ETHIOPIAN CIVIL SERVICE UNIVERSITY/ECSU
DEPARTMENT OF PROJECT LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIC PROJECT LEADERSHIP (PLM T 5011)
Individual Assignment-I
Article Review: Moving Project Management to Project Leadership
Name:
Firaol Bekele
ID
ECSU2202775
Section
02
Submitted To: Dr. Tarekegn D.
Submission Date: February, 2023
Table of Contents
1. Moving from project management to leadership in change projects ...................................................... 1
1.1. Main concepts .................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Definitions of Project Management and Project Leadership................................................................. 1
1.3. The role of project management in achieving project success ............................................................. 2
1.3.1 Project leadership survival skills ...................................................................................................... 2
1.4. A competency framework for project leadership .................................................................................. 3
1.5. Project Leadership Competency and Traits ........................................................................................... 3
1.6. Project Management as a Service.......................................................................................................... 4
1.7. Difference between Project Leader and Project Manager .................................................................... 4
1.8. Role of Project Leadership ..................................................................................................................... 6
1.9. How to Transition From Project Manager to Project Leader................................................................. 6
1.10. Moving from management to leadership in projects .......................................................................... 7
1.11. The Power of Project Leadership ......................................................................................................... 8
REFERENCE .................................................................................................................................................... 9
1. Moving from project management to leadership in change projects
1.1. Main concepts
What are a project and which ways a project can be defined? Project is a unique and usually onetime created entity that will result for example a new product, transaction or new guidelines
doing different tasks. There will be specific start and finish for the project but the duration of the
project can vary from hours to years. To be able to manage project and to secure its progress
there is also an effective project leadership and management needed to give a helping hand to
any type of change. Planning a project plays a very crucial part in effective project management.
Project manager must understand the work of the project and keep the project moving with, for
and through the people who reflects the importance of project leadership. (Wells & Kloppenborg:
2015, 1-2.)
Projects are often seen progressing with a specific plan. The three most important traditional
factors for projects are quality, schedule and transactions. The temporary state of project and its
flexibility as well as project‘s affiliation to situational and contextual aspects can be seen as vital
factors for projects. Recognizing the need for forming a project is as well very relevant because
unnecessary projects can cause uncontrollable recurrence and overloading to work community.
To be able to use resources correctly, there should be specific definitions to duration, depth and
immensity of the project. In addition project manager and other persons in charge of the project
should also determine what the level of compulsion of forming new projects is and how
voluntary it really is (Paasivaara, Suhonen & Virtanen 2011: 26–27).
1.2. Definitions of Project Management and Project Leadership
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project
activities to meet the project requirements. Project managers must not only strive to meet
specific scope, time, cost, and quality requirements of projects, they must also facilitate the entire
process to meet the needs and expectations of the people involved in or affected by project
activities.(Kathy Schwalbe, 2015)
Project leadership refers to the art and science of guiding a team towards successful project
completion. Project leadership brings together people to achieve a common goal; the team is able
to accomplish more than they could as individuals. (Nikita Duggal, 2022)
Moving from Project Management to Leadership in Change Projects
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1.3. The role of project management in achieving project success
The role of different project management techniques to implement projects successfully has been
widely established in areas such as the planning and control of time, cost and quality. In spite of
this the distinction between the project and project management is less than precise.
1.3.1 Project leadership survival skills
Skill 1 – Anticipating
Anticipating is an important attribute for a project leader. This wasn‘t universally recognized, but
was cited as being important by the more experienced project leaders interviewed. Anticipating
enables the project leader not to be caught off guard. By recognizing some of the signs that
something is about to happen, they can be prepared before the issue becomes apparent. To their
team, this preparedness looks impressive and builds the status of the project leader.
Skill 2 – Judgment and decision-making
Project leadership is about judgment. Project management systems may produce accurate data
about progress and adherence to the plan, but project leadership is about the future.
