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UCT APM M2U1 Notes
UCT APM M2U1 Notes
Managers vs leaders
1. Introduction
The project manager is arguably the most important element of a successful project. Over the
last few decades there has been considerable growth in the knowledge required to run a
project. This typically refers to the hard skills that have been articulated in standards such as
the PMBOK® Guide (2017). Recent research has highlighted the need for an increase in the
soft skills requirement of a project manager to handle the increase in complexity encountered
in 21st century projects.
This set of notes considers the differences between managers and leaders as applicable to
project managers, as in highly complex projects there is always a need for leadership as well
as management skills.
Explore further:
In this video Dr John Kotter explains the difference between management and leadership, and
why the two terms are so often confused.
1. Responsibility: This refers to the duty assigned to the position of manager and the
obligation of the person assigned to that duty’s requirement to perform as per the
guidelines issued. Managers are required to perform the duties assigned to them to
the best of their ability under the guidance of the senior manager who assigned the
responsibility.
3. Accountability: Managers are answerable for the work delegated to them. When
work is then delegated to a subordinate, the subordinate is accountable to the
manager for their work. However, the manager who delegated the work remains
accountable for the actions of all individuals or groups under them.
A manager’s role can be split into three key aspects: an interpersonal role, an informational
role, and a decisional role. In their interpersonal role, managers are required to act as
figureheads and leaders for their team or department, while also acting as a liaison for the
team between other departments and role players. In their informational role, managers
serve a monitoring function, ensuring that all tasks and deliverables are completed correctly
and on schedule. This role also requires the manager to act as a disseminator of information
as well as a spokesperson for the entire team. In their role as decision maker, managers are
required to resolve conflicts, distribute resources, and act as a negotiator.
A manager’s role also consists of the following important principles and responsibilities:
• Facilitating joint performance among team members in the context of the company
or country’s culture
Although the role of a manager may be fairly easy to define, it is important to note that
experience is key. A manager’s role is more complex than popularly perceived, as
management is a practice where art, science, and craft meet. This means that a manager is
required to display a diverse range of skills and needs to adapt when the demands of the
Good managers are aware that their team judges their behaviour at every turn. This highlights
the importance of maintaining a professional image at work, while being fair in all dealings
with team members. To achieve this, managers should keep the relationship mainly work-
based. Socialising and having personal interactions with team members is acceptable, within
reason, provided that this does not lead to actual or perceived favouritism. Effective managers
accept that their role can be a lonely one and that not all of the decisions they make will be
popular with all members of the team. Feeling close to the team and communicating that
bond to them is acceptable, provided the manager keeps enough distance to maintain the
professional relationship above all else.
It is important for managers to control their emotions. Having an emotional outburst in front
of the team can easily break the professional countenance the manager has worked hard to
build and risks the respect of the team. If there is no agreement with a higher-level decision
or if there is an aspect of the company standards that the manager is not fully on board with,
it is important to schedule a meeting with the direct senior manager to address concerns
rather than communicating them directly to the teams.
The Project Manager Competency Development (PMCD) Framework was developed from
studies conducted by the PMI. This framework was applied to the skills necessary for
practising project managers through the use of the PMI Talent Triangle®. The talent triangle
in Figure 1 focuses on three key skill sets:
• Leadership: “The knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed to guide, motivate, and
direct a team to help an organisation achieve its business goals.”
• Strategic and business management: “The knowledge of, and expertise in, the
industry and organisation that enhances performance and better delivers outcomes.”
These technical skills are invaluable to project and programme management. However,
research shows that in a global marketplace characterised by an increase in complexity and
competitiveness, these technical project management skills alone are not enough. The most
effective project managers succeed in balancing each of these important skill sets.
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK®
Guide) — Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017, Page 51.
The ability to guide, motivate, and direct a team forms the basis of good leadership skills.
Among other things, essential capabilities include interpersonal skills, critical thinking,
problem solving, resilience in adverse circumstances, and negotiation skills. As projects
become increasingly more complex and span not only different locations, but also different
cultures, time zones, and industries, more and more businesses are using project
management as a tool to execute their strategies. It is important to acknowledge that project
management far exceeds simply working with numbers, charts and graphs, information
systems, and computer systems. The biggest and most common component in project
management is people.
• Authentic: Ability to “accept others for what and who they are,” and showing open
concern for people.
• Emotional: “Ability to perceive emotions and the information they present and to
manage them; a measure of interpersonal skills.”
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK®
Guide) — Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017, Page 57.
In project management, getting things done is essential. Thus, strong leadership and
management skills are essential to be an effective project manager. Looking at the personality
characteristics above, it is clear that possessing these traits will assist any project manager in
achieving the project goals and objectives. It is interesting to note that many of these
characteristics have roots in the ability to navigate politics. Thus, the better a project manager
• Referent: “Respect or admiration others hold for the individual; credibility gained.”
The best project managers use their power proactively and with clearly defined intention.
An emergent trend associated with the new generation of project managers is that, rather
than being subsumed by their organisation’s culture, they bring their individuality to the
organisation, while still making a valuable contribution.
There are two main active leadership styles usually discussed in leadership literature:
It is important to note that both of these leadership types depend on the existence of a leader-
follower relationship that has been formed over time, which is not always possible in the
temporary project environment.
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK®
Guide) — Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017, Page 55-56.
