Published April 2016

Five Ways to Improve

Your Leadership Skills

Leadership is an important skill for project, program and portfolio

managers. No matter how much technical expertise or strategic
and business management experience you may have, without
an equal knowledge of leadership, your skill set may be out
of balance.
So, how can you improve your leadership skills? Here are five ways we learned from the
experts on ProjectManagement.com.

Build Trust
Start your journey to better leadership through honesty, says Syed Moiz.
To build trust, walk the talk. Practice the traits you want your team
members to exhibit, and they will follow.

Make People Your Top Priority

You need your team more than they need you, remarks Andy Jordan. If you
first learn how your team operates and adjust your style to fit in with them,
leadership comes easy.

Share the Workload

Dont take on all the work yourself, advises Stacy King. Ensure better outcomes
and avoid burnout by delegating to all your team members not just the
high performers.
Delegation is accepting that youre not the chosen one, but rather, the one
chosen to run the project, says King.

Serve the Needs of Your Team

A good leader serves his or her team by giving them the resources, guidance
and feedback they need, says Moiz. Acceptance and empathy go a long way
in securing commitment.

Use Your Ears More Than Your Mouth

Maybe youve read the latest active listening techniques, but just practicing
them doesnt ensure engagement. Begin with an intention to listen, ensure
your presence and keep an open mind, remarks author Prabhaker Panditi.
If you do this, you will be a better leader than you are today, he says.
References:
Jordan, A. (2016, January 25). Leading people as a new PM. Projectmanagement.com.
King, S. (2016, January 29). From trust to delegation. Projectmanagement.com.
Moiz, S. (2015, November 30). Leadership: A matter of trust. Projectmanagement.com.
Moiz, S. (2015, June 23). An introduction to servant leadership. Projectmanagement.com.
Panditi, P. 2016, January 4). Building high-performance teams and leaders. Projectmanagement.com.

2016 Project Management Institute, Inc. www.pmi.org