In today’s world, there is an overwhelming need for individuals who can serve both as project manager and project leader, yet it is a challenge to find individuals who can perform both roles effectively. In general, it’s the difference between the art and the science of project management—the
difference between the soft skills and the hard skills and knowing how much of which one to apply. And on many unfortunate projects, the lack of leadership or the use of an ineffective leadership approach actually creates problems that did not otherwise exist.
The process of leading a project is more than managing the project. The process of leading a project entails the approach utilized to guide the people involved (team, stakeholders, organization) toward the accomplishment of the project’s objectives. This process involves your mindset and leverages key skills such as dedication, interpersonal, adaptability, and customer orientation. In fact many of the roles a project manager performs involve leadership and many of the qualities of successful project managers have strong leadership elements. The question which may come to your mind is-
Where Is Leadership Needed on a Project?
There are three key points to know about leading a project:
Keys to Better Project Leadership
Following ate the 12 keys to more effective project leadership, please remember this is not an “all-or nothing” deal—it is a continuum. The more of these that you demonstrate, the better leader you will likely be:
It’s about the people- An effective project leader takes a holistic view that puts people first. This approach results in a focus on establishing and building relationships and on a focus on gaining an authentic understanding and buy-in from each stakeholder.
Visualize the goal...and the way there—This is the traditional leadership ability of providing direction to the team. Not only does a project leader need to clearly see the end and be able to create this picture for everyone else, but they must also understand how the team is going to get there. The ability to see this big picture is vital to keeping the project focused on its primary objectives.
See with “their” eyes—A skill that is not natural for many, but an invaluable one if you can do it. Look at your project from the perspective of the other stakeholders. What do they see? What are they thinking? What do they need? This ability to “take another’s perspective” is foundational to building better relationships, developing requirements, managing communications, managing expectations, and building a productive project team.
Earn their trust—Effective leaders are trusted by senior management to do the right thing and to get the job done. They are trusted by other stakeholders because they manage with integrity and consistently seek win-win scenarios to any project challenge.
Earn their respect—How do you earn the respect of project stakeholders when you do not have position power? There are four key behaviors that affect the level of respect granted you by project
stakeholders:
Facilitate progress—As a project leader, you are focused on accomplishing the project objectives, and you realize that one of the most important jobs you have is to make it as easy as possible for your team to complete their work. How do you do this? Think of yourself as a conduit for progress, an enabler, a productivity-enhancer. Some key actions include the following:
Take ownership—Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind who is responsible for this project. An “ownership” mindset manifests itself in a persistent, results-focused, no-excuses attitude that is undeniable and contagious to the other team members.
Be resilient—A project leader is able to quickly adapt his approach and style to best meet the needs of the project. Through a creative and flexible mindset, a project leader understands that there are many ways to achieve the targeted goals and works to make it happen.
Be a teacher—A great model for the modern day project manager is that of a teacher. In many situations, you are literally educating all stakeholders regarding their roles and responsibilities in a project approach. But in all project situations, taking a teaching mentality—a mindset that sincerely wants others to learn, grow, and improve—rather than a judgmental view will be paramount to your leadership effectiveness.
Strive for excellence—An important trait of effective project leaders is their ability to create confidence that the project will be well-managed and that it will accomplish its goals. How do you do this? Be very good at what you do, know what you are doing—exude competence and professionalism. The three simple keys here be prepared, be organized, and never stop learning and improving.
Compensate for weaknesses—A leader is humble enough, has enough self-awareness, and is team-focused enough to recognize his weaknesses. From this recognition, he then builds a team and delegates responsibilities to properly compensate. Again, it is difficult to be proficient at everything,
and it is much easier to leverage the strengths of yourself and of your team to get the job done.
Showcase self-control—As a rule, most effective project leaders are models of self-control. They are consistent and positive in their behaviors and are generally immune from egocentric approaches and significant shifts or swings in their emotional stability (especially negative ones). In addition, they are able to remain calm under pressure and serve as a model for others during stressful times.
The servant leadership approach
A practical mindset that drives the thoughts, words and actions of an effective project leader is a mindset of “service first” and not “me first.” The approach is called servant leadership. In a project environment, where you are stakeholder-focused, where you must rely on yourself, where you must effectively relate to others to get work done, and where you must completely understand the needs and requirements of your customers to deliver the proper solution, it just seems to be a very practical path to take. Thus, it is a synergistic approach for any organization (or project) that values strong customer-service and team-focused approaches in their leaders.
Let’s look at the prominent characteristics of this philosophy:
Hence, like all project management and leadership skills, a servant-leadership mindset is not an “all-or-nothing” approach. It is spectrum between a total egocentric, leader-first mindset on one end and a complete servant-first thought pattern on the other end. The goal is to do your best, continue to learn and work to improve over time, just as you do with the other skill set areas.
difference between the soft skills and the hard skills and knowing how much of which one to apply. And on many unfortunate projects, the lack of leadership or the use of an ineffective leadership approach actually creates problems that did not otherwise exist.
The process of leading a project is more than managing the project. The process of leading a project entails the approach utilized to guide the people involved (team, stakeholders, organization) toward the accomplishment of the project’s objectives. This process involves your mindset and leverages key skills such as dedication, interpersonal, adaptability, and customer orientation. In fact many of the roles a project manager performs involve leadership and many of the qualities of successful project managers have strong leadership elements. The question which may come to your mind is-
Where Is Leadership Needed on a Project?
There are three key points to know about leading a project:
- There are many aspects of project leadership.
