Week 11

Being Effective Project Manager

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 CHAPTER TEN

Leadership:
Being an Effective
Project Manager

Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education.

All Rights Reserved.

PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook

Where We Are Now

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 Preamble

I couldn’t wait to be the manager of my own project and run

the project the way I thought it should be done. Boy, did I
have a lot to learn!
—first-time project manager

• Effective project manager - building cooperative relationships

among different groups of people to complete projects
• Project success does not depend only on the performance of
the project team.
• Success or failure factor – depends on the contributions of
various parties i.e. top management, functional managers,
customers, suppliers, contractors, and others.

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 Managing Project Stakeholders
• Perfect world
– Project manager would simply implement the project plan
and the project would be completed
• Reality
– No one lives in a perfect world, and rarely does everything
go according to plan.
• The project manager’s job is to ensure the project back
on track.

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 Managing versus Leading a Project
• Managing—coping with • Leading—coping with
complexity change
– Formulate plans and – Recognize the need to
objectives change to keep the
– Monitor results project on track

– Take corrective action – Initiate change

– Expedite activities – Provide direction and

motivation
– Solve technical problems
– Innovate and adapt as
– Serve as peacemaker necessary
– Make tradeoffs among – Integrate assigned
time, costs, and project resources
scope

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 Managing Project Stakeholders

• First-time project manager – eager to implement own

ideas and manage his people to successfully complete
their project.
• Soon find out that project success depends on the
cooperation of a wide range of individuals, many of
whom do not directly report to them.

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 Managing Project Stakeholders
• Project Management Maxims:
– You can’t do it all and get it all done
• Projects usually involve a vast web of relationships.
– Hands-on work is not the same as leading.
• More pressure and more involvement can reduce
your effectiveness as a leader.
– What’s important to you likely isn’t as important
to someone else
• Different groups have different stakes (responsibilities,
agendas, and priorities) in the outcome of a project.
– Remember: project management is tough, exciting,
and rewarding—endeavor to persevere.

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 Network of Stakeholders
• Stakeholders
– people and organizations that are actively involved in the
project, or whose interests may be positively or negatively
affected by the project
• To be effective, project manager must
– understand how stakeholders can affect the project, and
– develop methods for managing the dependency
• Depending on the project, different stakeholders outside
the organization influence the success of the project; the
most important is the customer for which the project is
designed

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Network of Stakeholders

FIGURE 10.1

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 Influence as Exchange
To successfully manage a project, a manager must
skillfully build a cooperative network among divergent
allies.
• The Law of Reciprocity
– One good deed deserves another, and
likewise, one bad deed deserves another.
• Quid pro Quo (something for something)
– Mutual exchanges of resources and services
(“back-scratching”) build relationships.
• Influence “Currencies” (Cohen and Bradford)
– Cooperative relationships are built on the exchange
of organizational “currencies” (favors).

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 Commonly Traded Organizational Currencies

Task-related currencies
Resources Lending or giving money, budget increases, personnel, etc.
Assistance Helping with existing projects or undertaking unwanted tasks.
Cooperation Giving task support, providing quicker response time, or
aiding implementation.
Information Providing organizational as well as technical knowledge.
Position-related currencies
Advancement Giving a task or assignment that can result in promotion.
Recognition Acknowledging effort, accomplishments, or abilities.
Visibility Providing a chance to be known by higher-ups or significant
others in the organization.
Network/ Providing opportunities for linking with others.
contacts

Source: Adapted from A. R. Cohen and David L. Bradford, Influence without Authority TABLE 10.1
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1990). Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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 Organizational Currencies (cont’d)

Inspiration-related currencies
Vision Being involved in a task that has larger significance
for the unit, organization, customer, or society.
Excellence Having a chance to do important things really well.
Ethical correctness Doing what is “right” by a higher standard than efficiency.
Relationship-related currencies
Acceptance Providing closeness and friendship.
Personal support Giving personal and emotional backing.
Understanding Listening to others’ concerns and issues.
Personal-related currencies
Challenge/learning Sharing tasks that increase skills and abilities.
Ownership/involvement Letting others have ownership and influence.
Gratitude Expressing appreciation.

