Witten Case Analysis Paper
WRitten case analysis Unit 1 writing assignment
Case Study 4.2 page 127
I. Executive Summary
Kathy routinely required her staff to work long arduous hours, with little time off or breaks. Kathy did not consult the workers on key questions therefore excluding them and not giving them ownership of the project they were working on. Kathy took full ownership of the project and used her workers as instruments and treated them as such instead of being empathetic to their needs and allowing them to be involved in the key parts of the project as owners because they were doing the majority of the work. To remedy this Kathy needs to develop a sense of team work and become a member of the team and work alongside her employees instead of as manager. This will create a sense of belonging and ownership among the workers and also build loyalty and make them all stakeholders in the …show more content…
success or failure of the project.
II. Statement of the Problem
Kathy only allows her workers to do the work and pushes them with little reward or allow them stake in the project. She has separated herself from the worker by pushing them with little consideration for their opinions or expertise on key decisions. This resulted in the workers subverting to the sabotage the project. In the short term her leadership will lead to the current results, in the long term it will ultimately lead to here failure as a project manager. Her decision is to recognize the reason for the failure of the project and make personal changes in her leadership style.
III. Causes of the Problem
The root cause of the problem is a direct result of Kathy’s own ambition and desire to do well and make an impact with her company to be recognized. Kathy does not know how to lead form the front she would rather send emails and demand through other methods and not have direct contact with the people that are doing the majority of the work. According to Timothy Barry in an article written for the Project Times, there are 10 qualities a project leader must have in order of importance; Inspires a Shared Vision, A Good Communicator, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Empathy, Competence, Ability to Delegate Tasks, Cool under Pressure, and have Team Building Skills. As you can see Kathy is lacking in the majority of these areas. She does not share the vision of the success of the project with her workers, is not good at communicating, not empathy for the long hours her workers are putting in on the project, and her team building skills are non-existent (Barry, 2012).
IV. Decision Criteria and Alternative Solutions
To make changes to the way Kathy leads, I place these criteria on being an effective leader, influence, enthusiasm, ability to motivate, be goal driven and the most important part of working as a team and being a leader is being able to step back and be a member of the team when needed instead of being a leader from the sidelines. Kathy also does not exercise leadership toward the project with her team members she has established herself as a manager not a leader by her stand-off style leadership. This is confirmed in the article The Importance of Leadership in Project Management, “Upon going forward with the project, the project manager must realize his or her role as a leader. As a matter of fact, this person should not think of himself or herself as the project manager, but rather as the project leader”. (Karas, Raisinghani, & Webb, 2009). Kathy would also need to insert herself as member of the team to build continuity and loyalty and allow the members to be stakeholders in the successes and failures of the project, this is a key topic in the article Leadership Skills for Project Managers, it states “Depending on the project manager’s proficiency in this area, key stakeholders will either gain a sense of shared ownership through the opportunity to participate in thought leadership, or may come away feeling as though their insights aren’t being heard. The ability to make team members feel valued and appreciated is among the most useful leadership skills for project managers.” Kathy would also need to be more directly involved and be seen but not heard unless needed by the team, the article goes on to say “Once the project is underway, the team members should be able to turn to the project manager for guidance and support, but should not feel as if they are being micromanaged. As long as everyone is staying on task, adhering to deadlines and documenting their progress according to the established processes, the best leadership style and skills for project managers to follow is an “invisible hand” approach that involves listening, showing empathy and providing support. The project team should know the project manager is available to offer assistance as requirements change and the dynamics of the project evolve. But at the same time, the project manager should respect the responsibility and expertise of the stakeholders and avoid asserting himself or herself unnecessarily, as this can harm morale (University Alliance, 2014).” This was the case in the project Kathy killed morale by over asserting herself in the project.
