Project Management

John Potter
Plymouth Business School
University of Plymouth
Three aspects of the project manager
role

• Three aspects of the project manager role

•Understanding the role of the project manager and
leader
•Understanding the concept of organisational team
working
•Understanding the project life cycle of definition,
planning, resourcing, implementation and handover.
What projects managers actually do

• Project leaders and managers are responsible for

the achievement of project goals which are specific
and which require visible and dynamic activity
•Project leaders and managers need to look:
• upwards
• outwards
• backwards
• forwards
• downwards
• inwards
The project leader’s new work – developing
organisational teamworking

• The nature of the project team

• Brought together for a specific project
• Seldom full time
• Non hierarchical team members
• Cross functional
• Includes visible and invisible members
•Establishing a shared view of success criteria
•Agreeing basic team codes of conduct for working together
•Keeping in touch with team members when they are apart
•Enabling the contributions of each team member
•Leading the team by setting realistic targets
•Continuous reviewing of progress and performance
•Managing external relationships.
The project life cycle

• Project definition, understanding the big picture

and getting stakeholder agreement
•Planning and resource issues
•Implementation
•Handing over and winding up of the project
The leadership-management debate

• Is leadership the same as management?

•Can the two concepts be separated?
•Is leadership in someway more important than
management?
•What are the differences between an effective
manager and an effective leader?
 Innovates  Administers
 Is an original  Is a copy
 Develops  Maintains
 Focuses on people  Focuses on systems
 Inspires Trust  Relies on control
 Long Range View  Short range view
 Asks what and why.  Asks how and when.

Warren Bennis on Becoming a leader Arrow Books 1998

 Eye on the horizon  Eye on the bottom
 Originates line
 Challenges the status  Imitates

quo  Accepts the status

 Obeys and thinks quo
 Does the right things  Obeys orders without

 Learns. question
 Does things right
 Is trained.

Warren Bennis on Becoming a leader Arrow Books 1998

 Management  Leadership
Planning Direction
Organising Alignment
Controlling Inspiring
Predictability. Change.

John Kotter A Force for Change The Free Press 1990

Ten core leadership capabilities
• Setting direction and focusing energy
•Setting a good example
•Communicating effectively
•Aligning people in emotional terms
•Developing people and bringing out the best in
them
•Developing self awareness
•Encouraging appropriate change
•Delivering results in appropriate timescales
•Staying calm in times of crisis
•Creating structure out of chaos.
The practical impact of leadership
style

• The John Adair approach of task, team and

individual
•The international approach of the mix of task and
relationship behaviour
•Goleman’s six styles of vision based (authoritative),
affiliative, coaching, inclusive, coercive and pace-
setting styles
•The communication patterns of autocratic,
democratic and laissez-faire styles.
Promoting a culture of success in the
project team

• The bottom line of effective project leadership is to

create a success mindset on the part of the project team
members
•An ancient rule of the Universe is that you manifest
what you spend most of the time thinking about
•Five important aspects of successful project working
are: take responsibility for your actions and don’t
apportion blame to others, focus on the positive aspects
of the work, set goals, persevere intelligently through the
tough times and develop your human networks of
contacts to assist with your work.
Patrick Jordan (2010) The Principles of Success
References
Briner, W, Geddes, M, Hastings ,C (1990) Project Leadership. Gower:
Aldershot, England.

Adair, J . (1983) Effective Leadership. Gower Publishing: England

Goleman, D. (2000) Leadership That Gets Results? Harvard Business Review

Bennis, W. (1990). On becoming a leader. Addison-Wesley: New York.

Kotter, J (1990). A Force for Change. The Free Press: New York.

Jordan, P. (2010) The Principles of Success Patrick Jordan. Available from

www.patrickwjordan.net
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Author John Potter

Institute University of Plymouth
Title Handling projects involves both leadership and management
Date Created 10/06/2011
Educational Level Level 5
Learning from WOeRK Work Based Learning WBL Continuous
Professional Development CPD leadership and management UKOER
Keywords LFWOER

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