Leadership Skills, Project Management and Backbone

Transcription

1 Seven core competencies that any project manager should master Leadership Skills, and Backbone Summary: For a long time this was the understanding among engineers: Whoever has the technical skills, may (and can) lead projects. But in a lot of businesses this is starting to change. More than just technical expertise is expected of project managers. Leadership abilities and project management skills are in high demand. Seven core competencies determine if a project manager will lead his project to a successful conclusion. The decision was a quick one. The best programmer was to lead the software project. The idea behind it was that a person who can master complex programming languages will also be able to master the project s challenges. This was a blatant mistake. The project manager had difficulties planning the schedule; his project completely lacked a business plan. Even worse: In meetings with future users all of them business managers the IT enthusiast and programmer cut a bad figure. With an air of cluelessness he faced the many change requests of his users. Male, engineer and a technical wizard this formula of old is no longer working for successful project management careers. Nowadays project managers need to do much more than solve technical problems. A project is like a small business with its own managing director, who runs the project and leads all the people involved, explains project specialist Gaston Saborowski, consultant with next level consulting. On the one side are the project management tools: The project MD must know his project management tool box inside out. Part of this toolbox are techniques for require

2 ments management, goal definition, risk analysis, stakeholder management and budget controlling. On the other side are leadership skills: choosing his project team, motivating staff, managing conflict, negotiating with stakeholders and professionally marketing his project inside his organisation and to clients. Gaston Saborowski has summarised these requirements of a project manager into the following rule of thumb: One third understanding and application of project management tools, one third communication skills, good social instincts and negotiation skills. And (only) one third project specific expertise. Saborowski lists seven core competencies that make a successful project manager: 1. The ability to network Many project managers borrow colleagues for their team from different departments of the business. For example they ask heads of departments to release specialists to their project. This so-called matrix organisation has the following problem: The project manager needs to know where to find the right colleagues with the right expertise. This is why he should be an accomplished networker and maintain a lot of connections within the organisation into the top tiers of management as well as on his own management level. Nowadays many teams are formed through such networks, says Saborowski. The advantage here is that people know one another, they already have a good chemistry going between them. 2. Leading with a strong focus on the goal Some experts tend to get lost in technical details. They lose sight of the actual purpose of the project. This is a fatal mistake for a project manager. The danger is that he and his engineers will not meet the true needs of the end

3 users. For example engineers might develop a highly complex production line, that is just about impossible to service, says Gaston Saborowski. That is why professional project managers go back to the requirements of the project over and over again. They look at their solutions from the point of view of the project sponsor and in this sense they keep their team on course. 3. Competent leadership The project manager leads the project but he is not the boss of his team members. At least not in the classic sense. His team members are borrowed on an hourly basis from other departments. The project manager cannot give instructions. That is why he needs to be a skilful leader and motivator. It is important to correctly gauge the length of reign to give to staff in different situations. During innovation phases team members should have a long leash that enables unencumbered work. This is different once decisions are made and need to be adhered to consistently: In that case the project manager needs to lead his team on a tight leash. Now he must insist on results and control outcomes. The art lies in recognising which situation requires which form of leadership, explains Gaston Saborowski. 4. Employing project management tools Project managers use a huge range of tools to plan projects, to launch them and to steer them across the finishing line: Tools to plan, calculate time lines, analyse risks, formats for project meetings, software tools to control projects and formats for different communication tasks. Nowadays every project manager needs to master these tools and not only in theory but also in their practical application. In many organisations young project managers assist experienced master project managers. They lead smaller

4 projects and practice the application of their tools. Only after passing their apprenticeship will they be trusted with their own full project. 5. Motivating team members Most team members enjoy project work. Often they flourish, develop new skills and work independently. However this valuable self-motivation so-called intrinsic motivation can dissipate quickly. Project professionals create optimal working conditions and work hard at keeping this motivation going. A good way to do this is to let the team be part of the goal development and project planning processes. They let team members present the project to stakeholders. Or they support team members in growing their skills while working for the project. Most of all: project managers are generous with praise. Appreciation, fair feedback and recognising good performance maintain high levels of motivation. 6. Good marketing of the project A project manager will fail without a minimum measure of marketing talent. Convincingly presenting the project to the steering committee, high-ranking managers as well as to the lay person is a core task. Good project managers can interest any audience in their project and they know how to explain their project s ins and outs, says Gaston Saborowski. They also develop a sixth sense for which argument will engage which person and how to win someone over. 7. Demonstrate backbone Confident and down to earth that is how many project experts describe themselves. Sometimes a certain charisma can be helpful. Without backbone project managers

5 can become lost in the political games of different stake holders who can influence the project. That is why arrogance or one-upmanship should be avoided by project managers. Insincere project managers or those who lack integrity will quickly lose ground. Good project managers are authentic and show their human side, observes Gaston Saborowski. About next level consulting: next level consulting offers consulting services for project and process management, change management as well as for the development of project- and process-oriented organisations. With more than one hundred experts next level consulting is working for companies in diverse sectors, mainly from the IT and telecommunication industry, machinery and plant engineering, industry as well as pharmaceuticals, mobility and logistics, banks and insurance companies. In addition, the business that was founded in Vienna in 2000 is conducting consultancy projects in the health sector, in public administrations as well as NGOs. The business consultancy operates branches in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Croatia, South Africa and USA Further information regarding next level consulting is available under For direct enquiries please contact Raphaela Bel Tel.: , raphaela.bel@nextlevelconsulting.eu This article may be published free of charge please send us a copy for our information.