V. Recommended Solution, Implementation and Justification
The solution to Kathy’s problem is to do a self-analysis on why the project went wrong and ask the questions “was it me or was it the team”? Kathy would also need to back off her team members, slow down and talk to get the project back on course. In an article on Intense School.com, Daniel Lock, the principal of Daniel Lock Consulting, an Australian firm specializing in change and project management as well as process improvement, explained that project managers who want to rescue failing projects need to avoid playing the role of disappointment managers. Locke goes on to say “Slow down to speed up. When a project starts to fail, the temptation is to do more. But, as with a freeway, adding more cars only slows it down. To speed up a project, reduce multi-tasking by focusing on only the critical path, which means resisting the urge to broaden the scope of the project. Batch tasks and prioritize the other projects which are requesting resources (Palmer, 2013). The justification behind this is that slowing down will allow time to analyze why the project got behind to begin with and allow a direction for correcting the process and getting the project back on schedule. This will also allow Kathy to learn from her prior mistakes. Kathy obviously needs a lesson in leadership and is lacking in a number of areas needed to manage a project team. If she follows these key points stated on ecornell.com she will be well on her way to being a super project manager, “Superior project leadership requires technical depth and management breadth. Project leaders must possess a custom blend of specialized knowledge and key leadership skills to drive optimum project performance: They need the ability to harness their team’s collective intelligence, exercise appropriate influence no matter their level, and communicate effectively (eCornell, 2014).”
Works Cited
Barry, T.
R. (2012, May 16). Project Times. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from Top Ten Leadership Qualities of a Project Leader: http://www.projecttimes.com/articles/top-10-leadership-qualities-of-a-project-manager.html eCornell. (2014). Retrieved from Project Leadership: http://www.ecornell.com/certificates/project-leadership-and-systems-design/project-leadership/
Karas, M. S., Raisinghani, M. S., & Webb, K. S. (2009). IGI Global. TWU School of Managment. doi:10.4018/978-1-60566-400-2.ch005
Palmer, I. (2013, August 9). Best practices for PMP: Five corrective actions for time-sensitive projects that are falling behind schedule. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from Intense School: http://resources.intenseschool.com/best-practices-for-pmp-five-corrective-actions-for-time-sensitive-projects-that-are-falling-behind-schedule/
University Alliance. (2014). Leadership Skills for Project Managers. (University Alliance) Retrieved June 21, 2014, from Villanova University:
http://www.villanovau.com/resources/project-management/leadership-skills-project-management/#.U6XJgrGPPOU
Case Study 4.2 page 127
I. Executive Summary
Kathy routinely required her staff to work long arduous hours, with little time off or breaks. Kathy did not consult the workers on key questions therefore excluding them and not giving them ownership of the project they were working on. Kathy took full ownership of the project and used her workers as instruments and treated them as such instead of being empathetic to their needs and allowing them to be involved in the key parts of the project as owners because they were doing the majority of the work. To remedy this Kathy needs to develop a sense of team work and become a member of the team and work alongside her employees instead of as manager. This will create a sense of belonging and ownership among the workers and also build loyalty and make them all stakeholders in the …show more content…
success or failure of the project.
II. Statement of the Problem
Kathy only allows her workers to do the work and pushes them with little reward or allow them stake in the project. She has separated herself from the worker by pushing them with little consideration for their opinions or expertise on key decisions. This resulted in the workers subverting to the sabotage the project. In the short term her leadership will lead to the current results, in the long term it will ultimately lead to here failure as a project manager. Her decision is to recognize the reason for the failure of the project and make personal changes in her leadership style.
III. Causes of the Problem
The root cause of the problem is a direct result of Kathy’s own ambition and desire to do well and make an impact with her company to be recognized. Kathy does not know how to lead form the front she would rather send emails and demand through other methods and not have direct contact with the people that are doing the majority of the work. According to Timothy Barry in an article written for the Project Times, there are 10 qualities a project leader must have in order of importance; Inspires a Shared Vision, A Good Communicator, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Empathy, Competence, Ability to Delegate Tasks, Cool under Pressure, and have Team Building Skills. As you can see Kathy is lacking in the majority of these areas. She does not share the vision of the success of the project with her workers, is not good at communicating, not empathy for the long hours her workers are putting in on the project, and her team building skills are non-existent (Barry, 2012).
