Leadership
Abstract
Leadership has been defined in this chapter as the ability to inspire, persuade, or influence and a list of seventeen qualities required by a good leader has been included. The four categories of situational leadership are discussed, supported by a diagram showing the relationship between supportive and directive behaviour. There is also a section on professionalism and ethics and the responsibilities of the project manager to the client, the project, and the project management profession.
Keywords
Leadership; situational leadership; professionalism; ethics
Chapter Outline
Leadership can be defined as the ability to inspire, persuade, or influence others to follow a course of action or behaviour towards a defined goal. In a political context this can be for good or evil, but in a project environment it can generally be assumed that good leadership is a highly desirable attribute of a project manager.
Leadership is not the same as management. Leadership is about motivating, influencing, and setting examples to teams and individuals, while management is concerned with the administrative and organizational facets of a project or company. It can be seen therefore that a good project manager should be able to combine his leadership and management skills for the benefit of the project.
Whether leadership is attributed to birth, environment, or training is still a subject for debate but the attributes required by a leader are the same. The following list gives some of the more essential characteristics to be expected from a good leader. To dispel the impression that there is a priority of qualities, they are given in alphabetical order.
| Adaptability | Ability to change to new environment or client’s needs |
| Attitude | Positive can-do outlook, optimism despite setbacks |
| Charisma | Presence and power to attract attention and influence people |
| Cognitive ability | Ability to weigh up options, give clear instructions |
| Commitment | Will to succeed and achieve set goals |
| Common sense | Ability not to be hoodwinked by irrational suggestions or solutions |
| Creativity | Able to do some innovative or lateral thinking |
| Drive | Energy, willpower, and determination to push forward |
| Fairness | Fair and considerate attitude to human needs and staff problems |
| Flexibility | Willingness to modify ideas and procedures to new circumstances |
| Honesty | Trustworthy, reliable, will not tolerate cover-ups |
| Integrity | Ability to make sound moral judgements, approachable, principled |
| Intelligence | Clear thinking and ability to understand conflicting arguments |
| Open-mindedness | Open to new ideas and suggestions even if unconventional |
| Prudence | Ability to weigh up and take risks without being reckless |
| Self-confidence | Trust in own decisions and abilities without being self-righteous |
| Technical knowledge | Understanding of technical needs of the project and deliverables |
While these ‘paragonial’ attributes (apart from being charismatic) sadly do not seem to be necessary in a politician, they are desirable in a project leader and in fact many good project managers do possess these qualities which, in practice, result in the following abilities:
• Good communication skills, such as giving clear unambiguous instructions and listening to others before making decisions.
• Inspiring the team by setting out clearly the aims and objectives and stressing the importance of the project to the organization or indeed, where this is the case, the country.
• Fostering a climate in which new suggestions and ideas are encouraged and giving due credit when and where these can be implemented.
• Allocating to the selected members of the team, the roles and tasks to suit the skills, abilities, and personal characteristics of each member irrespective of race, creed, colour, sex, or orientation.
• Gaining the confidence and respect of the team members by resolving personnel issues fairly, promptly, and sympathetically.
Situational Leadership
Situational leadership simply means that the management style has to be adapted to suit the actual situation the leader finds himself or herself in.
According to Hersey and Blanchard, who made a study of this subject as far back as 1960, managers or leaders must change their management style according to the level of maturity of the individual or group. Maturity can be defined as an amalgam of education, ability, confidence, and willingness to take responsibility. Depending on this level of maturity, a leader must then decide, when allocating a specific task, whether to give firm, clear instructions without inviting questions or delegating the performance of the task, giving the follower a virtual free hand. These are the extreme outer (opposite) points of a behavioural curve. In between these two extremes lies the bulk of management behaviour. For convenience, the level of maturity can be split into four categories:
Low skill, low confidence, low motivation
Medium skill, fair confidence, fair ability, good motivation
The degree of direction or support given to the follower will depend on the leader’s perception of the follower’s maturity, but always in relation to a specific task. Clearly a person can be more confident about one task or another, depending largely on his or her level of experience of that task, but situational leadership theory can only be applied to the situation (task) to be performed at this particular time.
The simplest way to illustrate situational behaviour is to look at the way tasks are allocated in the army.
High task, low support
A sergeant will give clear direction to a category 1 recruit, which he or she will not expect to be questioned on. There will be little technical or emotional support – just plain orders to perform the task.
