SOCIAL

INNOVATION
CONFERENCE
WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE YORK BETTER

MMB061: Leading and Managing the Business Project

Xxxx
As you read through this example portfolio please note how this student
follows a very effective structure for each section

Reflective Project Management: Leadership & Communication

Declaration
I, Xxxx, declare that I am the sole author of this assignment and the work is a result of my own
investigations, except where otherwise stated. All references have been duly cited.
Word count: 2,629 excluding references, diagrams and notes.
Introduction
Many authors (Day et al., 2014; Eraut, 2004; Savelsbergh, Havermans and Storm, 2016) suggest
most professional learning occurs on the job, whereby we understand ‘learning’ as the process
through which development occurs (Kolb, 1984). Formal project management programmes often fall
short in matching the complexity of actuality (Crawford et al., 2006; Thomas and Mengel, 2008) as we
must learn both from others and personal experience (Eraut, 2004), whilst being stimulated to reflect
(Cheetham and Chivers, 2001).

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This paper presents a critically reflective account of my personal and professional development in the
context of leading and managing the Social Innovation Conference (‘project’) on behalf of Kyra
Women’s Project (‘client’). Through a series of short reflective pieces this account considers aspects
of project delivery and execution, the roles of leadership and operating in a diverse team, how the
project met the strategic objectives of the client and how this informal learning (Day et al., 2014)
impacts my own practice.

Reflective practice involves thinking about past or ongoing experiences, situations or actions to inform
future choices, decisions or actions by drawing on existing ideas and applying them to our experience
to confirm these ideas or develop new ones (Cunliffe, 2004; Reynolds, 2011). Raelin (2002: p. 66)
characterises reflective practice as “a process that illuminates what the self and others have
experienced, providing a basis for future action”. It is suggested project managers should seek to
become ‘reflective enquirers’ addressing the problems they encounter in their work (Savelsbergh,
Havermans and Storm, 2016), building on the self-referencing framework reflective practice provides
(Cunliffe, 2004). Evaluating actions through several lenses to contribute insight to support
development and inform practice (Bolton, 2010).

Critically evaluate how the financial implications related to the strategic objectives
In a project environment, budgeting and cost control comprise the estimation of costs, setting an
agreed budget and then managing these costs against those forecast (APM, 2017). Whilst, in the
traditional sense, the conference project had no formal budgeting requirements, that is not to say
there were no costs or financial implications. Analytical techniques employed in project selection
decisions are largely financial based and tend to consider projects as separate entities to the
‘undertaking’ organisation (Focacci, 2017). Whether projects are successful or not, their costs would
still appear on a profit and loss (P&L) and it is important project members understand how a project
contributes value to an organisation (Callahan, Stetz and Brooks, 2011; Heerkens, 2012).

Whilst, our work stream operated without governance procedure around project costs 1, the objective
was fundamentally to contribute value to organisational objectives. The difficulty that arises in non-
profit-making organisations is that precise objectives are difficult to define in a quantifiable way and
even more difficult to measure as they are not necessarily in monetary terms (Drury, 2015; Merchant
and Van der Stede, 2011). Budgets in this sense tend to be concerned with the input of resources
(expenditure) (Drury, 2015), and Knardel and Petterson (2015) suggest the very nature of ‘events’ is
‘cultural’ and resources should therefore be focused on creativity. Given the strict budget the focus
had to be on creative solutions to meet our objectives, generating societal value for the client and
stakeholders where our true ‘costs’ were primarily our time and the quality of the project. An
understanding of this, highlights the need for thinking on ‘project costs’ to go beyond, P&L, ratios and

1
Facilities were donated by the University and it had been accepted by the client that the grant money we held (£500) would be
used to the cater the event, rather than be deployed on marketing materials and so forth.

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cash flow (Callahan, Stetz and Brooks, 2011) and certainly in a non-profit scenario looking at creative
and effective ways to deploy resources to help realise the project benefits.

Critically reflect on the management and leadership of the project

Research on leadership styles show that “the personality of a leader, the maturity of followers and the
needs of the environment determine the leadership style to follow” (Zulch, 2014). An effective leader
will therefore be able to adapt their leadership style to suit the circumstance they find themselves in.
Leadership can be defined as a style of behaviour designed to create alignment between
organisational requirements and personal interests in pursuit of objectives (Kerzner, 2001) raising
synergies with PMBOK’s own definition; “developing a vision and strategy, and motivating people to
achieve that vision and strategy” (cited in Burke and Barron, 2014: p. 30).

General
Manager

Structural Mechanical
Civil Manager
Manager Manager

Functional Lines of Responsibility

Project
Manager (1)

Project
Manager (2)

Project Lines of Responsibility

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 Fig. 1.1. Project Matrix Organisation Structure
Source: Burke and Barron (2014: p. 60)

For simplicity, this section of the paper will largely focus around ‘behavioural leadership’ or more
specifically the two basic leadership styles that determine it; the task-orientated style and a people-
orientated (relationship) style (Walker, 2007; Zulch, 2014). In a consulting environment, situations I
often find myself in are very much goal-orientated and short term in nature. Further, I would tend to
say I’m task orientated much of the time. The project in an academic setting met those characteristics
but was contested by the fact, the project team was not made up of specialists and equally we faced a
flat project structure where each team member had equal responsibility. Furthermore, rather than
finding our lines of responsibility overlaid with the typical ‘vertical’ matrix structure or an organisation
(see Fig. 1.1) we were very much a ‘stand-alone’ team.

