APM - Understand leadership and teamwork within a project

Question 1

Define the term ‘leadership’

Answer 1

The ability to establish vision and direction, to influence and align others towards a common purpose, and to empower and inspire people to achieve success

Question 2

Explain how a project team leader can influence team performance

Answer 2

Leadership simple approach to comparing different leadership styles
Transactional leaders
Its an exchange process to do with setting objectives and plans – do this and you will be rewarded thus
• Ensure requirements are agreed
• Rewards and penalties for achievement or lack are understood
Transformational leaders
In contrast this leader will do everything possible to help people succeed in their own right.
Early in the project team establishment – PMs are expected to be transactional and then transformational.

Question 3

Outline the challenges to a project manager when developing and leading a project team

Answer 3

Leadership Challenges
By definition the project team is one of ‘change’

• Leadership is needed at all levels within a project-based setting.
• Sponsor communicates the vision to the project team, sets high- level expectations, involves team members in decisions and provides actionable feedback.
• The PM should fully understand how to get the best out of each person and should provide direction and support for them.
• Team members share responsibilities and work collaboratively
• All leaders must provide timely and constructive feedback and be receptive to feedback provided to them by the team members.
• Main challenge is having background knowledge of team members skills level and insight into levels of motivation
• Responsibility of PM is the responsibility for delivering outputs and outcomes when they have little say about who joins the team and whether they have the right skills and attributes
• Geographical location
• Size, scope and complexity of the team

Question 4

Leadership styles

Answer 4

Leaders adapt their style and approach to the needs of the team and the work that needs to accomplished – takes account of the ‘criticality of the situation’ and ‘Skills and motivation’ of the team.

CONTROL 
•Directing 
•Coaching 
•Engaging 
•Delegating 
EMPOWER

Question 5

Define the stages of team development (Tuckman model)

Answer 5

‘Forming’

• Group of individuals learn and contribute
• Being clear about goals and objectives and creating an inclusive and coordinated environment

‘Storming’
- Enabling differences to be aired and conflict resolved in a positive way

‘Norming’
- Providing process, clear roles and responsibilities, and timely feedback

‘Performing’

• Promoting openness, honesty and the development of trusting relationships so the team can perform
• Performing teams understand project aims, scope – time, cost and quality

‘Adjourning’
- Ensuring that team members are transitioned back into the business or their organisation

Question 6

Belbin’s 9 social rules - ‘Action’ (‘Social’ and ‘Thinking’)

Answer 6

‘Action’

• Shaper
- Provide drive to ensure that team keeps moving and does not lose momentum

• Completer finisher
- Will subject outputs to the highest standards of quality control

• Implementer
- Will plan a workable strategy and carry it out as efficiently as possible

Question 7

Belbin’s 9 social rules - ‘Social’ (‘Action’ and ‘Thinking’)

Answer 7

‘Social’

• Team worker
- Is the diplomat, helping team to gel, using their versatility to identify work required and work on behalf of the team

• Resource investigator
- Uses their inquisitive nature to find ideas and bring back to the team, excellent for communicating from the project to the stakeholders

• Co-ordinator
- To focus on the teams objectives, draw out team members and delegate work appropriately.

Question 8

Belbin’s 9 social rules - ‘Thinking’ (‘Action’ and ‘Social’)

Answer 8

‘Thinking’

• Plant
- When team is faced with obstacles, needs to be highly creative and good at solving problems in unconventional ways, the plant allows the support for team to function well.

• Monitor evaluator
- Provides a logical eye, making impartial judgements where required, and weighs up the teams options in a dispassionate way

• Specialist
- When the team requires in -depth knowledge in key areas, the specialist is a member of the team who has distinct strengths in a very narrow area