Skill 3 – Seeing it all
The project leader is the person with the best holistic view of the project, by virtue of their role.
The project sponsor may understand the environment and outcomes better, but they are much
further away from the project; members of the project team may see in much more detail how
their particular part of the project works day to day, but they won‘t be able to see the whole
picture.
Skill 4 – Building credibility and confidence
Project leaders need the space to lead and run a project their own way. Many project leaders
talked about being trusted and, in turn, trusting their own teams. Under these circumstances,
people have the responsibility and authority to get on with the job within the parameters set, and
micromanagement is squeezed out.
Skill 5 – Organizationally intelligent
Organizational intelligence was typically cited by those running large and complex projects.
Moving from Project Management to Leadership in Change Projects
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A key task for any project leader is to acquire the resources and expertise needed to deliver the
project.
Skill 6 – Learning
Learning needs to occur at three levels. These are: learning through the project, reflecting on the
project and Team learning.
Skill 7 – Conflict resolution and collaboration
For the most part, our project leaders saw their role as overcoming that conflict through
collaboration and building a single project team set on delivering the outcomes and benefits.
Skill 8 – Creating the project culture and environment
Culture was identified as an important element by a wide cross-section of the project leaders
interviewed, but it meant different things in different settings.
1.4. A competency framework for project leadership
Competency frameworks are typically developed ‗top down‘ reflecting the organization‘s own
values and thoughts around good practice.
Project leadership competency framework to help organizations build in-house capability and to
help individuals assess where they are and where they can focus any opportunities for
development. (Association for Project Management, October 2018)
1.5. Project Leadership Competency and Traits
It is generally recognized that personality traits should lead to, or support competencies, and that
competencies for project management have unique qualities that differ from general management
competencies. Pettersen (1991) contends that, ―It seems to be accepted in the field that project
managers, who evolve within a context made more difficult by the variety and complexity of its
activities, need to develop skill different from those of their colleagues in functional
management. Consequently, it becomes extremely important for the organization to take these
particular requirements into account when selecting a manager who will be able to bring his or
her projects to a successful conclusion.‖ Additionally, Walker and Peterson (1999) go on to say,
―In order to create a mutually successful corporate environment, it is important to create an
environment for success by putting people into positions to succeed. Not everyone is destined to
become a project leader, any more than everyone is destined to become the CEO.‖ (Project
Management Journal March, 2007).
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1.6. Project Management as a Service
To succeed under increasing expectations of stakeholders, the project leader must view project
management as a service. ―A service is an economic activity that adds value either directly to
another economic unit or to a good belonging to another economic unit.‖ Consequently, a
defining feature of a service is direct interaction between producers and consumers before the
service can be rendered. How does this relate to project management and the project leader?
The economic activity is the project a temporary, unique endeavor with specific objectives.
Traditionally, project management was viewed as an economic activity consisting of the project
team‘s efforts to satisfy the direct needs of the sponsor and community of stakeholders. The
primary economic unit is the sponsor whose need initiates the economic activity, or the project.
The project leader‘s economic activity is to add value directly to other economic units—the
project team, its sponsor, the customers, and interested stakeholders. The project leader must
regard all of these human stakeholders as consumers of his service. To satisfy their expectations,
the project leader must have a strong sense of their needs and expectations. Project management
is a service that adds value to the work of the project, its team, and all of its stakeholders. (Jack
Ferraro, 2008:26-27).
1.7. Difference between Project Leader and Project Manager
While project leaders are generalists, project managers are experts.
The project manager is in charge of organizing and coordinating the team and guarding against
risks and bottlenecks. They must therefore be more analytical and thorough in their work.
Project managers, on the other hand, concentrate on the larger picture. Their objective is to
establish a vision for the project to give the team members a feeling of direction and inspiration
and to have an impact on their performance to achieve success.
Project managers deal with difficulties while project leaders formulate plans.
Leaders of projects are strategists. They contribute to the development of long-term strategies
and concepts that motivate the project's participants to reach their objectives through their
motivating attitude.
