Leadership, Power, Influence, and Politics in Project Management

TCM 710 Project Leadership Overview of Chapter 7 Volume 2

From:
Verma, Vijay . The Human Aspects of Project Management Human Resource Skills for the Project Manager, Volume Two. Upper Darby, PA: Project Management Institute.

Leadership and Project Management

Leadership traits, skills and principles
Traits
Flexibility -Consciousness of social environment Ambition -Creativity Intelligence -Persistence Decisiveness -Energy Tolerance for Stress Willingness to take responsibility

Skills
Conceptual -Communication Social -Organizational (administrative) Diplomacy
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Leadership and Project Management

Leadership traits, skills and principles
Principles
Have a visions and the courage & commitment to make it a reality Develop technical proficiency Know yourself; seek self-improvement Know your people and look after them Communicate effectively; keep people informed Emphasize long-term productivity Encourage teamwork and participation Make sound, timely decisions Empower team members Match skills with resources Listen effectively; encourage new ideas Give positive feedback and recognition Seek responsibility and accept accountability

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Leadership and Project Management

Theories and models of leadership
Leadership theories/approaches The traits approach
Focuses on leaders influencing team members to accomplish goals
Emphasizes that the personal attributes of successful leaders are correlated to certain abilities, skills and personality characteristics Emphasizes leaders actions instead of their personal traits Emphasize the importance of the situation Based on the cause/effect relationship

The behavioral approach

The contingency approach

The attributional theory of leadership

The charismatic leadership theory

Concentrates on developing a common vision, discovering or creating opportunities, and increasing team members desire to control their own behavior

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Leadership and Project Management

Theories and models of leadership
Contingency models of leadership
Fiedlers contingency model: relates performance to the leaders motivational system and the degree to which the leader controls and influences the situation Hersey and Blanchards situational leadership model: based on the amount of relationship (supportive) and task (directive) behavior that a leader provides in a situation Houses path-goal model: based on the expectancy theory of motivation; suggests that effective leaders should try to enhance employees satisfaction with their jobs and increase their performance level Vroom and Jago leadership model: focuses on the roles leaders play in making decisions and provides a set of rules that can help a manager identify which leadership styles to avoid in a given situation when the choice of style might reduce the effectiveness of the team or of a particular decision
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Leadership and Project Management

Leadership in a project environment
The ability to get things done well through others
LEAD = Listen, Encourage, Act and Deliver

Leader or manager? Is there a difference?

Management covers both non-behavioral and behavioral issues Leadership focuses mainly on behavioral

Leadership and the project life cycle

Phase 1 & 2 = More leadership Phase 3 & 4 = More management

Leadership and team development

An effective leader is a social architect who recognizes the interaction between behavioral and organizational variables, can create a participative environment, and can minimize dysfunctional conflict among team members

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Leadership and Project Management

Important skills for project leadership
Enthusiasm and energy Decision making Tolerance for ambiguity and change
Manage in an unstructured environment

Vision Application of project management process Effective team development

Able to quickly develop a cohesive team

Interpersonal skills
People-oriented

Conceptual skills
Ability to see the big picture
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Power and Influence in Project Management

Power vs Influence, leadership and control Sources of Power
Reward Power

Power ability to get other to do what you want Authority formal power given due to position
Positive consequences or outcomes Coercive, refers to negative consequences Earned/personal power

Punishment Power
Expert Power

Legitimate/title power
Formal authority

Information Power Persuasion/Charismatic Power Contacts/Network Power

networking
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Practical form of power

Power and Influence in Project Management

The project manager and power
Total power of a project manager
Total Power= Position Power + Personal Power Position power legitimate power, derived from the organizational position Personal power derived from personality, knowledge and expertise of the project manager

Increasing total power

PMs can increase power by increasing either position or personal power

Balancing the power

Important to understand managerial relationships in a project and achieve a proper balance in power to ensure smooth success of a project
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Power and Politics

Managing politics at the upper management level

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Follow management hierarchy Appoint a project sponsor or director Use a steering committee or project council Protect yourself and your team Engage outside facilitators in developing strategies Engage in experts (lobbyists, arbitrators) as needed Ensure top management support Use strategic instruments Build a team Develop personal power

Managing politics at the project level