Project Leadership

1. Leadership in Project Management
Dr. Huy Nguyen

2. • Develop and facilitate leadership in team building, performance management,
and conflict management.
Leadership in Project Management
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3. • Leadership and management;
• Managing project stakeholders;
• Influence as exchange;
• Commonly traded organizational currencies;
• Social network building;
• Ethics and project management;
• Contradictions of project management;
• Qualities of an effective project manager;
• Suggestions for project managers.
Leadership in Project Management
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4. • Management:
– About people;
– The process of achieving organizational goals through engaging in the
four major functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling.
• Planning:
– The process of setting goals and deciding best way to achieve them.
• Organizing:
– The process of allocating and arranging human and other resources.
• Leading:
– The process of influencing others to achieve organizational goals.
• Controlling:
– The process of regulating activities to reach goals.
Leadership and Management
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5. • Relations of functions in management:
Leadership and Management
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6. • Leadership:
– People accept a leader’s influence because leaders have power;
– Sources of leader power:
• Legitimate power;
• Reward power;
• Expert power;
• Information power.
– Leader and manager are often used interchangeably, but the two should
be distinguished.
Leadership and Management
Leaders
Managers
Managers who
are not leaders
Leaders who
are not
managers
People who
are both
managers and
leaders 6

7. • Leader and manager:
– Some managers function as leaders, and this fits with the definition of
management:
– Other managers do not function as leaders:
– And not all leaders are managers:
Leadership and Management
Leaders
Managers
Leaders
Managers
Leaders
Managers
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8. Leadership and Management
Leader Manager
Innovates Administers
An original A copy
Develop new things Maintain existing things
People focus System and structure focus
Inspires trust Controls
Long term Short term
Asks what and why? Asks how and when?
Eye on the horizon Eye on the bottom line
Does the right thing Does the thing right
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9. • Do projects need leaders or managers?
– A project manager has many roles and responsibilities;
– Managing projects is managing complexity;
– Formulate plans and objectives;
– Monitor results;
– Take corrective action;
– Expedite activities;
– Solve technical problems;
– Serve as peacemaker;
– Make tradeoffs among time, costs, and project scope;
– Recognize the need to change to keep the project on track;
– Initiate change;
– Provide direction and motivation;
– Innovate and adapt as necessary;
– Integrate assigned resources.
Leadership and Management
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10. • What are stakeholders? Why do we need stakeholders?
– You can’t do it all and get it all done;
 Projects usually involve a vast web of relationships;
– Hands-on work is not the same as leading;
 More pressure and more involvement;
– What’s important to you likely isn’t as important to someone else;
 Different groups have different stakeholders on responsibilities, agendas,
and priorities in the outcome of a project;
– They will reduce your effectiveness as a leader;
 Project management is tough, exciting, rewarding and so persevere.
Managing Project Stakeholders
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11. Managing Project Stakeholders
• Stakeholders as parts of project:
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12. Managing Project Stakeholders
• Networks of stakeholders:
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13. Managing Project Stakeholders
• Networks of stakeholders - Project team:
– Manages and completes the project work;
– Most participants want to do a good job, but they are also concerned with
other obligations and how their involvement will contribute to their personal
goals and aspirations.
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14. Managing Project Stakeholders
• Networks of stakeholders - Project managers:
– Naturally compete with each other for resources and support top
management. At the same time, they have to share the resources and
exchange information.
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15. Managing Project Stakeholders
• Networks of stakeholders - Functional managers:
– Depending upon how the project is organised can play minor or major role
toward the project success; for example, providing technical input, etc.
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16. Managing Project Stakeholders
• Networks of stakeholders - Top management:
– Approves funding of the project and establishes the priorities within the
organization. They define success, rewards for the successful completing
of the project. Significant adjustments in scope, time and cost.
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17. Managing Project Stakeholders
• Networks of stakeholders - Project sponsors:
– Champion of the project and use their influence to gain approval of the
project. Their reputation is tied to the success of the project.
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18. Managing Project Stakeholders
• Networks of stakeholders - Customers:
– Define the scope of the project, and ultimate project success rests in their
satisfaction. Project managers need to be responsive to changing
customer needs and requirements and to meeting their expectations.
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19. Managing Project Stakeholders
• Networks of stakeholders - Administrative groups:
– Such as human resources, information systems, purchasing agents,
maintenance etc. provide valuable support service.
