扬帆起航

Excerpt the article by Frank P. Saladis

English studying and sharing the good viewpoint from master.

Published on Thursday, April 29, 2010 - 03:29 PM

From my perspective, the project manager is placed in a leadership position. The size and complexity of the project is not the issue. People can provide leadership value regardless of project size or actual position in an organizational hierarchy. The key element here is whether or not an individual is creating value or as John C. Maxwell states,” creating authentic leadership.” Authentic leadership is about creating value within an organization. It means making things happen, motivating people to succeed, making a difference even if you are not leading a team. According to Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, authentic leadership includes the following qualities: Insight Initiative Influence Impact Integrity These qualities, when demonstrated, will clearly separate the effective leader from others who have been associated with the leader title. Additionally the emphasis on integrity is key and directly related to our focus this month on Professional and Social Responsibility. The issues that created many of the world’s economic problems can be attributed to a lack of authentic leadership. Executives of most successful organizations will agree that strong and effective leadership is a major factor in the effort to achieve the desired levels of established Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or Organizational Success Factors (OSFs) but much of what a leader actually accomplishes cannot be measured accurately. Leadership is about vision, motivation, and an ability to allow each employee or team member to achieve their personal goals of self value while contributing to organizational objectives, working with his/her team to succeed, and creating an environment of loyalty and respect. It is difficult to measure leadership behaviors such as: Providing an environment where every person can excel Managing with respect Managing with integrity and honesty Effective listening Creativity and innovation Sharing knowledge Mentoring Continuous personal improvement Most organizations would like to see these characteristics displayed by their current leaders and in employees that will someday assume leadership positions. These behaviors contribute greatly to the subject known as “Human Capital”. It is important for today’s leaders to fully understand how human capital contributes to value creation in an organization. Value creation refers to the development of programs and an environment that provides opportunities for sustained and profitable growth by utilizing the talents and creativity of employees. It all about improving capability and it starts with the people who perform the work. What is needed is an environment that is truly attractive to employees and one that will spark, nourish, and cultivate new ideas. That environment will become very attractive to new clients and reassuring to existing clients who will be able to easily differentiate an organization that emphasizes value creation from those that do not. Value creation begins with leadership. This means vision, perseverance, and setting an example for the organizational employees or performers to clearly see and emulate. Vision is certainly a key factor in value creation but effective leaders need more than a vision. They need passion and a seemingly unending supply of energy. They also need to display a common sense approach to issues and maintain calmness even during periods of extreme unrest or during a major crisis. The focus on value creation will potentially result in several benefits for an organization: Greater market-share Less investment risk Increased revenue and reduced cost Increased customer satisfaction Shorter cycle time to market Higher quality Increased new product development Greater employee morale Greater loyalty to the organization or brand Higher levels of retention Essentially value creation links directly back to effective leadership. So what is an effective leader? General Colin Powell observed the following about leadership: Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group, which means that some people will get angry at your actions and decisions. Getting everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity. Another quote that can be directly related to an effective leader is from Bill Cosby that I read many years ago: I don’t know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is to try and please everyone. The key here is to understand that decisions must be made in order to move forward, but not everyone will agree with a leader’s decision. That goes with the territory. Trying to please everyone often results in a failure to please anyone. When a decision is made and is met with resistance from a specific individual or group, the leader must remain firm but, if at all possible, offer an explanation and show genuine concern for the opposing viewpoint. Respect and honesty is a formula that works in any environment. Never neglect details. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant. I relate the observations of Colin Powell to another well known author – Tom Peters. Peters emphasizes the need to Search for WOW in everything we do. To me this means creating an environment of such enthusiasm that the team truly believes they are working on an assignment or a project that is absolutely beneficial to the organization, the team, and the individual. That feeling of WOW starts with the leader. If the leader is not demonstrating enthusiasm, excitement, and commitment, how can anyone else be expected to truly buy-in and connect with the project or the endeavor? Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds. What organization would establish a slogan or motto that says “We’re really not too bad” or “We are not quite as good as everyone else” or “Someday we will actually get it right.” Or how about: “We have more under-achievers than anyone!” Organizations need top people or people who can be trained and mentored to perform at levels that will meet client demands. Strong, effective leaders surround themselves with good people who are innovative, willing to learn new skills and willing to test the limits now and then. This is the environment that will attract the best and encourage them to stay. Powell’s rules for picking people: Look for intelligence and judgment, and most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also, look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego, and the drive to get things done. This quote basically sums up the major factors that leaders should consider when selecting people for their teams. It should be understood that the leader was originally selected for having these very same attributes. In the project environment, managing a project is a challenging job and it takes a person with a very wide range of skills, especially leadership skills, to become an effective project manager. The project manager position also requires high levels of energy to sustain that effectiveness while managing and leading a project team. Most project managers will agree that the title “project manager” is actually a dual role – Leader and Manager. These major roles include several “sub-roles” that will emerge during the life cycle of the project. As Vijay Verma explains in his book “Human Resource Skills for Project Managers”, PMI ®, project managers have several unique roles: As a leader: Set direction and vision Inspire teamwork Align employees Motivate and support Listen more Demonstrate compassion Drive innovation and creativity Acknowledge successes and victories As a manager: Plan and budget Organize work groups Staff the project Ensure the project is in control Emphasize timeliness and quality For project managers to achieve greater levels of effectiveness and to advance within their organizations, they must continuously fine tune their leadership skills. By doing this they will be also be fine tuning the skills and competencies of their project teams. Leader is defined by J.D Batten, Tough Minded Leadership- AMACOM, as “the development of a clear and complete system of expectations in order to identify, evoke, and use the strengths of all resources in the organization, the most important of which is people”. In the project environment the project manager relies on his or her team to perform the work, report status as well as problems and work together to achieve the project objectives. If we consider the people on the team as the most important resource, it makes sense to focus on their needs if the project manager wishes to ensure project success. Project leadership can then be defined as the ability to get things done well, to achieve expectations, and to deliver the project’s product through the team. Here is a very simple way to look at leadership. This is Project Leadership in a Nutshell – adapted from “Human Resource Skills for The Project Manager,” Vijay Verma L = Listen to your project team and stakeholders E = Encourage the heart of the team members (motivate them through action and empowerment. Create the WOW environment) A = Act (demonstrate your abilities, inspire the team, walk the talk, set an example) D = Deliver (provide what you said you would provide and follow through on promises. Don’t make promises you can’t keep and make sure you meet your commitments. Project leaders should continuously look for ways to improve their leadership abilities. The Professional and Social Responsibility domain of project management as defined by the Project Management Institute PMI® emphasizes lessons learned and knowledge sharing. This applies to leadership also. Leaders should look back at their decisions, analyze what has been accomplished, identify where improvements can be made and act on those lessons. A good practice is to ask yourself a few questions after a decision – “Did that really accomplish what I had intended? Who was affected by that decision? How could I have handled it differently? Am I personally satisfied with the outcome? Take a minute to analyze the results. Think about the decision and what made it the “right decision.” Think about how the decision was communicated. Was it clearly explained? If a decision results in a negative reaction, discontent, conflict, and lower morale you may want to ask yourself “How could I have done that better? What didn’t I do? Where did the breakdown occur? Not all decisions should be deeply scrutinized but it is a good practice to understand just how people react to decisions, especially those with significant impact on your stakeholders. Improving the effectiveness and competency of the project team starts with the project manager. Every project manager should develop a personal leadership development plan. A self assessment using a SWOT analysis type approach may provide a good basis for developing an on going improvement program. Assessing personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats can help establish priorities especially if the project manager aspires to achieve higher levels of responsibility and advance within an organization. Leadership SWOT Analysis The SWOT Analysis technique, commonly used in the strategic planning process, is also an effective model for mapping out a strategy for personal development. Organizational Leaders use the model to develop a framework from which to determine their long term objectives. Project managers and team leaders can use the model to analyze their leadership and managerial abilities and create a plan for developing new skills or for enhancing existing skills. It also assists in identifying areas that could cause significant team performance problems. Leadership SWOT Analysis Template: Strengths What skills do I possess that help me accomplish my goals? Examples: Communication Presentation Planning Organizing Listening Facilitating Problem Solving Innovation and Entrepreneurship Opportunities What opportunities exist at the project level and at the personal level? Examples: Additional revenue and sales at project completion New and more challenging project assignment Sharing of knowledge with others in the organization Promotion of team members Promotion to higher level position Increased customer satisfaction Weaknesses What weaknesses have I noticed or have been defined through feedback? Examples: Failure to follow through on promises Technical knowledge is limited Slow response to team requests Lack of visibility Failure to provide feedback on a timely basis Lack of availability to the team Micromanaging the team Failure to set clear expectations Threats What threats exist that should be removed? Examples: Project failure due to poor leadership Loss of job assignment Loss of key project team members Project cancellation Loss of personal credibility and integrity A leadership SWOT analysis will assist the project manager in identifying where additional training, support, or mentorship is required. A similar approach can be taken for the project team. The key is to exploit strengths, resolve and strengthen weaknesses, capitalize on opportunities, and remove or minimize threats. The action items developed to address these areas, when properly executed, will result in higher levels of performance and efficiency at the team level and with the project manager.