Leading Teams
Leading Teams – Part one
Introduction to Project Management
January 11, 2013
Effective project management requires that the project manager possess the following characteristics: knowledge, what the project manager knows about project management; performance, what the project manager is able to do or accomplish while applying their knowledge; and personal, how the project manager behaves when performing the project activity (PMI, 2008). As Kay Roman (2011) discusses in Five Critical Skills for Team Leadership, leading a team involves the ability to provide direction and leadership, plan, meet goals and objectives, manage activities/tasks, and work with people. Planning and communication are critical to successful project management …show more content…
(Gido & Clements, 2012). However, the manager and team are key to the success of the project. Successful teams will understand the project objectives, how they fit into achieving the objectives, have an understanding of roles and responsibilities, be able to cooperate and collaborate with one another and have a high degree of trust for one another. While planning, organizing, and controlling the project are important, the manager must also be able to motivate the team and win the confidence of the costumer.
Project managers must possess a balance of technical, interpersonal, and conceptual skills to be able to analyze situations and interact appropriately. Primary interpersonal skills to assist the manager in effectively managing the project include leadership, team building, motivation, and influencing, decision-making, political and cultural awareness. (PMI, 2008). The leader must have the ability to develop people, be able to handle stress, be able to problem-solve, have negotiation skills, and effective time management skills (Gido & Clements, 2012). Key success factors for building high performance teams according to IBM’s Bill Smillie are: stakeholders committed, business benefits realized, work and schedule predictable, team high performing, risks mitigated, delivery organization benefits realized (2002). These factors are framed as actionable results. According to Smillie, project managers can use the seven factors as a guide to help keep a close check on the health of the …show more content…
project. Reh (2008) explains that a successful project manager must be able to manage the four basic elements of a project: resources – which are the people, equipment, and materials; time – which includes task durations, dependencies, and critical path; money – encompasses the costs contingencies, and profit; and scope – which is the project size, goals, and requirements. He explains that these elements are interrelated and therefore must be managed effectively and together for project success. In summary, a project manager must be able to see the big picture while also focusing in on each detail and how that picture comes together; much like a conductor leading an orchestra. The project manager must have soft skills as well as technical skills to be able to complete this task.
Resources http://www.businessballs.com/project.htm Business Balls is a website that discusses the rules, processes and tools for project planning and project management.
http://managementhelp.org/projectmanagement/index.htm
Management Help – All about project management that discusses the foundations of project management, doing project management, and provides links to general resources and topics. This website seems to have a wealth of information and as well as additional links to sites such as helpful software. http://www.projectmanagementguru.com/team.html Project management Guru – Project team leadership tools and techniques. This site is more focused on the project team itself. For instance, Tuckman’s forming, storming, norming, and performing stages. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_60.htm Mind Tools – How good are your project management skills. This site has a quiz but is not a good resource due to needing to be a member. http://www.pmi.org/~/media/PDF/Publications/PMIEXEC06.ashx PMI - Executive guide to project management. Provides an outline of the project management process, benefits and considerations involved in implementation. Packed full of information. The last page provides a comprehensive list to help get the ball rolling when considering beginning a
project.
References
Gido, J., & Clements, J. P. (2012). Successful project management (with Microsoft Project CD-ROM) (5th ed.). Florence, KY: South-Western Cengage Learning. ISBN: 9780538478977.
PMI (2008). Guide to the project management body of knowledge.