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20. Managing Project Stakeholders
• Networks of stakeholders - Government agencies:
– Place constrains on project work;
– Permits need to be secured.
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21. Managing Project Stakeholders
• Networks of stakeholders - Contractors:
– May do the actual work with team members.
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22. Influence as Exchange
• The Law of Reciprocity:
– One good deed deserves another, and likewise, one bad deed deserves
another.
• Quid pro Quo:
– Mutual exchanges of resources and services (“back-scratching”) build
relationships.
• Influence of “Currencies”:
– Cooperative relationships are built on the exchange of organizational
“currencies” (favors).
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23. Commonly Traded Organizational Currencies
• Influence without authority:
Task-related
currencies
Resources
Lending or giving money, budget increases,
personnel, etc
Assistance
Helping with existing projects or undertaking
unwanted tasks
Cooperation
Giving task support, providing quicker response
time, or aiding implementation
Information
Providing organizational as well as technical
knowledge
Position-
related
currencies
Advancement
Giving a task or assignment that can result in
promotion
Recognition Acknowledging effort or abilities
Visibility
Providing a chance to be known by higher-ups or
significant others in the organization
Network / contacts Providing opportunities for linking with others
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24. Commonly Traded Organizational Currencies
Inspiration-
related
currencies
Vision
Being involved in a task that has larger significance
for the unit, organization, customer, or society
Excellence Having a chance to do important things really well
Ethical
correctness
Doing what is “right” by a higher standard than
efficiency
Relationship
-related
currencies
Acceptance Providing closeness and friendship
Personal support Giving personal and emotional backing
Understanding Listening to others’ concerns and issues
Personal-
related
currencies
Challenge /
learning
Sharing tasks that increase skills and abilities
Ownership /
involvement
Letting others have ownership and influence
Gratitude Expressing appreciation
• Influence without authority:
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25. Social Network Building
• Mapping dependencies for social networks;
• Project team perspective:
– Whose cooperation will be needed?
– Whose agreement or approval will we need?
– Whose opposition would keep us from accomplishing the project?
• Stakeholders’ perspective:
– What differences exist between the team and those on whom the team will
depend?
– How do the stakeholders view the project?
– What is the status of our relationships with the stakeholders?
– What sources of influence does the team have relative to the
stakeholders?
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26. Social Network Building
• Example: Dependencies for financial software installation project:
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27. Social Network Building
• Characteristics of effective project managers in social network building:
– Initiate contact with key players;
– Anticipate potential problems;
– Provide encouragement;
– Reinforce the objectives and vision of the project;
– Intervene to resolve conflicts and prevent stalemates.
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28. Social Network Building
• Management by Walking Around (MBWA):
– A management style that involves managers spending the majority of time
outside of their offices in face-to-face interactions with employees building
cooperative relationships.
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29. Social Network Building
• Managing Upward Relations:
– Project Success = Top Management Support:
• Appropriate budgets;
• Responsiveness to unexpected needs;
• A clear signal to the organization of the importance of cooperation.
– Motivating the Project Team:
• Influence top management to favor team by;
• Withdrawing unreasonable demands;
• Providing additional resources;
• Recognizing the activities of team members.
• The significance of a project sponsor.
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30. Social Network Building
• Leading by Example:
– Highly visible, interactive management style which allows building and
sustaining cooperative relationship and modeling project managers
behavior.
• 6 aspects of leading by example:
1. Priorities;
2. Urgency;
3. Problem solving;
4. Standards of performance;
5. Ethics;
6. Co-operation.
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31. Ethics and Project Management
• Industry ethical guidelines;
• Ethical dilemmas:
– Situations where it is difficult to determine whether conduct is right or
wrong:
• Lagging of cost and time estimations;
• Falsely assuring customers that everything is fine;
• Being pressured to alter status reports;
• Falsifying cost accounts;
• Compromising safety standards to accelerate progress;
• Approving poor work.
– Code of conduct:
• Professional standards and personal integrity.
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32. Contradictions of Project Management
Dynamic viewpoints Static viewpoints
Innovator Maintain stability
Individuals Teamwork
Flexible Determined
Team loyalty Organizational loyalty
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33. Qualities of an Effective Project Manager
• Systems thinker;
• Personal integrity;
• Proactive;
• High tolerance for stress;
• General business perspective;
• Good communicator;
• Effective time management;
• Skillful politician;
• Optimist.
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34. Suggestions for Project Managers
• Build relationships before you need them;
• Trust is sustained through frequent face-to-face contact;
• Realize that “what goes around comes around.”
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35. Thank You
Next topic:
Project Risk Management
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