Slide 1

www.falcontraining.co.nz GREAT LEADERSHIP IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT Sean Whitaker, PMP, BA, MSc, MBA

Slide 2

A Bit About Me... Experienced project manager having successfully delivered construction, telecommunications and IT projects in NZ and Australia PMP, BA, MSc, MBA President of Project Management Institute of New Zealand Project management trainer, author and speaker

Slide 3

Overview Present a competency-based model for leadership Present four key competencies for leadership within the profession of project management Implications for project managers Feel free to ask questions throughout

Slide 4

Leadership Studying leadership and developing your own leadership abilities is important for both personal and professional reasons For you personally, a path of growth through your own leadership development will enable you to reach the goals you have and fulfil your full potential Take a proactive approach to accepting the personal and professional challenges that leadership opportunities present

Slide 5

The Value Of Leadership To Project Management The value of project management Properly applied professional project management practices do add bottom line value to an organisation The value of leadership to project management Leadership increases the likelihood of project success and the absence of leadership negatively affects projects

Slide 6

Defining Leadership What do you think defines Leadership and Leaders?

Slide 7

Leadership Definition The Purposeful Influencing of Followers

Slide 8

Purposeful The leader must accept the challenge that leadership presents and demands There are many people we may wish to follow who may not wish to lead

Slide 9

Influencing The leader must have a vision and be prepared to influence followers to see and move towards the vision

Slide 10

Followers Leadership is a relationship between those who choose to lead and those who choose to be lead Without followers there are no leaders A leader must acknowledge, value and protect this relationship

Slide 11

What about Followers and Followership? Are you a Leader or a Follower? If you are a Leader do you know what your followers expect of you? If you are a Follower do you know what your leaders expect of you?

Slide 12

Born or Made? There are certain behaviours and characteristics you are born with which may dispose you towards a certain style of leadership Other than that it is entirely up to you if you wish to study leadership and learn to develop your particular leadership style Leadership is situational, different situations call for different styles (i.e. charismatic leadership works well in transformational situations but can be a liability in other leadership situations))

Slide 13

So what? Now we know what leadership is, what are the characteristics, traits and skills a great leader should have?

Slide 14

The Leadership Development Spectrum Spiritual - Personal - Tasks - Technical

Slide 15

Slide 16

A Model for Leadership Leadership within projects presents a unique situation A project environment is finite and unique It is also constrained by time, budget or resources It needs a different prioritisation in the set of leadership competencies from an operational setting Leadership in project management is situational and utilises 15 core competencies depending on several contextual factors such as project type, complexity, industry and size

Slide 17

The 15 Competencies of Leadership Managerial Engaging communication Managing resources Empowering Developing Achieving Intellectual Critical analysis and judgement Vision and integration Strategic perspective Emotional Self-awareness Emotional resilience Motivation Sensitivity Influence Intuitiveness Conscientiousness

Slide 18

A Model for Leadership Engaging Communication Managing Resources Empowering Developing Achieving Critical Analysis & Judgement Vision and Integration Strategic Perspective Self-Awareness Emotional Resilience Motivation Sensitivity Influence Intuitiveness Conscientiousness

Slide 19

Personal Foundation It is Important The need for an authentic personal foundation is central to leadership as during your career as a leader you will at one time or another be required to draw on and display whatever set of competencies are required due to the context of the situation A strong authentic personal foundation is constant in all leadership situations Without a strong personal foundation the dark, narcissistic side of leadership can take hold

Slide 20

What do you think...

Slide 21

Constant Core Competencies A strong personal foundation is a constant requirements of great leadership Many of the competencies of project leadership are situational. However, there are number of the 15 identified competencies, along with a strong personal foundation, which are regarded as constant no matter what the situation The following research added weight to this Overall the respondents can be described as highly experienced, motivated, intelligent and educated people working in a focussed, pressured and high profile profession

Slide 22

The Interviewees By Industry Social services 3% IT 59% Construction 31% By Gender Male 72% Female 28% By Country of Professional Origin New Zealand 44% By Country of Current Residence New Zealand 88% USA 6% Education 6% Jordan 3%Australia 3% UK 25% USA 9% Australia 6% Romania 3% Jordan 3% Malaysia 3% Switzerland 3% Holland 3%

Slide 23

Project Managers Why are you attracted to the profession of project management? Leadership role Variety, diversity and challenge Like organising/ planning Seeing work to completion Building something tangible Finite natureRemuneration Percentage of interviewees

Slide 24

Project Managers What are your core values? Honesty Percentage of interviewees IntegrityHumourTrustAuthenticitySelf-learningPassionFamilyFairnessRespectSense of KindnessCompetitionPrideEmpathyEQHumilityHospitality

Slide 25

Your Leadership Experience Think about a time in your life when you have accepted a leadership role. As a result of you being leader things went really well. What behaviours, characteristics and traits did you display as a great leader? What do you hope your followers would say about your leadership style?

