2015

Project Management and Leadership

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

AHMAD REZA KHAWAR STID @00450058

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Contents 1. Literature Review .................................................................................................................................. 2

2. What is Leadership? .............................................................................................................................. 2

3. Leadership in Project Management ...................................................................................................... 3

4. Styles of Leadership (models in leading team) ..................................................................................... 3

4.1. Autocratic Leadership ................................................................................................................... 4

Autocratic leadership advantage .......................................................................................................... 4

Autocratic leadership disadvantage ..................................................................................................... 4

4.2. Democratic/ Participative leadership ........................................................................................... 4

Democratic leadership advantages: ...................................................................................................... 5

Democratic leadership disadvantages: ................................................................................................. 5

4.3. Laissez-faire leadership ................................................................................................................. 5

4.4. Transformational leadership style ................................................................................................ 6

5. Team building in project management ................................................................................................. 6

5.1. Forming ......................................................................................................................................... 7

5.2. Storming ........................................................................................................................................ 7

5.3. Norming ........................................................................................................................................ 7

5.4. Performing .................................................................................................................................... 7

5.5. Maturing ....................................................................................................................................... 7

5.6. Role of communication in team development ............................................................................. 7

6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 8

References .................................................................................................................................................... 9

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1. Literature Review

This document illustrates the leadership and teambuilding processes involved in project management.

From an inclusive study of a variety of books and articles, different practices of leadership and

teambuilding are highlighted in the document, which are considered to have high impact on successful

delivery of projects. All points highlighted in this document are based on different theories which are

recommended for further reading on the leadership and teambuilding practices.

While I have done my research on the leadership and teambuilding best practices, I come up with a lot of

different methodologies recommended by different books and articles. Thus, I only mentioned the much

selected one for leadership and for teambuilding. I only address the “Bruce Tuckman” classic model; his

classic model is mostly recommended by different sources (Burke & Barron, 2014).

In leadership, I selected the most common leadership style which are highlighted as best leadership styles

based on the practices; autocratic leadership style, democratic leadership style laissez-faire leadership

style and Transformational leadership style. These leadership style are selected based on different sources

such as (Maylor, 2010) , (Kerzner, 2009) and online articles.

I have opted for Tuckman model for team building as it is most referenced team building model in majority

of the literature. I highlighted the “Bruce Tuckman” classic model from the (Burke & Barron, 2014) book,

in addition to some online articles in the same topics.

2. What is Leadership?

Leadership is the way of managing team with high motivation and energize them to do right things, while

having influence on them to succeed his or her vision. In leadership we have to set our vision and give

direction and destination to our team where we need to achieve same goal as a team. Motivating and

inspiring the team is one of the wining chance of leadership, for without motivating our team we cannot

succeed our cited goal in smooth and efficient way. Beside motivating and inspiring our team we also

need to coach and develop their skills within organization. Building trust within team is also considered to

be a good leadership skill. According to (Maylor, 2010) in his book Project Management “Leadership

involves the influencing of others through the personality or actions of the individual” good leadership

traits depends on the individual trust when a team member do something with confident it implies that

they work under trusted leadership.

Furthermore, ambitions in leadership does not only inspire the team to achieve same goal, it also creates

and improves hard-work in individuals within team.

Leadership can take different styles depending on the level of individual and the environment. It is not

always necessary to be in a hierarchical position of the structure to be a leader. Leadership can be

manifested differently in different levels as it encompasses the behavioral influence of the individual.

Choosing relevant style of leadership based on the organization’s objectives and the employees of the

organization is considered to be a challenge for project managers which impacts on the success of the

project.

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3. Leadership in Project Management

Good leadership engender good project team. In addition to managerial, entrepreneurial and technical

skills, leadership is one of the vital skill that is needed for a project manager that contributes to the success

of the project. Management is considered to be a discipline of using authority to administer others work

and direct them to achieve predefined goals. On the other hand, leadership is not about using authority

or power but rather the ability to influence other’s actions and behavior. It is more people-oriented rather

than task-oriented. Considering the project is carried out by a collective work of individuals through

achieving a common goal, it is important for the project manager to show leadership competency as equal

as management in the project.

