Project management has been called both an art and a science. Mastering the science of project management provides a foundation for the art of leadership. The necessary skills are common to both. There is no question that the best project managers are also outstanding leaders. They have vision, they motivate, they bring people together and, most of all, they accomplish great things
Eric Verzuh
Leadership Framework
The new leadership – Vision managed into real achievement.
Manfred Kets de Vries
Interpreting the latter quotation, the leader provides (or joins with the team in
providing) the vision for the team but then goes on to ensure the provision of the other
aspects that are essential ingredients for a successful outcome of any endeavour– the
people framework and the process (management system) framework. These two, together
with the vision framework and the characteristics of the leader him/herself, form what
can be called the Leadership Framework, the elements of which are shown in Figure
3.11.2 and are discussed below.
Leadership Characteristics
In order to carry out the leadership role successfully, the manager needs to be credible
with the team. For this he/she must not only have certain technical and managerial
competences but also be able to motivate the team.
At the end of its project, a successful major Shell project team identified the leadership
characteristics that it considered had contributed to the team’s success:
Successful Leadership Characteristics
- Vision brought and developed
- Consistency of purpose
- Clear objectives, stretch targets and accountabilities developed and held to
- Framework (organizational structure and processes) put in place to achieve the objectives
- Focus and relevance ensured
- Enthusiasm, drive and determination consistently displayed
- The best obtained out of people by support and coaching (Prepared to let people “get on with it”)
- Challenged status quo and accepted constructive challenge
Figure 3.11.3 identifies both some of the personal values (principles and standards) that
a leader owns and exhibits and some of the managerial competences needed for the
leadership role.
In summary, Leadership Characteristics constitute a mixture of technical and managerial
competencies and personal principles and standards (e.g. honesty, fairness, challenging,
prompt, accountable) together with personal characteristics (e.g. courage, energy,
enthusiasm, passion).
It is suggested that in considering the question of leadership of the team a clear
identification is needed of two issues:
- What does the team need from the leader in order for it to be successful?
- What is the role model required from the leader in order to establish the leader’s credibility and motivate the team?
In regard to the former question, an examination by the team with the team’s leader will establish both the team and the leadership characteristics and values that are considered pertinent to success and team satisfaction. With respect to leadership performance more and-more companies are introducing the concept of appraisal of leaders by their staff (and, often, also by their peers and supervisors) as a means to identify things that the leader is doing that impact on the team’s effectiveness and satisfaction in its work i.e. the leader’s deviation from the agreed values.
With regard to the required leadership role model, this should emerge from the team’s
view of the values (culture) that it wishes to have in place in the team.
It is apparent from the above that the good leaders in our business are also good
managers. Whilst motivating leadership is an essential aspect of successful project
outcomes, the leader must also ensure that the project is well managed. The difference
between management and leadership has been succinctly defined as follows. John Kotter
(Harvard Business School):
- Management is about coping with complexity
- Leadership is about coping with change
This can be translated as management being about structure and processes (seeking to
create and maintain order, providing certainty) and leadership being about people; their
attitudes and behaviours (winning hearts and minds). The leader/manager’s role may be summarized as follows:
The Leader/Manager’s Role
- Lead the team
- Define the work
- Set the objectives
- Establish the management framework
- Identify and manage the risks
- Manage processes
- Manage interfaces
- Gain improvement
Vision Framework
If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know you’ve got there?
The Vision Framework that the leader has the responsibility for setting in place consists of:
• the Case for Action
• the Vision for the team
• the task objectives that the team contract with management to achieve
• the stretch targets that the team sets for itself in order to move it towards its vision.
The leader is instrumental in providing the Case for Action (Case for Change) that will
drive and give credibility to the Vision and in facilitating the development of the other
aspects of the Vision Framework.
People Framework
The People Framework (Figure 3.11.5) (the human dimension) contains all the elements
that, given a clear direction and sound business processes, will enable the individual and
the team to contribute fully in maximising the value of the opportunity and, at the same
time, thoroughly enjoy the job. The sections in which element is discussed are illustrated
in the Figure below.
