leadership and the project manager - bearing the brunt of the storm - pmi washington dc

©2010 – 2013 Line of Sight, LLC

Leadership and the Project Manager: Bearing the Brunt of the Storm

PMI Washington DC – Tyson’s Lunch Series

October 22, 2013

“Safety first has been the mo1o of the human race for half a million years; but it has never been the mo1o of leaders. A leader must face danger. He must take the risk and the blame,

and the brunt of the storm.” Herbert N. Casson (19th & 20th Century Efficiency Expert)

http://www.line-of-sight.com


PROJECT MANAGER -‐ THE DE FACTO PROJECT LEADER LEADERSHIP AND THE PROJECT MANAGER: BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE STORM



LEADERSHIP AND AUTHORITY LEADERSHIP AND THE PROJECT MANAGER: BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE STORM

LEADERSHIP

•  A combina=on of values, skills and behaviors that mobilize people to ac=on in order to achieve the project’s objec=ves

•  May or may not have control of resources

AUTHORITY

•  The power invested in a role by a formally established procedure, such as a governance structure or organiza=onal hierarchy

•  Controls the resources

BEING A LEADER DOES NOT REQUIRE YOU TO CONTROL RESOURCES



CharacterisScs and Traits of Successful Project Leaders Managing Authority & Responsibility -‐ The project manager can delegate “func=onal responsibility”, but not ul=mate responsibility.

CHARACTERISTICS AND TRAITS LEADERSHIP AND THE PROJECT MANAGER: BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE STORM

“If you put someone in charge of a par=cular aspect of a project. . . that person is responsible to you. . . . Because you are in charge, you cannot blame your team members for things that go wrong.” Rick A. Morris, PMP, The Everything Project Management Book



CharacterisScs and Traits of Successful Project Leaders Confidence -‐ A leader needs to demonstrate confidence in his or her ability to do the job, regardless of how the leader might actually feel.




CharacterisScs and Traits of Successful Project Leaders (con=nued) Recognizing & Facing Reality -‐ A leader must be proac=ve in determining and recognizing the reality of situa=ons par=cularly when the facts are uncomfortable or bad.




PROJECT MANAGER -‐ BEYOND THE “USUAL” ROLES LEADERSHIP AND THE PROJECT MANAGER: BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE STORM

Roles of a Project Manager: Facilitator

–  Build consensus –  Resolves conflict –  Secures resources

Mentor – Models professional behavior –  Iden=fies opportuni=es for development



PROJECT MANAGER -‐ BEYOND THE “USUAL” ROLES LEADERSHIP AND THE PROJECT MANAGER: BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE STORM

Roles of a Project Manager (con=nued):

Communicator –  Engage stakeholders –  Tell the story –  Secure support

Change Leader –  Resource linker –  Problem solver –  Process helper –  Catalyst



COMMUNICATE ON PURPOSE LEADERSHIP AND THE PROJECT MANAGER: BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE STORM

1.  Know your audience 2.  Tell stories to establish an

emo=onal connec=on 3.  Use two-‐way

communica=on 4.  Use various forms and

formats 5.  Make sure the message

fits the context

6.  Know your strengths 7.  Act quickly in a crisis 8.  Be conscious of the signals

you’re sending 9.  Allow people to see you

listening and assimila=ng their informa=on

10.  Get direct input from “the field”

Ten guidelines that a project manager should follow to communicate effectively:



FOCUS ON ACTION LEADERSHIP AND THE PROJECT MANAGER: BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE STORM

Management Focus Leadership Focus Goals & objec=ves Vision Telling how & when Selling what & why

Shorter range Longer range Organiza=on & structure People

Autocracy Democracy Conforming Challenging Consistency Flexibility

Risk-‐avoidance Risk-‐opportunity Bohom Line Top Line



FOCUS ON ACTION LEADERSHIP AND THE PROJECT MANAGER: BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE STORM

Common situaSons that require leadership acSon: •  Resolving conflicts •  Running poli=cal interference

•  Raising and promo=ng concerns

•  Ac=vely figh=ng the resource bahles

PROJECT MANAGER



LEADERS MANAGE, MANAGERS LEAD LEADERSHIP AND THE PROJECT MANAGER: BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE STORM

•  Increased Project Complexity

Leads to

•  Increased Project Risk

Which demands • Adap=ve

Leadership

Contribu=ng to Success

Relationship Between Project Complexity and Leadership




•  Are we addressing project management from the perspec=ve of leadership and the organiza=on?

•  What is the strategy, and what are the priori=es resul=ng from the strategy, for the agency?

•  Does the agency have a policy or strategy for selec=ng, star=ng, stopping, execu=ng, and managing projects or programs?

•  Does the execu=ve level of the agency “get it”—understand what is needed to be an effec=ve project manager?

•  Has management established a direct line from strategy to policy to projects and programs?

•  Do the execu=ves want to build project management capabili=es and competencies or do they regard project management solely as necessary to sa=sfy an external requirement?




In your organizaAons, does project success depend more on management or leadership?



Congressman Elijah Cummings Maryland 7th District

Senior member of the Commihee on Oversight and Government Reform

“Mediocrity is expensive!”

Final Word…



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Jon Weinstein [email protected] 410-696-2610

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leadership and the project manager - bearing the brunt of the storm - pmi washington dc

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