While a project is managed by a group of functional-Team Leaders it is very depended on the leadership

to lead the entire team to achieve same goal within budget and time. As a leader, the project manager is

required to show a good listening skills and attentive behavior to his team members. It should be implied

from the behavior of the project manager that enough time is given to the team members and they are

considered an important part of the project.

The leadership in project management should instill trust in entire project team and the belief that they

can and will do the right thing. This building trust in the project team member enabled them to do hard

work with high performance. Building trust in the project team is not a simple task, as a leader we need

to understand every individual’s qualifications and experience, as the team members work in different

project section with different attitude. Through open communication, feedback and interaction,

leadership can build trust for their project entire team and in order to inspire the project team to succeed,

project manager should pay attention to each individual and recognize them as important part of the

team.

Keeping the project in sync and visible to all project stakeholders will facilities and accelerate the project

activities. When leading a project, all stakeholders should be kept in the loop to have an understanding of

what is going in the project, which activity will complete in what time frame, is the project within budget

and timeframe? Putting all stakeholders in the project loop will give them confidence and instill in them

an attitude to follow the project leadership with trust and mutual respect.

Leadership is not only focuses on the project team members and stakeholders, it also controls and

manages the different circumstances where and when the project is deployed. Projects are very depended

on the different situations, in order to manage these different circumstances the project leadership should

consolidate the relation with the external environment of the project.

Leadership within project is required to maintain the project on time within budget and in scope. If any

issue arises in these constraints, it should be addressed and managed within the parameters of the

project.

4. Styles of Leadership (models in leading team)

As mentioned, leadership in project management has different style frameworks it’s very depended on

the people and project deployment circumstances. To be effective leader, the project manager has to

have a clear understanding of the people who he/she deals with, places where the project will be

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deployed and the situation when the project is deployed. According to “Psychologist Kurt Lewin 1930s”,

“He argued that there are three major styles of leadership” he was the first author that introduced the

leadership style; autocratic leadership, democratic leadership and laissez-faire leadership. Beside these

three leadership styles, there are many other useful leadership styles which are implied as good leadership

styles, the very useful of these leadership style is transformational leadership style.

4.1. Autocratic Leadership

In critical situation this leadership approach is very useful. In this approach the project team’s input is not

considered in decision-making, nor is any issue discussed with them. Despite this leadership style

demoralizes the team, the project can have a very quick output from the leadership decisions. Thence, if

the project has a good outcome, team’s moral can be rebuild. In business projects, using of this leadership

style is very rare. For instance, when the project budget is cutoff then project team has to be downsized

without consultation to the project team to save the project in budget within time.

Example of Autocratic leadership style:

“Adolf Hitler is in complete control and no one is permitted to make any suggestions or offer any opinions,

no matter how it may benefits the group.“ (Gill, 2014)

The Autocratic leader is given the power to make decisions alone, having total authority. They never trust

the team while making the decisions.

Autocratic leadership advantage

- Quick decision making

- Result oriented

- Having enough influence on the team

- All credit goes to the leader

Autocratic leadership disadvantage

- Less creativity in making decisions

- Does not build trust in the team

- Less team commitment to project

- High stress within project team due to the high expectations

- No team capacity building

4.2. Democratic/ Participative leadership

In this leadership approach team is involved in decision making process. Though the team inputs are very

important for the leader, the final decision will be taken by the leader. Engaging the project team will

build trust between the project leadership and project team, consequently the project team members

tend to have high productivity with job satisfaction. Application of this leadership approach in long term

projects will have good result but it is not advisable to apply this leadership approach in short-term

projects. Democratic leadership style requires more time to make a decision because all the project team

are involved in the decision making process and gathering information from the project entire team is

tough and challenging work. Gathering information from the whole project team sometimes creates

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problem, as everyone in the project team is not equally skilled and informed. To overcome these

challenges the leadership should work on every justification and keep it open to the entire project team.