Source: Adapted from A. R. Cohen and David L. Bradford, Influence without Authority TABLE 10.1 (cont’d)
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1990). Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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 Social Network Building

How do social networks contribute to project

management performance?

• Mapping Dependencies
– Project team perspective:
• Whose cooperation will we need?
• Whose agreement or approval will we need?
• Whose opposition would keep us
from accomplishing the project?

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 Social Network Building
– Stakeholders’ perspective:
• What differences exist between the team
and those on whom the team will depend?
• How do the stakeholders view the project?
• What is the status of our relationships with the stakeholders?
• What sources of influence does the team have relative
to the stakeholders?

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Example of Map of Dependencies for Financial Software
Installation Project

FIGURE 10.2

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 Management by Wandering Around
• Management by Wandering Around (MBWA)
– Involves managers spending the majority of their time
in face-to-face interactions with employees building
cooperative relationships.
• Characteristics of Effective Project Managers
– Initiate contact with key players.
– Anticipate potential problems.
– Provide encouragement.
– Reinforce the objectives and vision of the project.
– Intervene to resolve conflicts and prevent stalemates.

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 Managing Upward Relations
• Project Success = Top Management Support
– Appropriate budgets
– Responsiveness to unexpected needs
– A clear signal to the organization
of the importance of cooperation
• Motivating the Project Team
– Influence top management in favor of the team:
• Rescind unreasonable demands
• Provide additional resources
• Recognize the accomplishments of team members

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 The Significance of a Project Sponsor

❖ Sponsors defend the project when it is under attack in upper

circles of management.
❖ Shelter the project from excessive interference

Upper management

FIGURE 10.3

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 Leading by Example
• A highly visible, interactive management style is
essential to building and sustaining cooperative
relationships
• Influence how others act and respond to a variety of
issues related to the project
• Walk the Talk

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Six Aspects of Leading by Example

FIGURE 10.4

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 Ethics and Project Management
• Ethical Dilemmas
– Situations where it is difficult to determine
whether conduct is right or wrong:
• Padding of cost and time estimations
• Exaggerating pay-offs of project proposals
• Falsely assuring customers that everything is on track
• Being pressured to alter status reports
• Falsifying cost accounts
• Compromising safety standards to accelerate progress
• Approving shoddy work
– Code of conduct will provide greater clarity on ethics
• Professional standards and personal integrity

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 Contradictions of Project Management
• Innovate and maintain stability.
• See the big picture while getting
your hands dirty.
• Encourage individuals but stress
the team.
• Hands-off/Hands-on.
• Flexible but firm.
• Team versus organizational
loyalties.

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Eight Traits of an Effective Project Manager
1. Systems thinker
2. Personal integrity
3. Proactive
4. High emotional intelligence (EQ).
5. General business perspective
6. Effective time management
7. Skillful politician
8. Optimist

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 Suggestions for Project Managers

• Build relationships
before you need them.
• Trust is sustained
through frequent
face-to-face contact.
• Realize that “what
goes around comes
around.”

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 Key Terms

Emotional intelligence (EQ) Proactive

Inspiration-related currencies
Law of reciprocity
Leading by example
Management by wandering
around (MBWA)
Personal-related currencies
Position-related currencies
Relationship-related
currencies
Social network building
Stakeholder
Systems thinking
Task-related currencies

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 Review Question 1
• What is the difference between leading and managing a
project?

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 Answer
• Leading involves recognizing and communicating the
need to change course and direction of the project,
aligning people to this new direction, and motivating the
team to overcome obstacles to achieve the new
objectives. Managing is about formulating plans and
objectives, designing procedures to achieve those
objectives, monitoring progress, and taking corrective
action. Managing is about putting out fires and
maintaining the course. Leading is about change and
altering the course of a project.

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 Review Question 2
• Why is it important to build a relationship before you
need it?

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 Answer
• People are likely to be more cooperative if they know
you, and you have developed a personal relationship
with them. When people view you as pleasant, credible,
and helpful based on past contact, they are more likely
to be responsive to your requests for help and less
confrontational when problems arise. The key is
building a positive credit in the relationship that you can
tap into when you need help.

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