The document is a project assignment focused on project leadership, detailing the roles, definitions, styles, and essential skills of effective project leaders. It recognizes the importance of adapting leadership styles to team needs and emphasizes the distinction between management and leadership in guiding teams towards success. Key skills include team management, conflict resolution, motivation, and communication, all underpinned by emotional intelligence and a people-centric approach.

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Project Assignment
On
Project Leadership
Submitted by
Soumik Chakraborty
M.Tech GIS
MT19GGS260
In
Partial fulfilment of GIS Project Management
NIIT University
Neemrana, Rajasthan
June 2020

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Acknowledgement
I would like to start by acknowledging the sincere support and effort obtained
from Dr. Vivek Saxena Senior Faculty for Management department, NIIT
University. I would thank NIIT University for providing the support and
curriculum framework to facilitate innovative projects. I would deeply thank
my mates and my family members for extending their warm helping hands
for this project.

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Project Leader………………………………………………………………..1
2. Acknowledgement ………………………………………………………….2
3. Project Team Definition…………………………………………………….4
4. Project Leadership Definition…………………......................................4
5. Different Styles of Leadership…………………………………………….5
6. Difference between Management and Leadership..............................7
7. Essential skills for Project Leadership………………………................9
8. Research and Analysis……………………………………………………13
9. References…………………………………………………………………..14

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1. Project Team Definition
A project team is a group of people working together in collaboration or
cooperation towards a common goal. Some teams are co--located in the
same geographic area; some span multiple organisations and virtual team-
working is increasingly prevalent .In each case, the ability of the project
professional to develop and lead teams is of vital importance.
For teams to be effective it is important that team members are understood
as individuals in terms of their capabilities, their preferences, their cultural
norms and expectations as well as the social dynamics between team
members. Teams are increasingly international, with individuals who bring
diverse skill-sets and perspectives, and can be located across countries and
continents. National cultures are influential in shaping behaviours in project-
based working. The project professional has an opportunity to improve
outcomes by harnessing diversity and inclusion from the people available.
Leaders need to adapt their style and approach to the needs of the team and
the work that needs to be accomplished, this is called situational leadership.
Leadership is the ability to establish vision and direction, to influence and
align others towards a common purpose, and to empower and inspire people
to achieve success. There are some situations when the team leader needs
to be directive, for example, to address an issue that threatens the
achievement of objectives. A mentoring or coaching style is appropriate
when there is time to focus on development of the team as well as goal
achievement.
2. Project Leadership Definition
Project leadership, most simply, is the act of leading a team towards the
successful completion of a project. But it is much more than that. It’s about
getting something done well through others. It’s about “placing more
emphasis on people” as opposed to the tactical management of tasks.
In fact, project leadership requires skills in both management and leadership.
It is a soft skill; part art, part science. Project leadership is an interesting and

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increasingly popular field of investigation. It is an area growing in relevance
and importance as projects are being delivered in a more complex and
uncertain environment one which, many would argue, requires more
leadership. Much of what we know about what makes up the leadership of
effective project managers, including the skills and competencies that
contribute to it, takes the form of lists of important project manager skills and
competencies.
3. Different Styles of Leadership
The management style of anyone in charge of any project has myriad ways
in which they accomplish their goals and set a tone of leadership. Leadership
styles are on a continuum, ranging from autocratic at one end, to laissez-
faire at the other, with a variety of styles in between. The seven primary
leadership styles are:
1. Autocratic StyleNo table of contents entries found.
The phrase most illustrative of an autocratic leadership style is "Do as I say."
Generally, an autocratic leader believes that he or she is the smartest person
at the table and knows more than others. They make all the decisions with
little input from team members. This command-and-control approach is
typical of leadership styles of the past, but it doesn't hold much water with
today's talent. That's not to say that the style may not be appropriate in
certain situations. For example, you can dip into an autocratic leadership
style when crucial decisions need to be made on the spot, and you have the
most knowledge about the situation, or when you're dealing with
inexperienced and new team members and there's no time to wait for team
members to gain familiarity with their role.
2. Authoritative Style
The phrase most indicative of this style of leadership (also known as
"visionary") is "Follow me." The authoritative leadership style is the mark of
confident leaders who map the way and set expectations, while engaging
and energizing followers along the way. In a climate of uncertainty, these
leaders lift the fog for people. They help them see where the company is
going and what's going to happen when they get there.