Whilst, in the planning stages of the project I felt we moved away from being dependent on any one
member of the team, this very much changed as we began implementing the project. Rather than
having project team interaction (see Fig. 1.2.), we found ourselves in a ‘group’ interaction (Burke and
Barron, 2014: p. 179) with some members of the team only communicating internally, with others
communicating more freely as per the ‘team’ interaction. On a personal basis, I found myself almost
dismissive of the members categorised in the ‘group’ interaction and rather than take the opportunity
to lead and realise the cultural and behavioural difference (Myers, Hawk and Cuddy, 2010) I moved
forward with the objective.

Planner Designer

Project
Planner Designer
Manager

Group Interaction

Project
Manager
Accountant

Team Interaction

Accountant

Fig. 1.2. Project Team Structure

Source: Burke and Barron (2014: p. 179)

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Whilst blame could be argued on both sides, from my perspective this highlighted my goal orientated
leadership; looking for how someone contributes to a project (Bolman and Deal, 2013) rather than
opportunities to enable them to achieve their full potential (Burke and Barron, 2014). In an
environment where experiences, motivations and confidence differ, the style of leadership I used
could have been more people-orientated; especially when my project experience outweighed others
on my team. By operating with a facilitative approach, where the focus is on the needs of the person, I
could have assisted them through a process of lasting change (Burke and Barron, 2014: p. 241).
Whilst, my leadership of the project bore results for stakeholders my focus was very much on the task
and the project governance (Bekker, 2014; 2015) and whilst this is still academically sound, this may
have been restrictive to members of my team, a function to get things done (Steyn, 2012) where I had
an opportunity to coach and communicate at a higher level.

Critically explore the methods used to support ongoing project team performance
improvement
Project success is seen to be dependent on balancing the differing expectations and perceptions of
the project’s team and wider stakeholder groups (Shenar et al., 2001; Jugdev and Müller, 2006). This
goes beyond providing a product, service, or in this case a networking conference, as one would
define in project objectives and look towards achieving high levels of satisfaction amongst stakeholder
groups (Baker et al., 2008). Weekly status reports (internally and client facing) facilitated a form of
performance appraisal, but only a small scale. We were looking at whether tasks were on time, of the
expected quality and where applicable, within budget and this was primarily aimed at satisfying senior
stakeholders; ensuring they were up to date and happy with the progress.

Management control’s primary function is to influence behaviours in desirable ways, that ultimately
increase the probability that objectives will be achieved (Merchant and Van der Stede, 2011). To then
measure this performance over the project life cycle, creates a challenging dimension. Measures must
be used that are congruent to the project objectives (see Fig. 2.1) as the measures implemented will
shape team member’s views of what is important (Merchant and Van der Stede, 2011). This is an
area I felt some members of the project team struggled with, because there was little governance
around cost sometimes ‘being on time’ became OK and the quality became an afterthought. It is
argued that participation in the planning process increases motivation and commitment, which I
believe we had, but with varying levels of project experience there was ‘an easy option’ for less
experienced members to rely on others.

McDonalds provide a great example of participation breeding success, where “a fanatical attention to
the design and management of scalable processes” is ingrained within formalised hierarchies of
performance accountability (Trevor and Varcoe, 2017). The blame, in hindsight, equally falls on the
experienced members of the team for not empowering as much responsibility to others, echoing
Nokes and Kelly’s (2013) assertion that for projects to have beneficial change and add value, all the

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elements must come together, including the people. Principally, more focus should have been given
to internal performance measurement in the planning phases of the project. Without a defined ‘leader’
a disconnect appeared and the contrast in levels of individual motivation were exposed. Ultimately,
the team came together as one, exceeding the expectations of the client which Haselberger (2016)
suggests identifies a team as effective but it’s difficult to say that team performance could not have
been better.

Organisational
goals
A

System of Formal C C
organisational performance
rewards measurement

B
Individuals
manager’s
goals

A Behaviour necessary to achieve organisational goals

B Behaviour actually engaged in by an individual manager
C Behaviour formally measured by control systems

Figure 2.1 Measurement and Reward Process

Source: Drury (2015: p.409)

Explore how information sharing between key stakeholders supports both successful project
completion and strategic decision making
Following a largely successful economic recovery plan following the 2008 financial crisis, there was
still a large divide in opinion between Main Street and Wall Street. Timothy Geithner, the US Treasury
Secretary at the time, reflected “those perceptions are partly my fault, failures of communication and
persuasion […] I never found an effective way to explain to the public what we were doing and why”
(Geithner, 2015).