Reh, J. F. (2008). Project Management 101. Retrieved December 7, 2008, from http://management.about.com/cs/projectmanagement/a/PM101.htm
Roman, K. (2011). Five critical skills for team leadership. Retrieved January 11, 2013 from http://www.collegiateproject.com/articles/Five%20Skills%20Critical%20for%20Team%20Leadership.pdf
Smillie, B. (2002). IBM. The seven keys to success. Retrieved January 11, 2013 from http://www.key-9.com/docs/7Keys_WhitePaper.pdf
Introduction to Project Management
January 11, 2013
Effective project management requires that the project manager possess the following characteristics: knowledge, what the project manager knows about project management; performance, what the project manager is able to do or accomplish while applying their knowledge; and personal, how the project manager behaves when performing the project activity (PMI, 2008). As Kay Roman (2011) discusses in Five Critical Skills for Team Leadership, leading a team involves the ability to provide direction and leadership, plan, meet goals and objectives, manage activities/tasks, and work with people. Planning and communication are critical to successful project management …show more content…
(Gido & Clements, 2012). However, the manager and team are key to the success of the project. Successful teams will understand the project objectives, how they fit into achieving the objectives, have an understanding of roles and responsibilities, be able to cooperate and collaborate with one another and have a high degree of trust for one another. While planning, organizing, and controlling the project are important, the manager must also be able to motivate the team and win the confidence of the costumer.
Project managers must possess a balance of technical, interpersonal, and conceptual skills to be able to analyze situations and interact appropriately. Primary interpersonal skills to assist the manager in effectively managing the project include leadership, team building, motivation, and influencing, decision-making, political and cultural awareness. (PMI, 2008). The leader must have the ability to develop people, be able to handle stress, be able to problem-solve, have negotiation skills, and effective time management skills (Gido & Clements, 2012). Key success factors for building high performance teams according to IBM’s Bill Smillie are: stakeholders committed, business benefits realized, work and schedule predictable, team high performing, risks mitigated, delivery organization benefits realized (2002). These factors are framed as actionable results. According to Smillie, project managers can use the seven factors as a guide to help keep a close check on the health of the …show more content…
project. Reh (2008) explains that a successful project manager must be able to manage the four basic elements of a project: resources – which are the people, equipment, and materials; time – which includes task durations, dependencies, and critical path; money – encompasses the costs contingencies, and profit; and scope – which is the project size, goals, and requirements. He explains that these elements are interrelated and therefore must be managed effectively and together for project success. In summary, a project manager must be able to see the big picture while also focusing in on each detail and how that picture comes together; much like a conductor leading an orchestra. The project manager must have soft skills as well as technical skills to be able to complete this task.
Resources http://www.businessballs.com/project.htm Business Balls is a website that discusses the rules, processes and tools for project planning and project management.
http://managementhelp.org/projectmanagement/index.htm
Management Help – All about project management that discusses the foundations of project management, doing project management, and provides links to general resources and topics. This website seems to have a wealth of information and as well as additional links to sites such as helpful software. http://www.projectmanagementguru.com/team.html Project management Guru – Project team leadership tools and techniques. This site is more focused on the project team itself. For instance, Tuckman’s forming, storming, norming, and performing stages. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_60.htm Mind Tools – How good are your project management skills. This site has a quiz but is not a good resource due to needing to be a member. http://www.pmi.org/~/media/PDF/Publications/PMIEXEC06.ashx PMI - Executive guide to project management. Provides an outline of the project management process, benefits and considerations involved in implementation. Packed full of information. The last page provides a comprehensive list to help get the ball rolling when considering beginning a
project.
References
Gido, J., & Clements, J. P. (2012). Successful project management (with Microsoft Project CD-ROM) (5th ed.). Florence, KY: South-Western Cengage Learning. ISBN: 9780538478977.
PMI (2008). Guide to the project management body of knowledge.
Reh, J. F. (2008). Project Management 101. Retrieved December 7, 2008, from http://management.about.com/cs/projectmanagement/a/PM101.htm
Roman, K. (2011). Five critical skills for team leadership. Retrieved January 11, 2013 from http://www.collegiateproject.com/articles/Five%20Skills%20Critical%20for%20Team%20Leadership.pdf
Smillie, B. (2002). IBM. The seven keys to success. Retrieved January 11, 2013 from http://www.key-9.com/docs/7Keys_WhitePaper.pdf