Project managers have a list of things they must complete. As a result of their ties to the
schedule, they are required to handle any unforeseen problems that may develop.
Project leaders concentrate on the people, while project managers concentrate on the task.
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Project leaders, like project managers, seek to meet goals, yet they also would like to discover
ways to enhance team performances and set team goals. In this way, they foster an environment
that pulls out all the best in its staff members.
While project managers provide direction, project leaders inspire their teams.
Project managers emphasize encouraging each team member; they are friendlier and more
sympathetic and try to establish a personal connection with the project team. They hope to
impact them and ensure that every team member matches their own goals and interests with
those of the group and the project.
Depending on the needs and challenges that could develop throughout a project, project
managers guide team members and give them various duties. Additionally, since they are in
charge of the project's schedule, they can insist that their teams perform their tasks promptly and
correctly.
While project leaders take chances, project managers seek to keep things the same.
Project managers' goals are maintaining the status quo and ensuring everything goes as planned.
They oversee a project's scope, timeline, and quality and must give team members clear
instructions to respect these resources. They are specialists because of this, concentrating on
technological and logistical concerns.
On the other hand, project managers always plan ahead and create objectives. They work hard to
develop fresh ideas, inspire their people, and drive innovation and ongoing progress. To increase
efficiency, they want to encourage change. Due to the fact that they are two distinct but related
action systems, both roles are essential to a project. When selecting or assigning a person to fill
either of these jobs, an organization must take into account these qualities and responsibilities as
they will undoubtedly enhance the project's overall success.
While project leaders strive to learn, project managers are results-driven.
The project manager's main objective is to complete the project on time and within the estimated
budget. These objectives are shared by project managers, but they also look for methods to
customize their management approach for each team. They set challenging team goals in an
effort to find strategies to improve team productivity.
While project managers work, project leaders plan.
Project managers have a list of things they must complete. To ensure that deadlines are reached,
project managers oversee the budget, staffing, and roles of team members. Project managers also
Moving from Project Management to Leadership in Change Projects
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oversee the team's efficiency, but their main focus is on inspiring the team and encouraging the
development of fresh concepts.
While project leaders are people-centric, project managers are project-centric.
The strategies used to produce the desired outcome, a successful project, are the project
manager's responsibility. Their main responsibility is to make sure the team completes the
project on schedule and within budget. Project managers give the project their full attention
while motivating people around them to realize their goals.
Project manager leadership skills involve motivating and inspiring teams, communicating,
influencing team skills, and team building. Lead project management involves overseeing all the
various aspects of a project and ensuring that the processes are carried out smoothly. Preethiga
Narasimman(2022)
1.8. Role of Project Leadership
A move has been made from task perspective to a leadership perspective within project context
in recent project management literature review. The ability of project leader is essential for
successful management of projects. The duties of project leader‘s include gathering and
distributing information, leading, planning, coordinating, moderating, and controlling the project
team. The role of project leader can be illustrated through combination of internal and external
roles as well as leadership and managerial roles. The first dimension of project manager is
leadership and management roles while second dimension is based on internal and external roles.
Planning and execution both are just considered to an end due to new responsibilities of project
leaders in which most important is to identify and articulate clear project strategy with emphasize
to revisit and deal with business assumptions at higher level by defining the outcomes and
business expectation. (International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 4,
Issue 1, January-2013:5).
1.9. How to Transition From Project Manager to Project Leader
Many project managers—and especially those with a technical background—have a
predominantly rational and analytical way of thinking. They are good at analyzing facts,
calculating duration, coordinating activities and making logical decisions. They are task-oriented
and their strength is in executing someone else‘s vision—rather than defining it.
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Let us look at five things you can do to begin the transformation.
i. Stretch and motivate the team.
The ability to motivate team members to deliver their best work is integral to project leadership.
ii. Identify new and better ways of working.