Information management, in project terms, is the “collection, storage, dissemination, archiving and
destruction of information” (APM, 2017). This ensures that information, either through the use of a
project support function or handled directly by the project management team, remains relevant and
contributes to the successful delivery of the project. In an academic setting, our project hierarchy was
inevitably dispersed with the majority of external communications taking place electronically. The strict
governance procedures we had in place ensured stakeholders were always aware of the project’s
progress and equally any changes were supported by detailed ‘business cases’ to ensure decisions

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could be made quickly. Morris (2013) suggests executing a defined communication plan not only
allows control over the flow of information but reduces misinterpretation, providing greater autonomy
and crucially allows the project sponsor, client and other major stakeholders to entirely consign to the
project team.

Internally, our communication with the marketing team was at times, very poor and the flow of
information was particularly one-sided (operations to marketing). This caused various task overlaps,
duplication of resources and frustration on both sides. As Shaw (1944) notably suggested “the single
biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place” and there were many
instances where the problems had been caused by breakdowns in communication or rudimentary
misunderstandings. Whilst, the availability of regular internal project reports and feedback provided a
sense of ‘good governance’, ultimately the project could have failed to meet the client’s expectations
had these issues not been realised and addressed.

Our project relied on clear lines of communication, and certainly externally, finding an effective way of
explaining how we were approaching decision making, risks and other issues given the limited face-
to-face contact with the client. The importance of communication in organisational success has been
stressed by several academics over the years (Fairhurst, 2011; Johansson, Miller and Hamrin, 2013;
Tourish and Jackson, 2008) and as the Geithner (2015) excerpt highlights, a well-executed project
plan can still be considered a failure if project information is not managed effectively. In our project,
we underestimated the need for structured internal communication and we were fortunate the client
had not received conflicting information, which could have potentially derailed the project. Ultimately,
our major stakeholders are the ones who will deem a project a success or failure, yet we should not
underestimate the importance of other ‘internal’ stakeholders and their influence on the success of the
project.

Personal development plan

Having reflected in my Project Planning (MMB060) essay to engage further in formal learning (Eraut,
2000) and more specifically reflective, reflexive practice (Cunliffe, 2002); something I felt the MBA
environment facilitates; my personal development plan this time around reflects on putting this into
practice during the project, going back over my professional development.

One of the key points to come from this project, is my subconscious expectation of others to behave,
be motivated by and strive for the same things as myself (Myers, Hawk and Cuddy, 2010). At times on
this project, I admit to some frustration with team member’s motivations or my perception of their work
ethic. In practice, peoples’ goals, motivations and how they think about work will be diverse (Woods
and West, 2010). Reviewing the work of Maitlis and Sonenshein (2010), the settings I have found
myself in, both as an independent consultant and as a student, have somewhat masked how I
perceive others in a team as I’m often faced with a prescriptive goal and a short time-frame. The
reality is perhaps the results often mean more to me than the people I am engaged with (McKee,

Xxxx – 110077994 – MMB061 – Leading and Managing the Business Project Page 8
2016a), important less as themselves and more what they can do to deliver projects (Bolman and
Deal, 2013).

Acknowledging that I have not always shown ‘social awareness’ in a goal-orientated consulting
environment, places my focus on ‘emotional intelligence’ and how I communicate as a leader (McKee,
2016b). As Goleman (1988: p. 81) rightly states, without emotional intelligence “[you] won’t make a
great leader”. Putting results before successful relationships can mean businesses I engage with are
actually worse off in the long run (McKee, 2016b), in such a data driven world, more value will be
placed on my integrity, personal insight and how I engage and motivate others (Runde, 2016). In
striving to be an emphatic leader (Collins, 2005), losing sight of what my role means to others
(McKee, 2016a) has meant I have interpreted ‘good results’ as the making of effective leadership
when in reality the ‘power’ that comes with a management role will affect other’s behaviour towards
me.

We live in a complex and global business environment, which requires stronger communication
(Runde, 2016), and a collaborative effort. While challenging, understanding the behaviours, thoughts
and emotions of individuals and ensuring I am socially aware as a leader, will provide knowledge that
can be used to improve organisational effectiveness (Robbins and Judge, 2009). Further engagement
in critically reflective, reflexive dialogue will allow me to ‘make sense’ (Weick, 1995) of the complex
issues, we as managers will deal with.

Conclusion
Moving on from ‘Planning the Business Project’ (MMB060) has allowed me to implement some of the
reflective, reflexive techniques (Cunliffe, 2004; Reynolds, 2011) and make sense of some of the
situations in my professional experience and equally apply them to new ones in an academic setting.
Fundamentally, the project proved a success from an external perspective, with the project
communicated well and a sense of stakeholder satisfaction. Internally as a team, there were aspects
that could have been better, specifically around information sharing, communicating and being
accountable but other aspects such as the financial constraints and project governance were handled
very well. On an individual level, the module combined with reflective enquiry unmasked some
deficiencies in my adaptability and emotional intelligence as a leader, given me points to work on and
continue to reflect. Overall, the project can be considered a success, but as with any project, taking
note of what didn’t go as well is crucial to continuous improvement in the future.

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