Slide 26

The Core of Great Leadership Percentage of interviewees Communication Visionary Trust Empathy Took responsibility Coaching/Mentoring Humour Use of authority Servant leadership Motivational Fairness Integrity Openness Issue resolution Respect Self-regulation Passion Charisma What did they do when being great leaders?

Slide 27

Your Followership Experience Think about a person in your life who has inspired you with their leadership role What was it about this person that you admired? What lesson did this person teach you about leadership that you would pass on to someone wanting to be a great leader?

Slide 28

The Core of Great Leadership What did they admire in great leaders? Communication Percentage of interviewees Visionary TrustEmpathy Coaching/Mentoring Protector Took responsibility Servant leadership Honesty Passion Friendship Humour Kindness Diplomacy Self-regulation Use of authority Charisma/confidence Listening Humility Authenticity

Slide 29

The 15 Competencies of Leadership Managerial Engaging communication Managing resources Empowering Developing Achieving Intellectual Critical analysis and judgement Vision and integration Strategic perspective Emotional Self-awareness Emotional resilience Motivation Sensitivity Influence Intuitiveness Conscientiousness

Slide 30

Bridging the Gap Percentage of interviewees People skills What things do they need to work on to become a great leader? Strategic/ visionary Work on leadership skills Coaching/ mentoring role Better processes EmpathyCommunic ation skills ConfidenceServant leader Proactive

Slide 31

Becoming a Great Leader Now we can see what the essential and core elements of leadership within the professional of project management we can look at ways to develop the required core competencies of great leadership

Slide 32

5 Practices of Exemplary Leaders 1. Model the Way 2. Inspire a shared Vision 3. Challenge the Process 4. Enable others to Act 5. Encourage the Heart

Slide 33

Model the Way 1. Find your voice by clarifying your personal values 2. Set the example by aligning your words and actions Titles are granted but its your behaviour that wins you respect Leaders are supposed to stand up for their beliefs, so theyd better have some beliefs to stand up for. People follow first the person, then the plan

Slide 34

Inspire a Shared Vision 3. Envision the future by imagining exciting possibilities 4. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations Leaders gaze across the horizon of time, imagining the attractive opportunities that are in store when they and their followers arrive at a distant destination Leadership is a dialogue not a monologue so you have to listen to others as you communicate your vision Your enthusiasm and passion for your vision will be catching

Slide 35

Passion defined passion [pash-uh n] noun an instance or experience of strong love or sexual desire. a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything i.e. a passion for music. [dictionary.com] The best leaders are passionate about what they do. Discover what you are passionate about.

Slide 36

Challenge the Process 5. Search for opportunities by seeking innovative easy to change, grow and improve 6.Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from mistakes Leaders are pioneers and are willing to step into the unknown. Dont sit around waiting for luck to make things happen. Leaders search for opportunities to innovate, grow and improve Failure doesnt guarantee future success without the ability to learn Try, fail, learn

Slide 37

Enable Others to Act 7.Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust 8. Strengthen others by sharing power and discretion Leaders foster collaboration and build trust to build teamwork. A leader who can make people feel strong and capable will get more from their team. Leaders enable others to act not by hoarding the power they have but by giving it away empower your people to be amazing and exceed their own personal best.

Slide 38

Encourage the Heart 9. Recognise contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence 10. Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community Leaders encourage the heart of their followers to carry on. Recognise contributions, celebrate values and victories This demands that you are authentic and genuine People will know if you aren't a genuine person.

Slide 39

First make a decision to develop your leadership skills. They can be learnt How do you think you can apply what we have gone over today? At your work place? In your personal life? Leadership opportunities are everywhere Follow the K&P model and start a journal noting down where and when you have, or wished you had, developed and displayed any of the 5 characteristics Take the opportunity to get feedback from followers ask the hard questions and accept the answers Copy those leaders you admire get a leadership mentor How can you apply all of this?

Slide 40

Summary Project management adds value to organisations Leadership adds value to project management Great project leaders demonstrate great communication, a vision, trust and empathy Protect your personal foundation Project environments are more focussed and constrained than operational environments and this affects leadership skills used Actively (and proactively) seek to develop within yourself the traits of a great leader. Just as you would study medicine to become a great doctor you can study leadership to become a great leader

Slide 41

Further reading The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner The Encouraging the Heart Workbook, Kouzes and Posner True North, Bill George Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman

Slide 42

Final Thoughts The project management profession must take responsibility for developing our own leaders Make leadership development a core component of ongoing professional development

Slide 43

Thank you Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or feedback. Sean Whitaker, sean@falcontraining.com (and on LinkedIn)sean@falcontraining.com