- The project manager is not the sole provider of project leadership.
- Specific leadership providers vary depending on the project environment.
Keys to Better Project Leadership
Following ate the 12 keys to more effective project leadership, please remember this is not an “all-or nothing” deal—it is a continuum. The more of these that you demonstrate, the better leader you will likely be:
It’s about the people- An effective project leader takes a holistic view that puts people first. This approach results in a focus on establishing and building relationships and on a focus on gaining an authentic understanding and buy-in from each stakeholder.
Visualize the goal...and the way there—This is the traditional leadership ability of providing direction to the team. Not only does a project leader need to clearly see the end and be able to create this picture for everyone else, but they must also understand how the team is going to get there. The ability to see this big picture is vital to keeping the project focused on its primary objectives.
See with “their” eyes—A skill that is not natural for many, but an invaluable one if you can do it. Look at your project from the perspective of the other stakeholders. What do they see? What are they thinking? What do they need? This ability to “take another’s perspective” is foundational to building better relationships, developing requirements, managing communications, managing expectations, and building a productive project team.
Earn their trust—Effective leaders are trusted by senior management to do the right thing and to get the job done. They are trusted by other stakeholders because they manage with integrity and consistently seek win-win scenarios to any project challenge.
Earn their respect—How do you earn the respect of project stakeholders when you do not have position power? There are four key behaviors that affect the level of respect granted you by project
stakeholders:
- Show respect—Show respect to each person you are dealing with. Listen to them, respect their time, and respect their knowledge, experience, and perspectives.
- Be real—Deal with reality, not what it should be or could be. Your willingness to acknowledge and confront the realities of the project will be key to your overall effectiveness.
- Be fair—People might not always like final decisions, but they will respect the decision and you if they feel you handled the situation in a fair manner. An approach to team management, decision-making, and conflict resolution that emphasizes fairness is key to earning the respect of others.
- Be consistent—Lead by example, stick with your decisions, maintain your principles, do what you say you are going to do, and be emotionally steady.
Facilitate progress—As a project leader, you are focused on accomplishing the project objectives, and you realize that one of the most important jobs you have is to make it as easy as possible for your team to complete their work. How do you do this? Think of yourself as a conduit for progress, an enabler, a productivity-enhancer. Some key actions include the following:
- Anticipate issues, work to prevent them, and confront and resolve the ones that do occur—quickly
- Create an open and honest team environment where members are encouraged and comfortable to exchange their thoughts and ideas
- Facilitate the decision-making process
- Get needed information quickly
- Ensure the team has the structure, process, and tools to be as productive as possible
- Work to reduce the doubt and uncertainty factor for others
Take ownership—Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind who is responsible for this project. An “ownership” mindset manifests itself in a persistent, results-focused, no-excuses attitude that is undeniable and contagious to the other team members.
Be resilient—A project leader is able to quickly adapt his approach and style to best meet the needs of the project. Through a creative and flexible mindset, a project leader understands that there are many ways to achieve the targeted goals and works to make it happen.
Be a teacher—A great model for the modern day project manager is that of a teacher. In many situations, you are literally educating all stakeholders regarding their roles and responsibilities in a project approach. But in all project situations, taking a teaching mentality—a mindset that sincerely wants others to learn, grow, and improve—rather than a judgmental view will be paramount to your leadership effectiveness.
Strive for excellence—An important trait of effective project leaders is their ability to create confidence that the project will be well-managed and that it will accomplish its goals. How do you do this? Be very good at what you do, know what you are doing—exude competence and professionalism. The three simple keys here be prepared, be organized, and never stop learning and improving.
Compensate for weaknesses—A leader is humble enough, has enough self-awareness, and is team-focused enough to recognize his weaknesses. From this recognition, he then builds a team and delegates responsibilities to properly compensate. Again, it is difficult to be proficient at everything,
and it is much easier to leverage the strengths of yourself and of your team to get the job done.
Showcase self-control—As a rule, most effective project leaders are models of self-control. They are consistent and positive in their behaviors and are generally immune from egocentric approaches and significant shifts or swings in their emotional stability (especially negative ones). In addition, they are able to remain calm under pressure and serve as a model for others during stressful times.
The servant leadership approach
A practical mindset that drives the thoughts, words and actions of an effective project leader is a mindset of “service first” and not “me first.” The approach is called servant leadership. In a project environment, where you are stakeholder-focused, where you must rely on yourself, where you must effectively relate to others to get work done, and where you must completely understand the needs and requirements of your customers to deliver the proper solution, it just seems to be a very practical path to take. Thus, it is a synergistic approach for any organization (or project) that values strong customer-service and team-focused approaches in their leaders.
Let’s look at the prominent characteristics of this philosophy:
- Asserts a strong service orientation; lead by expanding service to others
- Emphasizes listening, patience, respect, and responsiveness
- Takes the perspective of others; maintains the best interest of others
- Accepts responsibility; takes initiative
- Encourages collaboration and trust; empowers individuals
- Seeks growth and improvement in all team members, organization, and community
- Solicits input and feedback from all stakeholders, especially in the decision-making process
- Insists on the use of skills to influence and persuade, not manipulate
- Spotlights a strong integrity principle—the ethical use of power
Hence, like all project management and leadership skills, a servant-leadership mindset is not an “all-or-nothing” approach. It is spectrum between a total egocentric, leader-first mindset on one end and a complete servant-first thought pattern on the other end. The goal is to do your best, continue to learn and work to improve over time, just as you do with the other skill set areas.
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