A key differentiator between project leaders and managers is the ability to continuously push the
limits and look for ways in which the team can improve and innovate. Not only are project
leaders good at challenging the status quo, but they are also excellent at involving the team in the
process.
iii. Understand the project’s strategic context.
As a project leader, you need to partner with your client and take joint responsibility for
delivering the project‘s ultimate goals and objectives.
iv. Set time aside for the important work.
In order to become an effective project leader, you have to be excellent at prioritizing projects
and optimizing your time. The trick is to consistently put the important matters above the urgent
tasks and to reduce multitasking and overcome procrastination.
v. Overcome resistance to change.
In order to serve your clients and ensure that their strategic objectives are achieved, you will
have to address any resistance to change that may appear—is it from users, stakeholders or team
members. The key to doing so is to remove fear, doubt, and uncertainty from people‘s minds.
https://www.liquidplanner.com/blog/transition-project-manager-project-leader/
1.10. Moving from management to leadership in projects
In his article, Gary R. Smith (1999) emphasizes the importance of leadership in a specific
project. According to him, the reason for project not succeeding is not about lacking
management skills but lacking leadership skills. Because project success reflects straight to the
project leader, project leader therefore has the responsibility of not only managing the details of
the project and reporting about the different situations of the project but most importantly,
bringing his own value to the project through leadership.( Joona Männistö 2020:17).
The first concept for moving from management to leadership in projects is communication. The
concept of communication from two different viewpoints: communication with top management
and communication within the project team. These two ways of communication can be seen very
Moving from Project Management to Leadership in Change Projects
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vital if the project leader aims to bring value to the project especially through leadership. (Joona
Männistö 2020:17-18.) As a second factor for moving from management to leadership, Smith
(1999:89) sees the importance of planning the project. Applicable plan at its best can give
functional tools for implementing that plan in practice. The execution process of the specific plan
can be seen even more essential than the plan itself because without a proper execution the plan
is just a plan. Therefore planning the change project does not guarantee project success but will
definitely facilitate it. ( Joona Männistö 2020:18)
When it comes to the process of moving from project management to project leadership, change
is as well naturally one of the most significant factors on the way. When analyzing the success or
failure of change, a vital point is the concept of change acceptance or resistance. (Joona
Männistö 2020:18.)
1.11. The Power of Project Leadership:
The Power of Project Leadership helps project managers transform into proactive, accountable
project leaders. It explains what good project leadership looks like and explains how to make the
transition using concrete tools and strategies. This book teaches project managers how to feel
more confident and assertive as project manager and leader, gain control of a project by
delegating 50% of their workload, handle conflict and poor performance, build a highly
motivated and driven team, continuously look for opportunities to innovate, be comfortable
taking risks, and become a project leader.
With underlying theories to help managers understand how teams and individuals are motivated,
this book ensures that project managers lead with vision, continuously improve, work with
intent, get closer to stakeholders, are authentic and establish a solid foundation for their projects.
(Susanne Madsen, 2nd Edition)
Moving from Project Management to Leadership in Change Projects
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REFERENCE
Association for Project Management, October 2018
DEAN R. GEHRING, PMP, Kennecott Utah Copper March, 2007
International Journal of Project Management Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 81-87, 1996
International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 4, Issue 1, January-2013
Jack Ferraro (2008). The Strategic Project Leadership (pp. 26-27).USA: Taylor and Francis
Group
Joona Männistö 2020:17
Kathy Schwalbe (2015). An Introduction to Project Management, Fifth Edition, p.8
Nikita Duggal (2022). Understanding the Role of Leadership in Project Management
Paasivaara, Suhonen & Virtanen 2011: 26–27
Preethiga Narasimman. Project Leader vs Project Manager: Differences & Similarities 29th
Dec, 2022
Smith: 1999, 89
Susanne Madsen, 2nd Edition
Wells & Kloppenborg: 2015, 1-2.
https://www.liquidplanner.com/blog/transition-project-manager-project-leader/
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