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3. Pacesetting Style
"Do as I do!" is the phrase most indicative of leaders who utilize the
pacesetting style. This style describes a very driven leader who sets the pace
as in racing. Pacesetters set the bar high and push their team members to
run hard and fast to the finish line.
While the pacesetter style of leadership is effective in getting things done
and driving for results, it's a style that can hurt team members. For one thing,
even the most driven employees may become stressed working under this
style of leadership in the long run.
An agile leadership style may be the ultimate leadership style required for
leading today's talent.
4. Democratic Style
Democratic leaders are more likely to ask "What do you think?" They share
information with employees about anything that affects their work
responsibilities. They also seek employees' opinions before approving a final
decision. There are numerous benefits to this participative leadership style.
It can engender trust and promote team spirit and cooperation from
employees. It allows for creativity and helps employees grow and develop.
A democratic leadership style gets people to do what you want to be done
but in a way that they want to do it.
5. Coaching Style
When you having a coaching leadership style, you tend to have a "Consider
this" approach. A leader who coaches views people as a reservoir of talent
to be developed. The leader who uses a coach approach seeks to unlock
people's potential. A coaching leader gives people a little direction to help
them tap into their ability to achieve all that they're capable of.
6. Affiliative Style
A phrase often used to describe this type of leadership is "People come
first." Of all the leadership styles, the affiliative leadership approach is one
where the leader gets up close and personal with people. A leader practicing
this style pays attention to and supports the emotional needs of team
members. The leader strives to open up a pipeline that connects him or her
to the team. Ultimately, this style is all about encouraging harmony and

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forming collaborative relationships within teams. It's particularly useful, for
example, in smoothing conflicts among team members or reassuring people
during times of stress.
7. Laissez-Faire Style
The laissez-faire leadership style is at the opposite end of the autocratic
style. Of all the leadership styles, this one involves the least amount of
oversight. You could say that the autocratic style leader stands as firm as a
rock on issues, while the laissez-faire leader lets people swim with the
current. While it's beneficial to give people opportunities to spread their
wings, with a total lack of direction, people may unwittingly drift in the wrong
direction—away from the critical goals of the organization.
This style can work if you're leading highly skilled, experienced employees
who are self-starters and motivated. To be most effective with this style,
monitor team performance and provide regular feedback.
Choosing Leadership Styles
Knowing which of the leadership styles works best for you is part of being a
good leader. Developing a signature style with the ability to stretch into other
styles as the situation warrants may help enhance your leadership
effectiveness.
1. Know yourself.
2. Understand the different styles.
3. Practice makes a leader.
4. Develop your leadership agility.
4. Difference between Management & Leadership
There’s a difference between management and leadership; while project
leadership is a combination of both skills, as we noted, it leans heavily on
working efficiently with team members. It’s important to remember, as
obvious as it may sound, that people aren’t tasks. It’s Not Just Managing

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Tasks, But Managing People. Managers are often more comfortable with
process and methodologies. They wield authority, tell people what to do and
aggressively push that agenda. These are necessary attributes for getting
the job done.
However, the job isn’t done by automatons, and to treat your flesh-and-blood
team in an abstract way is to risk disaster. That’s where project leadership
comes in. As a leader your focus is on inspiring and empowering your team.
By asking rather than demanding help you get buy-in and loyalty. You work
to motivate and speak to the team’s emotional core rather than offering a dry
intellectualism that omits the human part of the process.
Project leadership requires a high emotional intelligence
It may seem a bit touchy-feely – and it is – but these soft skills are the beating
heart of project leadership. Scheduling, monitoring, and reporting is the
bedrock on which you build your project, but you team isn’t a line item on a
spreadsheet. Team morale may not be as quantifiable as milestones on a
timeline, but treat them like widgets and you threaten the success of your
project.
A project manager is responsible for:
 Implementing product strategy, including product improvement,
feature prioritization, costing, and release
 Setting deadlines and ensuring that projects remain on schedule
 Tracking sprint deliverables and providing updates to relevant
stakeholders
 Ensuring the project is sticking to the agreed-upon budget
 Managing every moving part in relation to milestones, including
schedules, documentation, staffing and, sometimes, HR concerns
While a project leader is responsible for:
 Communicating with team members, including relaying briefs,
connecting daily tasks to larger goals, and providing context and
support
 Ensuring the team remains focused and on track, including addressing
any conflicts or bottlenecks
 Creating a vision around the project to provide team members with a
sense of purpose and motivation