High task, high support
A captain will give an order to the sergeant (category 2) but will listen to any questions or even suggestions the sergeant may make, as this follower may have considerable experience.
Low task, high support
A colonel will suggest a course of action with a major but will also discuss any fears or problems that may arise before deciding on the exact tactics.
Low task, low support
A commander in chief will outline his strategy to his general staff, listen to their views, and will then let them get on with implementing the tasks without further interference.
Clearly in every case the leader must continue to monitor the performance of any follower or group, but this will vary with the degree of confidence the leader has in the follower. At the lowest level it could be a check every half hour. At the highest level it could be a monthly report.
It is not possible to apply mathematical models to managing people who are not only diverse from one another, but can also change themselves day by day depending on their emotional or physical situation at the time.
Figure 40.1 shows the four maturity categories set against the behaviour grid. It also superimposes a development curve that indicates the progression of behavioural change from the lowest to the highest assuming that the follower’s maturity develops over the period of the project.
The leader can help to develop the maturity of the follower by gradually reducing the task behaviour, which means explaining the reasons for instructions and increasing the support by praising or rewarding achievements as soon as they occur. There should be a high degree of encouragement by openly discussing mistakes without direct criticism or apportioning blame. Phased monitoring and a well-structured feedback mechanism will highlight a problem before it gets out of hand, but probably the most important point to be hammered home is the conviction that the leader and follower are on the same side, have the same common interest to reduce the effect of errors, and must therefore work together to resolve problems as soon as they become apparent.
It is fear of criticism that inhibits the early disclosure of problems or mistakes, which tend to get worse unless confronted and rectified as soon as possible. Even senior managers risk instant dismissal if they deliberately submit incorrect information or unduly withhold an unpalatable financial position from the board of directors.
Leaders who are confident of their abilities and able to practise the low-task, low-support style will be able to delegate without completely abdicating their own accountability.
Delegation means transferring both the responsibility and authority to another person, but still retaining the right to monitor the performance as and when required. Clearly if this monitoring takes place too frequently or too obtrusively, the confidence of the follower is soon undermined. Generally speaking a monthly report is a reasonable method of retaining overall control, provided of course that the report is up to date, honest, and technically correct.
Professionalism and Ethics
All the major professional institutions expect their members to observe rules of conduct that have been designed to ensure that the standards of ethical behaviour set out in the charter and by laws of the institution are adhered to.
The rules set out the duties of professional members towards their employers and clients, their profession and its institution, their fellow members, the general public, and the environment. These rules apply equally to professionals in full- or part-time employment and to those acting as professional consultants or advisers on a fee basis for and behalf of private or public clients. Contravention of this code could result in disciplinary proceedings and possible suspension or even expulsion from the institution.
Project management is a relatively new profession when compared with the established professions such as law, medicine, architecture, accountancy, civil engineering, and surveying.
A standard code of conduct was therefore produced by the Association for Project Management (APM), which sets out the required standards of professional behaviour expected from a project manager. These duties and responsibilities can be divided into three main categories as follows.
A further discussion on ethics is given in chapter 43 (Governance)
Responsibilities to Clients and Employers
• Ensure that terms of engagement and scope are agreed by both parties
• Act responsibly and honestly in all matters
• Accept responsibility for own actions
• Declare possible conflicts of interest
• Treat all data and information as confidential
• Act in the best interest of the client or employer
• Where required, provide adequate professional indemnity insurance
• Desist from subcontracting work without the client’s consent
Responsibilities to the Project
• Neither give nor accept gifts or inducements, other than of nominal value, from individuals or organizations associated with the project
• Forecast and report realistic values in terms of cost, time and performance, and quality
• Ensure the relevant health and safety regulations are enforced
• Monitor and control all tasks
• Ensure sufficiency and efficient use of resources as and when required
• Take steps to anticipate and prevent contractual disputes
• Act fairly and equitably in resolving disputes if called upon to do so
Responsibilities to the Profession of Project Management
• Only accept assignments for which he/she considers himself/herself to be competent
• Participate in continual professional development
• Encourage further education and professional development of staff
• Refuse to act as project manager in place of another professional member without instructions from the client and prior notification to the other project manager
• Always act in a manner that will not damage the standing and reputation of the profession, or the relevant professional institution
Normally one of the conditions of membership of a professional institution is that one accepts the rules of conduct without question and that any decision by the disciplinary committee is final.