IV. Decision Criteria and Alternative Solutions
To make changes to the way Kathy leads, I place these criteria on being an effective leader, influence, enthusiasm, ability to motivate, be goal driven and the most important part of working as a team and being a leader is being able to step back and be a member of the team when needed instead of being a leader from the sidelines. Kathy also does not exercise leadership toward the project with her team members she has established herself as a manager not a leader by her stand-off style leadership. This is confirmed in the article The Importance of Leadership in Project Management, “Upon going forward with the project, the project manager must realize his or her role as a leader. As a matter of fact, this person should not think of himself or herself as the project manager, but rather as the project leader”. (Karas, Raisinghani, & Webb, 2009). Kathy would also need to insert herself as member of the team to build continuity and loyalty and allow the members to be stakeholders in the successes and failures of the project, this is a key topic in the article Leadership Skills for Project Managers, it states “Depending on the project manager’s proficiency in this area, key stakeholders will either gain a sense of shared ownership through the opportunity to participate in thought leadership, or may come away feeling as though their insights aren’t being heard. The ability to make team members feel valued and appreciated is among the most useful leadership skills for project managers.” Kathy would also need to be more directly involved and be seen but not heard unless needed by the team, the article goes on to say “Once the project is underway, the team members should be able to turn to the project manager for guidance and support, but should not feel as if they are being micromanaged. As long as everyone is staying on task, adhering to deadlines and documenting their progress according to the established processes, the best leadership style and skills for project managers to follow is an “invisible hand” approach that involves listening, showing empathy and providing support. The project team should know the project manager is available to offer assistance as requirements change and the dynamics of the project evolve. But at the same time, the project manager should respect the responsibility and expertise of the stakeholders and avoid asserting himself or herself unnecessarily, as this can harm morale (University Alliance, 2014).” This was the case in the project Kathy killed morale by over asserting herself in the project.
V. Recommended Solution, Implementation and Justification
The solution to Kathy’s problem is to do a self-analysis on why the project went wrong and ask the questions “was it me or was it the team”? Kathy would also need to back off her team members, slow down and talk to get the project back on course. In an article on Intense School.com, Daniel Lock, the principal of Daniel Lock Consulting, an Australian firm specializing in change and project management as well as process improvement, explained that project managers who want to rescue failing projects need to avoid playing the role of disappointment managers. Locke goes on to say “Slow down to speed up. When a project starts to fail, the temptation is to do more. But, as with a freeway, adding more cars only slows it down. To speed up a project, reduce multi-tasking by focusing on only the critical path, which means resisting the urge to broaden the scope of the project. Batch tasks and prioritize the other projects which are requesting resources (Palmer, 2013). The justification behind this is that slowing down will allow time to analyze why the project got behind to begin with and allow a direction for correcting the process and getting the project back on schedule. This will also allow Kathy to learn from her prior mistakes. Kathy obviously needs a lesson in leadership and is lacking in a number of areas needed to manage a project team. If she follows these key points stated on ecornell.com she will be well on her way to being a super project manager, “Superior project leadership requires technical depth and management breadth. Project leaders must possess a custom blend of specialized knowledge and key leadership skills to drive optimum project performance: They need the ability to harness their team’s collective intelligence, exercise appropriate influence no matter their level, and communicate effectively (eCornell, 2014).”
Works Cited
Barry, T.
R. (2012, May 16). Project Times. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from Top Ten Leadership Qualities of a Project Leader: http://www.projecttimes.com/articles/top-10-leadership-qualities-of-a-project-manager.html eCornell. (2014). Retrieved from Project Leadership: http://www.ecornell.com/certificates/project-leadership-and-systems-design/project-leadership/
Karas, M. S., Raisinghani, M. S., & Webb, K. S. (2009). IGI Global. TWU School of Managment. doi:10.4018/978-1-60566-400-2.ch005
Palmer, I. (2013, August 9). Best practices for PMP: Five corrective actions for time-sensitive projects that are falling behind schedule. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from Intense School: http://resources.intenseschool.com/best-practices-for-pmp-five-corrective-actions-for-time-sensitive-projects-that-are-falling-behind-schedule/
University Alliance. (2014). Leadership Skills for Project Managers. (University Alliance) Retrieved June 21, 2014, from Villanova University:
http://www.villanovau.com/resources/project-management/leadership-skills-project-management/#.U6XJgrGPPOU