PROJECT MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP

MANUEL SUAREZ

PROJECT STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP BSM077

AGENDA
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 LEADERSHIP DEFINITION 1.2 THE ROLE OF PEOPLE

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

LEADERSHIP AS A SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE EDGE STRATEGIC PROJECT LEADER ATTRIBUTES HOW ATTRIBUTES FACILITATE PROJECT SUCCESS LEADERSHIP vs MANAGEMENT ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT TO STAR LEADERS LESSONS LEARNT REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY QUESTIONS

MANUEL SUAREZ

1. INTRODUCTION
LEADERSHIP DEFINITION
The dignity, office, or position of a leader of a political party; ability to lead; the position of a group of people leading or influencing others within a given context; the group itself; the action or influence necessary for the direction or organization of effort in a group undertaking (Oxford Dictionary). Involves focusing the efforts of a group towards a common goal and enabling them work as a team. The ability to get things done through others (PMI 200 8 p. 417)
The ability to establish vision and direction, to influence and align others towards a common purpose, and to empower and inspire people to achieve project success. It enables the project proceed in an environment of change and uncertainty. (APM 2006 p. 142) A person's ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and work with others to initiate changes that will create a viable future for the organization (Ireland and Hitt's 2005, p. 63).

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1. INTRODUCTION
THE ROLE OF PEOPLE

Contemporary thinking on traditional project management recognizes the significance of people. Why not SPM?

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2. LEADERSHIP AS A SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE EDGE

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE We view strategic project management as the management of projects in such a way as to develop competencies and capabilities, which contribute to the firms sustainable competitive advantage. (Porter 1987, Prahalad and Hamel 1990; Stalk, Evans and Schulman 1992) Competitive advantage or Competitive edge is achieved by doing things differently (Porter 1998). The argument should be, uniqueness? Does it lie in: what determines an organisations

a) The application of tools and techniques; models. b) The maturity of an organisations application of the tools or c) The applier of these tools and techniques?

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2. LEADERSHIP AS A SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE EDGE

To achieve competitive edge an organisation has to be truly unique; since methodologies and processes like (OPM3) remain well established and easily available, only the applier of these methodologies and processes offers an organisation the opportunity to be truly unique. Doing the same as others, however well one does it, cannot by definition lead to sustainable competitive advantage (Green 2007). Attaining competitive edge requires the right kind of leadership in the management of people and not management of people governed solely by stringent sets of processes.

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2. LEADERSHIP AS A SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE EDGE

The difference between a traditional project manager and a strategic project manager may not lie in the knowledge of all the tools, techniques and formal protocols, but in the knowing when not to use them; or in other words, to know the situations when breaking the rules is necessary. The only way an organization can do this is by being unique and fostering unique resources and capabilities. However, there often is a danger of overstating the importance of leaders, and their role in making or breaking an organization, but effective leadership has a direct impact on team performance and the quality of its work (Mann 2005).

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2. LEADERSHIP AS A SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE EDGE

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3. STRATEGIC PROJECT LEADER ATTRIBUTES

Mann (2005) classifies them as transformational leaders. Transformational leaders are able to inspire and intellectually stimulate colleagues to perform beyond normal expectations, personal self interest and inspires a sense of mission and purpose. Crossan, Vera and Nanjad (2008) describes them as transcendent leaders.

Transcendent leaders are strategic leader who lead within and amongst the levels of self, others, and organization.

However, the reoccurring theme in the attributes of these leaders (be it transformational or transcendent) is the ability to give direction and adapt in a dynamic environment.

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3. STRATEGIC PROJECT LEADER ATTRIBUTES

Morgan McCall (1993) highlights 6 attributes to these star leaders: Strong self awareness Constant learning and adaptation Integrity and ability to develop trust Ability to translate direction and mission into reality Ability to align people with a chosen direction Tolerance of uncertainty.

Petty (2009) identified 4 key attributes of these leaders: Leadership Maturity Strategic Awareness Executive Presence Execution Orientation

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4. HOW ATTRIBUTES FACILITATE PROJECT SUCCESS

SPM LEADER ATTRIBUTES AFFECTING TO PROJECT SUCCESS STAR LEADER ATTRIBUTES Management experience Strong desire Empathy Courage to break the rules Break through organisation boundaries and silos PROJECT SUCCESS FACTORS Improving initial estimations. Developing effective contingency plans. Delivery focus. Effective stakeholder analysis. Escape bureaucracy. Avoid traditional approach to management Agility and adaptability to change (culture change). Avoiding wasting time and resources trying to go around of the different problems or situations instead face them. See problems as opportunities. Can-do attitude. Improving employee engagement and increasing employee performance

Courage to state facts

Optimism Win loyalty from others.

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5. LEADERSHIP vs MANAGEMENT
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

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6. ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT TO STAR LEADERS

Recognize, Celebrate and acknowledge the value of star project leaders. Support stars by granting them autonomy and resources. Encourage stars to critically review organization project management approach. Abolish glass ceiling to promotion of project managers and reward them on a par with Marketing, HR and finance. Reward flexibility and cross functional contribution. Celebrate difference, diversity, variety and innovation in projects, project teams and project management approaches.

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7. LESSONS LEARNT

Effective leadership contribute to sustainable competitive advantage due to their skill in managing relationships. Star leaders are highly experienced and they operate outside the formal systems . A star project leader can take decisions even against the organisations established project management practices, which can be origin of a competitive advantage. Project Leaders are unique and they frequently add boundary-spanning knowledge to the project management process. Leadership is organisations. crucial to creating a competitive edge within

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8. REFERENCES
1. KOTTER, J. (1990) A force for change: How leadership differs from management. New York: Simon and Schuler. 35-92. SEBASTIAN GREEN. (2005). Strategic Project Management: from maturity model to star project leadership. Available: http://www.projectscenter.com/projectmanagementsoftware/documents/strategicprojectmanag ement.pdf Accessed February 8th 2011 PMI. 2008. A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge. 4th ed. Newton Square, Pa.: Project Management Institute PORTER, M., 1998. Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance. New York, NY: simon and Schuster Inc. IRELAND, R. D., & HITT, M. A. 2005. Achieving and maintaining strategic competitiveness in the 21st century: The role of strategic leadership. Academy of Management Executive, 19, 6377. MANN, L., 2005. Leadership, management, and innovation in R&D project teams. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. SHENHAR, A., POLI, M. and LECHLER, T., 2000. A New Framework for Strategic Project Management. (Online): http://www.iamot.org/paperarchive/101B.PDF Accessed February 8th 2011 CALLAHAN, K., & Brooks, L. 2004. Essentials of strategic project management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. BROWN, E.D., 2007. Strategic Project Management. (Online): http://ericbrown.com/docs/StrategicProjectManagement.pdf Accessed February 2nd 2012 MANUEL SUAREZ

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9. QUESTIONS