Democratic leadership advantages:

- Build trust in the entire project team

- Leaders are supported by the entire project team ideas

- The project entire team contribute in decision making

- Inspire and motivate project team because of their participation

- Members allowed to make decisions, avoiding silly mistakes

Democratic leadership disadvantages:

- Slow decision-making at times of grave need

- Leader may not agree with subordinates' decisions

- Subordinates may not be able to make decisions

- Increased risk of conflict

Examples of democratic/participative leadership style:

“George Washington Unlike commanding troops during the American Revolution, Washington was

notably democratic when guiding the U.S. government. He showed early signs of his democratic leadership

style by appointing strong leaders to his staff. His decision not to serve a third term exemplified a

democratic leader who knows when to pass the torch.” (Gill, 2015)

According (MTD, 2010) book, the leader seeks continual feedback and looks for opportunities for

development for both himself and for his or her team. This is a popular style because when it is done well,

it creates a harmonious, productive, evolving work force.

4.3. Laissez-faire leadership

Laissez-faire leadership style also known as “Hands-off” leadership style. This leadership style allows the

project team member to have more independence while doing their project activities. Applying this

leadership style when working with highly skilled professionals, academics and experienced people will

be very useful and can lead to high job satisfactions. Plus, when the leadership provides enough resources

and information to the project team with autonomy, the project outcome will be good. Giving autonomy

to the project team can also damage the project when the team does not manage its activities very well.

Examples of laissez-faire leadership style:

“Steve Jobs although we remember Jobs for his innovation and creativity, he was also a famous example

of taking a hands-off approach to leadership. He would create his own vision of how things should be,

inform others of this vision, and then let them get to work. A great example of this is when he talked to

Corning to create the Gorilla Glass for the first version of the iPhone. Corning said it couldn’t be done. Jobs

said that it could be done in 6 months. Guess what? Corning got it done in less than 6 months without any

micromanagement from Jobs.” (America, n.d.)

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4.4. Transformational leadership style

Transformational types of leaders are always respected by their teams because transformational leaders

are working as coach, supporter and encourager with their teams. According to “James McGregor Burns”,

who introduced the concept of transformational leadership in his 1978 book, the transformational

leadership is as a process where "leaders and their followers raise one another to higher levels of morality

and motivation." And according to M. Bass’s book “Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations”

(M.Bass, 1985), who has further developed the concept, this kind of leader: Is a model of integrity and

fairness.

The transformational leaders set clear goal with high expectations. To accomplish their goals they inspire

and encourages the project team member with giving high support and recognition to their work. They

stirs the project team member emotions to energize them and give them self-confidence. This does not

only creates hard-working in the team members but also facilitates their work.

Example of Transformational leadership style

“Walt Disney was a transformational leader. A transformational leader, “serves to change the status quo

by appealing to followers’ values and their sense of higher purpose. From the beginning Disney had many

people that he influenced and motivated. The process he went through to get the empire he developed

showed how he changed and transformed as a leader. Disney’s dreams became true due to the fact that

he had the four main leader characteristics” (Langer, 2013)

5. Team building in project management

Projects are efficiently carried out by the collective work of its members towards common objective. Thus,

Human Resources is considered as the most important part of the project. The project leadership tends

to have high professional team within the project, and always works towards it for the project success.

Having competent team combined with right approach to project leadership ensures project success or

increases the chances of meeting the end goal by many folds.

Designing good team structure for project is the very significant aspect of the project management and

the project success is verily depended on the team structure. During project team structure the project

manager have to make sure that, duties are assigned and aligned with individual competencies, clear roles

and responsibilities are defined, ground rules for the team work are there and motivates when required.

Team building is a dynamic process, in that, each individual of the project team will go through different

processes to learn and build their skills for completing a project task. It is necessary for each individual

team member to have open communication with other team members, which can result into good

communication practices and skills for the whole team. When a bunch of people come together who have

never met before for completing a task as a team, there will be a lot of challenges for project leadership.

The leadership have to build their communication and interaction very well before doing or assigning

tasks. As a team leader it’s very important to be aware of the on-going developments within the team and

make sure to eliminate the barriers for fast development of the team, when required guide the team how

to overcome the different stages when they have problems. “This will increase their effectiveness and

protect them from interpersonal conflicts which always threatens to implode a team” (Burke & Barron,

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2014). According to the “Bruce Tuckman” “forming, storming, norming and performing model” will

address the necessary steps for project team development.

5.1. Forming

The forming process in team building is when individual project team members come together to know

each other and find his or her position within them; where he or she can fit.

5.2. Storming

In the storming process team member begin to work with each other, he or she can express his or her

views and feelings about how the project team work together. Most of the time team opinions will not

match with each other. Thus it requires a healthy debate to overcome the conflict. Sometimes these

conflicts take personal form but the leadership is necessary to solve the conflict and build trust between

the project team members.