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 Offering less tangible and more emotional support to help a team stay
focused on the ultimate goal
 Fostering a workplace atmosphere that helps bring out the best in his
or her team
Why a project leader isn’t a project lead or a product manager
First, a Project Lead is an individual on the team who is responsible for
specific aspects or modules of a project (such as a feature or some
functionality). This is especially important when a project is spread out across
multiple teams or departments.
For example, a project lead will take on responsibility for another team’s
contribution to a project, whether it’s submitting the necessary budgets or
mocking up samples.
Next, a Product Manager is known “as the CEO of their products.”
They’re responsible for generating the vision behind certain products,
analyzing relevant market research and costing out projections, and then
executing the strategy required to get them past the finish line and into
consumers’ hands. The product is, in other words, their baby, from start to
end.
On the other hand, as we said before, a project leader differentiates
themselves by focusing on the people, processes, and work environment
related to the overall project rather than the technical aspects of what’s being
built, or one more narrow aspect of the process.
5. Essential skills for Project Leadership
1. Team management
Project leaders are the captain of their team. This doesn’t mean they’re
necessarily the best player. But that they know how to set-up their team and
each individual member for success. Project leaders distinguish themselves
by identifying and elevating the right teammates to the right position so they
can truly shine. A project manager might dedicate a lot of his or her time to
making a process work on paper, but a project leader will bring that process
to life in the context of a team. To do this, they’ll use management tools like

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cheerleading, motivation, goal setting, and others, as required. For example,
a leader, recognizing that her team has been putting in extra hours on a
project, might come up with a special reward—like a special team dinner
together, or a day off post-project—to both demonstrate appreciation and
incentive continued hard work.
2. Conflict resolution
Nothing slows down a project like conflict. But it’s a pipedream to think your
team will spend all day happily working together. Instead, conflict resolution
is at the core of being a good leader. On a larger team, this might mean
resolving conflict among multiple project managers. As every manager aims
to carve out their contribution to the bigger puzzle, it’s essential to maintain
open channels of communication, ensure that individuals can work
productively together and feel greater than the sum of their parts.
For example, let’s say you’ve got two teams working on dependent parts of
a project, but they’ve gotten out of sync with each other and feel like they’re
being held back. All of a sudden, they’re missing deadlines and pointing the
finger at each other. At this point, a project leader needs to step in, de-
escalate, and get the teams back working productively together.
3. Servant leadership
At their core, project leaders are what’s called servant leaders. This is a
leadership philosophy in which the main goal is to serve the individual’s
needs rather than just the interests of the company. This doesn’t mean that
you can forget about hitting deadlines and milestones. Instead, think of it as
the same quality that makes a great scrum master. You’re not only helping
guide the group as a whole but also making adjustments based on the
feedback you get from each member of your team.
A good project leader is always looking for ways to get more out of their
team—not because it will improve the bottom line, but because the most
important investment is in the team they’ve built.
4. Motivation
Nearly every project hits what’s called the “messy middle”. This is where the
clarity and energy that was there from the start suddenly disappears and

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your team feels like every day is a slog towards nowhere. This can happen
for a number of reasons. Maybe early feedback on their work isn’t what was
expected. Or a stakeholder came in wanting to change the scope. Or maybe
they’re simply losing steam from long hours and high expectations. Whatever
the case, a good team leader will be able to read the signs of
discouragement—and even burnout—and implement strategies to make
sure that people stay both inspired and on track.
For example, one recent study published in the Harvard Business Review
found that workers who spend 15 minutes at the end of every day writing
reflections on what they did right, what they did wrong, and what they
learned, were able to improve their performance by 20%.
5. Communication
One of the most important roles a project leader can play is that of the chief
communicator. Communication can cover a lot of ground, including
persuading team members to collaborate in a way they’re not accustomed
to, negotiating with different project stakeholders on timelines and
expectations, and removing any ambiguity about what’s expected from each
team member.
In addition to keeping your team members productive and feeling
appreciated, you’ll likely have to engage with both stakeholders and clients,
updating them on progress, managing their expectations, and
communicating their feedback to your team.
 Trustworthiness: Above all, project leaders need to be trusted.
Studies show that trust is the primary defining characteristic of the very
best workplaces. To be seen as trustworthy, you need to put your
words into action. This means trusting teammates to get things done
without micromanaging or even simply expressing that you trust them
to do what they say.
 Transparency: Transparency goes hand-in-hand with trust. How can
your team trust you if you’re holding things back from them? The best
project leaders know that it’s more important to be open and honest
about what’s going on and work together as a team towards a better
solution.
 Objectivity and fairness: Complex projects mean you’re bound to
have conflicts and disagreements. And project leaders can’t be seen

