PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

JANUARY 16, 2012

ADRIAN DINGLEY

Management, Leadership and the Role of the Project Manager

Leadership

The ability to inspire confidence and support among the people who are needed to achieve organizational, team or project goals

Leadership versus Management: Similarities and Differences?

Leaders versus Managers

Leaders versus Managers

In other words, management is a component of leadership:

Management: Planning, organizing, controlling

Leadership: Change, strategy, inspiration, motivation, influence

Which Applies to the Role of the Project Manager?

Why Should We Care?

Leadership matters!The research shows that leadership is responsible for between 15-45% of a company’s performance

Attribution Theory (Yukl)

Changes in leadership are followed by changes in performance.

When change occurs, the perception is widely held that the cause is attributed to leadership

Most organizational, team or project successes are attributed to heroic leaders

Why Should We Care?

Leadership is irrelevant!Situational factors, outside the leader’s control, have the largest impact on outcomes

Complexity Theory (Hout)

Organizations are complex systems that cannot be explained by the usual rules of nature

Leaders and managers can do little to alter the course of the complex organizational system

A company’s fate is determined by factors outside the leader/manager’s control

Influences on Leaders and Managers

“Internal”Culture

Stakeholders

Financial Performance

Labor Relations

Followers

“External”Economy

Global Culture

Legislation

Technology

Environment

Personality Traits of Leaders and Managers

General Personality Traits (Dubrin)

Traits observable both within and outside the context of work

Task-Related Personality TraitsTraits closely associated with task accomplishment

General Personality Traits of Effective Leaders

Task-Related Personality Traits of Effective Leaders

Leadership Styles - Autocratic

Retains authority for self

Makes decisions confidently

Assumes group members will comply

Not concerned with popularity

Highly task-oriented

Can be effective in certain situations

Leadership Styles - Participative

Encourages teamwork and participation

Shares decisions with group members

Employs consultative behavior

Emphasizes consensus-building

Allows for democratic decision-making

Can lead to macro management or “laissez-faire”style

Leadership Styles – Entrepreneurial

Driven to achieve and willing to take risksUses enthusiasm and charisma to persuadePushes self and group members to seize an opportunityCan transfer to group a feeling of hurry and impatience

Works tenaciously to achieve the vision

Dislikes and deemphasizes rules, regulations, and bureaucracy

Looks toward future

Which Style Has Served You Well?

Sources of Leadership Authority

Communication and Conflict Resolution

Influence Tactics

Political Savvy

Coaching and Motivating

Creativity and Innovation

Ethics

Communication and Conflict Resolution

Communication:To be effective, the leader must synchronize verbal and nonverbal behavior

Effective listening

Use Inspirational Tactics (Dubrin):

1. Be credible2. Gear your message to the listener3. Sell group members on the benefits of your suggestions4. Use heavy-impact and emotion-provoking words5. Use anecdotes and metaphors 6. Back up conclusions with data (to a point)7. Minimize language errors, junk words, etc.8. Write crisp, clear memos, letters, and reports, including a front-loaded message9. Use business jargon in appropriate doses

Communication and Conflict Resolution

1. The competitive style is a desire to win one’s own concerns at the expense of the other party, or to dominate

2. The accommodative style favors appeasement, or satisfying the other’s concerns without taking care of one’s own

3. The sharing style is halfway between domination and appeasement

4. The collaborative style reflects a desire to fully satisfy the desires of both parties

5. The avoidant style combines unassertiveness and a lack of cooperation

Conflict-Handling Styles According to the Degree of Cooperation and Assertiveness

Questions and Comments