial circumstances state novel requirements. Modifications in divisions or yields or mixtures of these as well unite to make over organization and thus influence the generally organization life cycle. In part, the organization project life cycle as well compresses the profession life cycle of leaders inside it. Reports on a amount of studies that propose that there are resemblance in the enlargement of organizations and that the S-shape arc is a high-quality means for relating the expansion of a company, except there is small hesitation that the challenges in the diverse stages need a diverse method of operating, a diverse leadership in each (Crawford, 2005). Leadership Style Related To Organization Life Cycle Stages The advance stage is usually characterized by momentous autonomy and elevated risk. As the business progresses throughout its project life cycle, so it looses the temperament of the organization, a predicament in management characteristically arises. Persons that are suitable to start novel organizations are not essentially the similar ones who are prepared to hold this emergency. They are ill-suited for the evolution or enlargement stage, where more arrangement is required (Crawford, 2005). Once the way is discrete, there is a propensity for administration to control and for the association to exaggerate to the way taken, which then guides to one more crisis, one of independence. At the subsequent stage of the organization project life cycle, the reins are released once more and allocation is employed to deal out choice making to decentralized separations. In the majority organization, one more calamity happens for the reason that requires for tighter management and ways of the organization. To attain more control, organization and additional centralization be inclined to be the reply, which sequentially guides to the red tape disasters for the reason that of one more example of over-control. Therefore, interchange phases of the organization project life cycle symbolize tense and loose control (Crawford, 2005). Throughout the last stages of the organization project life cycle, revision is the most vital requirement. It is normally also late to stop radical modifications if proper accomplishment was not in use in the previous stage. The adaptation phase decides whether the organization will stay alive and go into a novel growth cycle or if it will cry off and finally be taken over or leave bankrupt. This final stage is from time to time extremely painful, as proved by the types of measures taken by leaders in corporations when trying to merge the increase from the previous stage. Organizations will usually move in the direction of adaptive policies in Phase 4 to keep away from the trauma that can happen in Phase 5 (Crawford, 2005). Every phase needs a different consequence to convene the organization necessities. In a start­up circumstances, cooperation and participation of staff are significant in order to conquer the lot of troubles encountered. Information necessities at this stage tend to be present owing to quickly altering circumstances, and therefore have a negligible impact on decision making (Crawford, 2005). Throughout the transition phase conclusion making should be elastic in order to alter from a start-up to the stable enlargement of Phase 3. Here once more, for the reason that there are a lot of alternations taking place, merely a small augment in information is necessary. Phase 3 is what usually is thought of as conventional administration. This stands for a rationally stable state, still though there is swift expansion. The logical leader employing automated information to uphold control over the decentralized processes is the one who carry out most efficiently (DuBrin, 1995). Phase 4 needs an inventive leader who is able to expect the modifications indispensable to keep away from a refuse in Phase 5. The information needs a decision hold up system that is to be able to forecast prospect options in difference to simply keeping processes under control. If victorious, the accommodating styles of adaptation nearly everyone successful in Phase 5 makes possible the change into a novel mode of working. For the reason that of the information necessities move to being additional selective, by means of critical item analysis, and having a reasonable volume of data (DuBrin, 1995). As concluding this discussion we can say that, dynamic changing circumstances necessitate diverse leader behaviors. These behaviors are able to take the shape of models of behavior known as leadership style, or we can say that it is a leadership tactics. Choosing leaders with diverse leadership methods is incompetent. It is far additional effectual to select elastic leaders who have the ability of using diverse strategies under different situation. References 1. 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