Becoming a Project Leader

Bruce MaasEmeritus Vice Provost for IT and

CIO, University of Wisconsin

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Why the Book?

Project Management is necessary, but not sufficient

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Why the Book?

We do not teach project managers about leadership. Those who

learn, do so with painful experiences, or with mentoring, or

a combination of the two3

What About Me?

Thrust into project management without preparation. Chosen

because of leadership skills. So I came at it 180 degrees from

everyone else, and yet it worked4

PMI and PMBOKOftentimes projects are formed

without project sponsors understanding the pre-defined role they need to play. Many projects fail for this reason. One reason why project leadership needed.

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My Experience

My career was financial, and academic support. I used IT and

access to data as a tool. I understood why our enterprise

project needed leadership, because the stakes were so high. I

was organized. I was tenacious. I was “sacrificed” ;) 6

My ExperienceI delivered a $9.5M project for

$6.0M, on time, under budget, and with significantly increased scope.

I adapted to absent project sponsors, took authority, and

begged for forgiveness.7

I learned…From failure

From lack of preparationFrom observation

That good people need a PM who fights for them, who has courage

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I learned…That training in PM methodology

was not enough. The tough problems require leadership and

resilience. My dream was to write this book in part to pay back those who have served without support,

to encourage others

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Big ThemeProjects today need to be managed in living order, not geometric order

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Geometric vs Living OrderGeometric Order

The traditional concept of order in which events are well organized

and predictable

Requires Management11

Geometric vs Living OrderLiving Order

The natural order of events and objects as they evolve. Agile.

Requires Leadership

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Quote to RememberJames March, a renowned

organization researcher from Stanford University concluded that “leadership involves plumbing as

well as poetry”.

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Life of a Project Manager“…we have found that project

managers must frequently cope with numerous unexpected events.

These can range from everyday occurrences such as the failure of a worker to show up or changes in a customer’s requirements, to rarer

events, such as the bankruptcy of a key vendor.”

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Life of a Project Manager“Such unexpected results often

disrupt the orderly progress of the project. Maintaining project in

geometric order becomes impossible as projects are

transformed to living order. Coping with the challenging living order of the project becomes the primary

role of the project manager.”15

We Recommend a Hybrid Model

Four Key Roles of the Project Manager

1. Planning (Decision Choregrapher-Chap 2)2. Agility (Plumber-Chap 3)

3. Resilience (Entrepreneur-Chap 4)

4. Collaborative Teamwork (Gardener-Chap 5)

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Today’s PMs …need to…Periodically cope with deviations from the

plans (role1), to continuously cope with unexpected events (role2), and to cope

with major threats (role3). The 4th role is to facilitate the implemention of the first

three practices and thus cope most effectively with project changes.

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Planning

Employ an Evolving Process(Finalize the Formulation of project

objectives as you try to reach them)

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Agility

Be Responsive and Action Oriented

(quick action during execution phase)

Remote control rarely offers real control

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ResilienceThere are both technical and

adaptive problems to surmount In order to prevent a major

disruption, the PM must be willing to initiate a change rather than

simply respond to eventsIn challenging status quo, embrace

behavior of hedgehog and fox!

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Collaborative TeamworkCultivate and Sustain

Collaboration by Focusing on the Individual, the Team, and the

Work

“The right people” does not necessarily mean the stars.

Project and team needs trump individual interests.

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Becoming a Project LeaderLearn on the Job Through

Experience, Reflection, and Mentoring. Taking initiative while consistently challenging the status quo is one of the key ingredients in

developing leadership competence.

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Tailoring Project Decisions to Project Context

A world dominated by living order requires moving from a one-size-fits-all paradigm to tailoring the

decisions to the context of the specific situation.

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Bruce Maas

Emeritus Vice Provost for IT and CIOHonorary Fellow-School of

InformationUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

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