5.3. Norming

When the project team members come together and have difference of opinion they gauge the level of

understanding, knowledge, skills and priorities of each team member, where each of them understand

their roles in this structure.

Upon understanding these, the team members’ calms down and relationships start normalizing, where

they move to the next stage of performing.

5.4. Performing

After successful completion of other stages, the team is ready to work together very effectively. Now the

team have good communication and interaction with each other when making any decision for the

project. Every individual of the project team are now effectively working on the project and they have

good skill for problem solving.

5.5. Maturing

When project team is mature, it starts to lose any competitive edge within the team. In this stage the

project team members are more interested to drive the project goal into success rather than looking for

new ideas for the project.

5.6. Role of communication in team development

As the team develops, the project leadership will concentrate on overall team rather than focus on the

individual when completing a task. In order to address project team to complete a task, it’s very important

to build trusted communication among the team. Having trusted communication within the project team,

they will behave as one entity, which will establish collaborative, supportive and friendly atmosphere

between the project team. Thus, the power of communication within the project team will lead the

project and leadership to the success. Through the team communication we will make awareness of

individual value and their contribution to the project; shared believes to achieve the project team’s goal,

sharing idea and supporting other team member’s idea, coaching junior team member rather than bossing

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them, celebrating success and rewarding good team members are all outcomes that represent good

communication in the team which will highly contributed in narrowing down the project time and driving

the project to success.

6. Conclusion

The focus of this paper was on project leadership and team building, in a project environment where we

have limited time to form a smoothly functioning team with right leadership style needs a lot of

collaboration both on team’s and project manager’s part.

Projects are collective endeavors, managing a group of people who have most likely never met before is

a challenging tasks, it requires enormous effort on the part of project manager to establish ground rules

and prove him/her self to be a true leader.

Influencing others by itself requires a lot of integrity and good will, and when you put the burden of

achieving common project goals on top of it, this becomes more difficult, true leaders understand the

importance of Integrity and right approach for changing environments, in today’s cross cultural and

dynamic teams era, true leadership is of essence more than ever.

It’s for the project manager to understand the team dynamics and adapt the right leadership approach

required both by the team as well as the project and facilitated by his personal ‘touch’, leadership is very

much characterized by personal ‘way of doing things’ and true leaders understand their strengths and

weaknesses.

Teams delivers exceptional results, and genuine team work makes or breaks the project, the importance

of team work cannot be overstated, the importance of Tuckman model in team formation is well

documented by many authors, we understand personality clashes do happen in the start but as team

progresses, project leadership ensures that everyone understand why they are together and what ground

rules to follow, as well as team members understand their position in the team structure.

Bringing different people with variety of knowledge and skill set will result in difference of opinions, but

it’s for the project manager to act as a leader through open communication, clear vision, motivation and

understanding, convert this differences of opinions to healthy discussions and use it as a team building

exercise driven towards achieving projects stated goals.

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References

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Available at: http://www.adviseamerica.com/famous-laissez-faire-leaders/

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Burke, R. & Barron, S., 2014. Project Management Leadership: Building Creative Teams. Chichester: Wiley.

Covey, S. R., 1990. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Free Press.

Gill, E., 2014. What is Autocratic Leadership? How Procedures Can Improve Efficiency. [Online]

Available at: http://online.stu.edu/autocratic-leadership/

[Accessed 12 2015].

Gill, E., 2015. What is Democratic/Participative Leadership? How Collaboration Can Boost Morale. [Online]

Available at: http://online.stu.edu/democratic-participative-leadership/

[Accessed 12 2015].

Kerzner, H., 2009. Project Management - A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling.

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Langer, M., 2013. Walt Disney- Transformational Leader. [Online]

Available at: https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2013/10/30/walt-disney-transformational-leader/

[Accessed 12 2015].

M.Bass, B., 1985. LEADERSHIP AND PERFORMANCE BEYOND EXPECTATIONS. s.l.:Free Press.

Maylor, H., 2010. Project Management. s.l.:Prentice Hall FINANCIAL TIMES.

MTD, 2010. Leadership skills. s.l.:MTD.