Leading Projects, People and Teams Flashcards
What is the difference between management and leadership?
Managers are people who imitate establish clear targets, make short term decisions and solve short term problems. They employ the ‘hard skills’
Leaders employ the ‘soft skills’ They direct and guide people, influence thoughts and behaviors, motivate and encourage people.
Give me an example of when you have led a team
Project Manager at Heath Primary school leading the change control procedure.
I was responsible for:-
- Assessing changes issued by the Contractor
- Determining the skills required for an expert review and comment
- Delegating the proposal
- Ensuring clear deadline was set for a response
- Once all input was received I would issue a formal response to the Contractor
Give me an example of when you have led an individual
Coaching style for the PMs on my projects. I was responsible for:-
- Outlining team purpose
- Communicating their responsibilities
- Delegating task and providing support on any queries
- Being responsive and building trust
- Providing feedback
- Developing their skills and confidence within the industry
What characteristics make for an effective team?
- Common sense of purpose
- Clear understanding of the team’s objectives
- Resources to achieve those objectives
- Mutual respect among team members
- Valuing of members’ strengths and respecting their weaknesses
- Mutual trust
- Willingness to share knowledge and expertise
- Willingness to speak openly
- Range of skills among team members to deal effectively with all its tasks
- Range of personal styles for the various roles needed to carry out the team’s tasks
What are the characteristics for a high performing team?
- Leadership
- Common goal & vision
- Motivated
- Trust & openness
- Complimentary personalities
Give me an example of where a management style has worked well and how did you implement it?
Autocratic approach for Practical Completion at Heath Primary school
- I produced a tracker which outlined the requirements to achieve the goal of PC
- I provided clear objectives for each discipline and the dates documents were required
- Held weekly meetings to understand the progress being made
- Communicated to the team if the documents provided were sufficient enough and could be marked as complete
- Offered a clear chain of command
- Strong leadership required to achieve a smooth handover at PC
Give an example of when you had to take a democratic approach
- most decision making is done via this approach
- it is the most collaborative approach
- e.g. when deciding between the roof slates at Heath primary school. Gtting input from all team members before giving final decision to Contractor
How would you link your leadership style to a theory?
Democratic: leader makes decisions based upon input of each team member
What are some attributes of a great leader?
A process by which a person influences other to accomplish objectives. Aligning people towards common goals and empowering them to take the actions to reach them.
- Listening
- Approachable
- Influence
- Passion
- Integrity
- Communication skills
- Creativity
- Inspiration
- Understanding
- Open to change
- Decisiveness
- Dedication
how do you measure your own performance as a leader
- feedback
- how well are the rest of the team are performing
- achieving tasks
- are people working collaboratively
- project team turnover
- quality of work produced
what your biggest accomplishments and failures whilst acting as a leader
biggest accomplishment - keeping moral and motivation among the team after a number of programme delays at Somerlea School
biggest failure - not providing enough suport to a new starter which led to a misunderstanding - TA new team member, didn’t have full background and presented an option that had already been discounted previously
What motivational theory do you relate to?
Elton Mayo’s Hawthorn Theory -
Theorises that employees are more productive when they know their work is being measured and studied as well as when they were given feedback by their managers (not solely about money)
Herzberg hygiene motivation theory - understand the importance and impact that a lack of hygiene factors can create - i.e. inappropriate IT can frustrate
What other motivational theory’s are you aware of?
- McGregor theory X and Y
- Maslow’s hierarchy of need
what can you do to motivate a team in your role?
- have a clear direction / project goal
- continually give feedback
- show appreciation
- recognise hard work
- team bonding / social events
- provide a forum for discussion and input
Provide an example of when you have had to motivate a team / individual
how do you monitor the performance of project team members?
Tuckmans theory - Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing
- regular communication
- workshops
- people development plans / project development plans
- assessing progress against programme
- feedback from all parties
How would you motivate the Contractor?
- Financial incentives to finish by a certain date
- Team incentives eg. Gift cards for operative of the month
- Incentives for future work for a high quality job
- Set realistic goals
- Conduct regular progress reviews to stay engaged with the team
- Praise for completing key milestones
how do you handle disagreements within the project team
workshops / discussions / honest / open
what is the most important attribute of a negotiator
- non-bias
- ability to communicate effectively
What kind of communication strategies are available to you as a leader?
- Identify the communication type i.e. progress report, risk register review, cost report etc.
- Identify the method of communication - email, meeting, phone call etc.
- Set the frequency of communication - daily, weekly, monthly etc.
- Set the objective of the communication - report on progress, gather feedback, identify problems etc.
- Set the owner of the communication - project manager, cost consultant, contractor etc.
- Define the audience/stakeholder - client or project team
Provide an example of a communication procedure you have managed?
Delay notice schedule
This identified:
- Type of communication eg. notice
- Format to be issued in eg. electrical or post
- Frequency eg. ‘forthwith’
- Description eg. what should the notice include
- Programme and cost impacts
- Stakeholders to be issued to
What has been your involvement in the interview and selection of team members?
Reviewing CVs when appointing lead TAs
Interviewing PMs
What methods would you use to identify poor performance?
- Informal catch ups
- KPIs
- End of stage team reviews
- Client feedback
- Peer reviews of work/documents produced
How do you assess a team members merits against the client brief?
- Capability statements of proposed team and their experience
- Do they hold the same values and complimentary personalities
- Do they have a clear understanding of the objectives and have the technical capabilities to meet this
- Are the approachable and willing to be open and work collaboratively together
What corrective measures have you utilised for poor performance?
- Reiterate the requirements
- Provide feedback and appreciation for any good work
- Utilised the McGregor Theory X motivational theory and provide rules and timelines for the team to follow
What skills do you have to make you a good project manager?
- Making timely decisions
- Being aware of what is going on across the whole project
- Building strong relationships and trust
- Being approachable to allow the team to feel comfortable in raising concerns/issues
- Organised and know how to engage with my team
- Being prepared and knowing any key risks to the project
L3 How do you make recommendations to your Client?
L3 When have you advised your Client on the appointment of people?
L3 Give me an example of a time you have reviewed and analysed any skill gaps and made a recommendation?
L3 How have you advised your Client on the make up of project teams?
L3 Provide an example of when you have adapted your leadership style to improve team performance?
L3 When have you identified and recommended action for an underperforming team?
L3 How do you report team performance to your Client?
L3 What reporting methods have you utilised?
L3 How have you assessed if the Contractor is right for the project?
L3 What skills and techniques do you use to manage your team?
L3 How have you managed a team effectively?
L3 When do you take a managerial vs leadership approach?
L3 give me an example of when have you had to be a manager vs a leader
L3 How do you create a positive atmosphere?
L3 how do you manage teams?
L3 how have you dealt / advised with any conflicts amongst the team
L3 Give an example of when you have acted democratically with respect to the contract?
What is an employer’s duty of care?
Employers have a duty of care to their employees which means that should take all steps which are reasonably possible to ensure their health, safety and wellbeing.
What Employment Law must your company comply with?
Equilty Act 2010
GDPR
Health and Safety at Work act 1974
Human Rights Act 1998