Transformational and transactional leadership approaches can both be used in the same
project. However, some projects seem better suited to one approach over the other. While
transactional leadership is effective in some project types, transformational leadership seems
to be the most effective approach in times of instability and uncertainty, a characteristic of
many temporary projects. Table 1 highlights the types of projects that are best suited to
transactional and transformational leadership.
*Affective commitment:
A third leadership style, namely authentic leadership, has recently emerged. With the
changing needs of the modern world it is also clear that leadership norms from a project
management perspective has to be adapted to remain relevant. Project managers need to
develop a specific set of skills and knowledge in order to lead authentically. Authentic
leadership involves being true to yourself and representing yourself as you really are, rather
than presenting a fake “leader persona” to your team. This leadership style incorporates
ethical leadership as well as transformational leadership.
• Emotionally stable with a high emotional intelligence (EQ – the ability to identify,
assess, and manage your own emotions as well as the emotions of others) as well as
general intelligence (IQ – general cognitive or mental ability), and managerial
intelligence (MQ – job-specific knowledge and intelligence).
• Confident in their own abilities and self-efficacy (the belief that they will be effective
at doing what they set out to do) as well as in the abilities of their team. Their
confidence makes it easier for their team members to follow them.
• Optimistic and hopeful about the future, while at the same time holding realistic and
attainable goals and ideals towards which the team can strive. This combination
increases team morale and improves performance.
• Resilient in that they are able to recover swiftly from setbacks and disappointments,
allowing the entire team to move forward.
• Focused on forming strong and lasting relationships with team members and others,
and committed to facilitating the individual success of team members through
ongoing support.
• Fair and unbiased in all of their dealings with team members and other role players
(being sure to treat everyone equally).
• Guided by a high set of moral standards and values that they refuse to compromise
on. An authentic leader is more concerned about achieving the greater good than
about doing whatever it takes to make a profit. They are honest, possess integrity,
and have a desire to do what is right and fair for all involved.
Team members relate to authentic leaders at a personal and social level as they can identify
with their seniors. This leads to increased motivation and job satisfaction, making this one of
the most effective leadership styles currently identified. While charisma may be an important
factor in transformational leadership, authentic leadership does not require this component,
unless it is a natural part of the leader’s true personality. Authentic leaders are open to change
and help their team (and ultimately their organisation) to grow through ongoing support and
attention to individual needs. A relationship of trust is built between the leader and their team
members based on integrity, benevolence, and ability, all of which the leader communicates
through their authentic leadership style. This results in greater project commitment.
The PMBOK® Guide (2017) highlights the main difference between management and
leadership. It states that “management is more closely associated with directing another
person to get from one point to another using a known set of expected behaviours. In
contrast, leadership involves working with others through discussion or debate in order to
guide them from one point to another.” With this in mind, it is clear that in order to be an
effective project manager, you need to use both leadership and management skills in a
balanced way that is appropriate to the situation. How and when leadership and management
skills are used by a project manager can give an indication of their leadership styles.
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK®
Guide) — Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017, Page 56.
(Source: Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge,
(PMBOK® Guide) — Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017, Page 56.)
Despite the extensive research into leadership success, leadership competency in project
management is an area that is frequently overlooked. The project manager’s leadership skills
and fit for the type of project are seldom, if ever, considered in overall project success. This
may well be one of the reasons why the project management industry so frequently meets
with failures, as there are noticeable differences in leadership competency profiles in
successful projects of differing types. Dulewicz and Higgs identify 15 leadership skills (which
form part of the competence school of thought) that are present to varying degrees in
successful project managers for different types of projects (Muller & Turner, 2010):
• Successful information and technology project leaders are strong in all skills, except
for vision, which the study showed them to be moderately competent at.
• Successful organisational project leaders are strong in all skills, except necessarily for
developing, achieving, and intuitiveness.
• Successful leaders of renewal type projects are strong in all areas except necessarily
intuition and vision skills.
• Successful leaders of repositioning type projects are strong in all areas except perhaps
vision, strategic perspective, achieving, and self-awareness skills.
In practice, this means that when determining whether a project manager is able to lead a
project to completion, it is essential that the manager’s leadership qualities are taken into
account as well as whether or not these qualities are the right match for the project in
question.
4. Bibliography
Clements, J. & Gido, J. 2012. Effective Project Management. Canada: Cengage Learning.
Crawford, L., French, E. & Lloyd-Walker, B. 2013. From outpost to outback: Project career
paths in Australia. International Journal of Project Management, 31(8): 1175–1187.
Crowe, A. 2006. Alpha project managers: What the top 2% know that everyone else does not?
Velociteach: Kennesaw, GA.
Higgs, M. and Dulewicz, S.V. (2003) The design of a new instrument to assess leadership
dimensions and styles. Reading, UK, University of Reading (Henley Working Paper
Series, HWP 0311).
Hölzle, K. 2010. Designing and implementing a career path for project managers. International
Journal of Project Management, 28(8): 779–786.
Lloyd-Walker, B. & Walker, D. 2011. Authentic leadership for 21st century project delivery.
International Journal of Project Management, 29(40): 383–395.
Müller, M. & Turner, R. 2010. Leadership competency profiles of successful project managers.
International Journal of Project Management, 28(5): 437–448.
Project Management Institute. 2017. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK® Guide). 6th ed. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc.
Tyssen, A.K., Wald, A. & Spieth, P. 2013. The challenge of transactional and transformational
leadership in projects. International Journal of Project Management, 32(3): 365-375.
PMI, PMBOK, PMP, CAPM, PgMp, PfMP, PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, and PMI-SP are
registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.