"A manager is not a person who can do the work better than his men; he is a person who can get his men to do the work better than he can." – Fred Smith
  

 

The 10 Key Project Leader Skills

  1. Developing a grand vision

  2. Building the project management team and leading the team through the steps of the project management process

  3. Leadership skills; leading the project team through the stages of team development

  4. Communication skills: verbal, both one-on-one and with a group, and written

  5. People-management skills such as constructive feedback, conflict resolution, managing individual styles, personalities, perceptions and cultural differences

  6. Facilitation skills

  7. Skills at interfacing across the organization and removing obstacles for the team

  8. Ability to accept criticism, feedback, and input from others

  9. Skills in using team-based tools such as brainstorming, organizing, decision making, project management, conflict resolution, and so on.

  10. Selling skills. The ability to promote and sell the project both within and outside the organization. Presentation skills.

Entrepreneurial Approach to Project Management

Today, project managers have to master the business synergies approach and think of projects as having two parts:

  1. Project itself, which creates an outcome.

  2. The project outcome lifecycle, in which the outcome is used or sold... More

Entrepreneurial Leader: 4 Specific Attributes

 

Project Leadership Self-Assessment1

Complete the following self-assessment, using a 1 to 5 scale:

1 = never

2 = sometimes

3 = half the time

4 = most of the time

5 = all of the time

  1. My projects are completed on time

  2. My customers are satisfied with the project management process and the final deliverables produced

  3. Stakeholders are satisfied with the project management process

  4. My projects are completed within budget

  5. I use a participatory project management method involving the team in the project planning and decision-making with intensive horizontal information flow... More

 

Project Leadership

Project management provides a foundation for the art of leadership. The best project managers are also  outstanding leaders.

Develop Team-Based Skills

While developing your team and mastering teamwork, you'll need to hold regular team meetings so that team members can monitor progress and solve problems as they arise. You may also want to focus on your team skills, such as:

 

Evolving Entrepreneurial Role of the Project Manager

Today project managers have to go beyond the traditional project delivery practices and master the business synergies approach. This new system requires thinking of the project as a business enterprise and managing the project as a business venture. Thus you have to consider not only the success of the project itself but also the success of the project outcome. You need to understand how your organization creates value for its major stakeholders – shareholders, customers, and the business team, and also take responsibility for delivering that value.

The new role of the project manager requires an ultimate knowledge of the strategy the project is supporting. Taking the business systems approach requires also knowledge of organization, motivation, marketing, accounting, cost control, finance, and quantitative decision making from the project manager's perspective.

The entrepreneurial approach to project management essentially expands two dimensions of the project management process – time and boundaries.

Considering the project outcome and its lifecycle expands time beyond the traditional horizon of project completion. Project boundaries are also expanded. Stakeholders start playing more important role as partners. On the other side, market forces now go beyond the customer and end-user to include additional factors such as competition.

Creating a High-Performing Team

Creating a high-performing team takes commitment on the part of the project leader to lead both the project management and team processes. You need to be a good facilitator, helping the team work through the steps of these processes. Here are some tips on being a good facilitator as suggested by Martin and Tate1:

  • Allow equal opportunity for participation by all team members

  • Maintain a safe environment

  • Acknowledge each person's contribution

  • Enforce the team ground rules

  • Focus on the team and project management processes, not the content

  • Respect each person as an individual

  • Resolve conflicts as they arise

  • Keep the group on track

 

 

 

References:

  1. Getting Started in Project Planning, P.Martin and K.Tate

  2. Project Manager's MBA, Cohen E. Graham

  3. ICB – IPMA Competence Baseline, International Project Management Association (IPMA)

  4. The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management,  Erich Verzuh