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as playing favorites. Strong project leaders actively listen to all sides
and work without bias.
 Focus and stability: Project leaders need to be unwavering in their
ability to work under pressure. Not all projects will go as planned, but
your skill as a leader is being able to steer the ship no matter how
rough the seas get.
 Confidence: Lastly, stakeholders, executives, and team members all
want a project leader who is confident in their knowledge and abilities.
Be clear in your language, direct in your suggestions, and honest and
open with your feedback.
6. Proposing and shepherding changes
Over the course of a project especially a big project with a long timeline and
lots of different moving parts changes will be proposed and the original plan
might start to shift. Maybe a client will see the first mock-up or draft and
realize, hey, this wasn’t what I was thinking! Or maybe your main competitor
comes out with a drastic change and your company is suddenly rethinking
their strategy. As a project leader, your team should look to you during these
moments of uncertainty. And while you can certainly help identify and
propose changes, your true leadership skills come through helping your
team through these turbulent times.
This means communicating new workflows or processes and making sure
your team has access to the knowledge they need.
7. Creating solutions
Lastly, a great project leader doesn’t just address problems; they create
solutions. A good project leader will be able to spot trouble and, ideally,
potential trouble and then present and implement solutions that satisfy their
team and any relevant stakeholders. You need to be seen as a solution
person who’s always looking for the positives rather than drowning in the
negatives of unexpected issues.
For example, if you have a team member who’s struggling to meet deadlines,
you have a practical problem that needs to be addressed and corrected as
soon as possible. But you also have to dig deeper for solutions: Why isn’t
this person performing up to expectations, and how can you help them
succeed? Take the time to look beyond the surface of an issue and discover

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why it happened in the first place. Remember, project leaders are servant
leaders. Underneath it all, your responsibility is to the team and the
individuals that make it up.
Ways to show you’re a project leader
Ultimately, if you want to distinguish yourself as a project leader, you’ll need
to demonstrate that you’re up to the task. So if those lists of skills still feel
vague, here are a few ways you can differentiate yourself from the other
project managers at your company:
 Demonstrate your interest and ability in managing human resources
and team dynamics
 Set clear expectations for yourself and your team, and then make sure
they’re met
 Contribute to resolving not creating conflicts.
 Act as a cheerleader for every team member, ensuring that they’re
both recognized and rewarded for accomplishments.
 Take ownership over every aspect of the team’s progress,
demonstrating that the buck stops with you and that you’re up to the
task.
6. Research and Analysis

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Delphi Study that engaged project management experts from across
Canada. Participants were found for this study by asking professionals
involved in project management to recommend someone they considered
excellent in their role related to projects (including sponsors, project
managers, and team members). In total, more than 75 project professionals
were recommended, and 60 were available to participate in the study. The
first phase focused on identifying and rating the most important skills and
competencies for project managers and the project characteristics that would
impact which skills and competencies are most important. Specifically, the
phase was also intended to establish whether the relative importance of

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project manager skills and competencies changed if different project
characteristics were present.
7. References
APM Book of Knowledge 7th
Edition
https://www.apm.org.uk/resources/what-is-project-management/what-is-
project-team-management-and-leadership/
What Is Project Leadership? By Jason Westland, Apr 27, 2016
https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/what-is-project-leadership
Project Leader vs. Project Manager: The 7 Essential Project Leadership
Skills Jory MacKay contributes to Inc., Fast Company, Quartz, and more.
January 06, 2020 https://plan.io/blog/project-leader-vs-project-manager/
The 7 Most Common Leadership Styles (and How to Find Your Own) Bruna
Martinuzzi Presentation Skills Training, Author, Columnist Business Trends
& Insights, Clarion Enterprises Ltd. October 17, 2019
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-
insights/articles/the-7-most-common-leadership-styles-and-how-to-find-
your-own/
Effective project leadership a combination of project manager skills and
competencies in context Krahn, J. & Hartment, F. (2006). Effective project
leadership: a combination of project manager skills and competencies in
context. Paper presented at PMI® Research Conference: New Directions in
Project Management, Montréal, Québec, Canada. Newtown Square, PA:
Project Management Institute. 19 July 2006
https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/leadership-project-manager-skills-
competencies-8115
Project Management Leadership: Building Creative Teams, 2nd Edition by
Steve Barron, Rory Burke https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/project-
management-leadership/9781118825402/xhtml/Chapter01.html