Role of the Project Manager Flashcards
4 key roles
- lead the team to achieve objectives, manage things and lead people getting things done working in the system and framework
- balance the competing objectives, time cost scope and risk always competing
- communicate with stakeholders 90% is communication
- contribute to business value, the value that the project created for the organization
active listening
The message receiver restates what’s been said to fully understand and confirm the message and it provides an opportunity for the sender to clarify the message if needed.
active problem solving
- Active problem solving begins with problem definition.
- Problem definition is the ability to discern between the cause and effect of the problem.
- Root-cause analysis looks beyond the immediate symptoms to the cause of the symptoms—which then affords opportunities for solutions.
avoiding power
The project manager refuses to act, get involved, or make decisions.
charismatic leadership
The leader is motivating, has high-energy, and inspires the team through strong convictions about what’s possible and what the team can achieve. Positive thinking and a can-do mentality are characteristics of a charismatic leader
expert power
The project manager has deep skills and experience in a discipline (for example, years of working in IT helps an IT project manager better manage IT projects).
ingratiating power
The project manager aims to gain favor with the project team and stakeholders through flattery.
informational power
The individual has power and control of the data gathering and distribution of information.
interactional leadership
The leader is a hybrid of transactional, transformational, and charismatic leaders. The interactional leader wants the team to act, is excited and inspired about the project work, yet still holds the team accountable for their results.
guilt-based power
The project manager can make the team and stakeholders feel guilty to gain compliance in the project.
leadership
Leadership is about aligning, motivating, and inspiring the project team members to do the right thing, build trust, think creatively, and to challenge the status quo. dealing with people, people skills soft skills, emotional intelligence: understand emotion, control emotions, influence
ex:
- having a vision
- optimistic and positive
- seeking collaboration
- managing relationships and conflict
- communicating effectively
- asking and listening to feedback
- giving credit to appropriate people
- action and results-oriented
laissez-faire leadership
The leader takes a “hands-off” approach to the project. This means the project team makes decisions, takes initiative in the actions, and creates goals. While this approach can provide autonomy, it can make the leader appear absent when it comes to project decisions.
management
Management utilizes positional power to maintain, administrate, control, and focus on getting things done without challenging the status quo of the project and organization.
media selection
Based on the audience and the message being sent, the media should be in alignment with the message.
meeting management
Meetings are forms of communication. How the meeting is led, managed, and controlled all influence the message being delivered. Agendas, minutes, and order are mandatory for effective communications within a meeting
personal or charismatic power
The project manager has a warm personality that others like
presentation
In formal presentations, the presenter’s oral and body language, visual aids, and handouts all influence the message being delivered.
pressure-based power
The project manager can restrict choices to get the project team to perform and do the project work.
PMI Talent Triangle
Defines three areas of PDUs for PMI certified professionals to maintain their certification. The PMI Talent Triangle includes technical project management, leadership, and strategic and business management.
- technical
- leadership
- strategic
positional power
The project manager’s power is because of the position she has as the project manager. This is also known as formal, authoritative, and legitimate power
Professional Development Units (PDUs)
PDUs are earned after the PMP to maintain the PMP certification. PMPs are required to earn 60 PDUs per three-year certification cycle. Of the 60 PDUs, a minimum of 35 hours must come from educational opportunities.
project manager
The role of leading the project team and managing the project resources to effectively achieve the objectives of the project.
punitive or coercive power
The project manager can punish the project team.
referent power
The project manager is respected or admired because of the team’s past experiences with the project manager. This is about the project manager’s credibility in the organization.
reward power
The project manager can reward the project team.
sender-receiver models
Communication requires a sender and a receiver. Within this model may be multiple avenues to complete the flow of communication, but barriers to effective communication may be present as well.
servant leadership
The leader puts others first and focuses on the needs of the people he serves. Servant leaders provide opportunity for growth, education, autonomy within the project, and the well-being of others. The primary focus of servant leadership is service to others
situational power
The project manager has power because of certain situations in the organization. shift in relationship, change in the project team, power base on situation.
style
The tone, structure, and formality of the message being sent should be in alignment with the audience and the content of the message.
transactional leadership
The leader emphasizes the goals of the project and rewards and disincentives for the project team. This is sometimes called management by exception as it’s the exception that is reward or punished.
transformational leadership
The leader inspires and motivates the project team to achieve the project goals. Transformational leaders aim to empower the project team to act, be innovative in the project work, and accomplish through ambition.
project manager communication
- listening and speaking
- written and oral
- internal to the project: team member to team member
- external to the project: project manager to an external customer
- formal communications: reports and presentations
- informal communications: emails and hallway meetings
- vertical communications: follow the organizational flowchart
- horizontal communications: director to director, pm to pm
communication is crucial
- sender receiver models, mechanics of sending to the intended person
- medial selection
- style
- presentation
- facilitation
- meeting management
project managers negotiate
- aim for a fair agreement
- priorities
- technical approach
- project scope
- schedule
- costs
- changes to the project scope, schedule, or budget
- vendor terms and conditions
- project ream members assignments and schedules
- resource constraints
project managers problem solve
- problem definition
- root cause analysis
- treat causes, not symptoms
- go to the problem
- don’t go to management w/o a solution
project manager influences
- stakeholder influences:
- project team: leads and directs the team
- organizational managers: work with managers to access resources
- project management office: work with the project management office
- steering committee: report on the project status and progress
- influencing the project: communication skills, positive attitude, project leadership
project manager influencing the organization
- organization characteristics
- policies
- modes of operations
- underlying culture
- political alliances
- differing motivations
- conflicting interests
- power struggles
other influences
- social, economic, and environment project influences
- international influences
- cultural and industry influences: current trends and practices, project management communities, project management education, application areas
project management competencies
- earning the PMP
- continuing education PDUs
- giving back PDUs
- continuing certification requirements handbook
competency model
- unconsciously incompetent, unaware of a skill that you don’t have
- consciously incompetent, aware that you don’t have the skill
- consciously competent, learn and practice the skill
- unconsciously competent, do the skill without thinking
- chosen conscious competence, practice and maintain the skill
responsibilities and competencies of the PM
- satisfy task needs, team needs, and individual needs
- liaison between the project team and the business strategy
- top two percent of pm have superior relationship and communication skills
three project management values
- knowledge: understand
- performance: accomplish get things done
- personally: behavior attributes
technical project management skills
- apply project management knowledge
- knowledge areas are technical project skills
- business skills and business expertise
business knowledge
- strategy: explain essential business aspects of a project
- team: work with others, team, SMEs, project sponsor, etc.
- value: implement strategy to maximize business value
business skills and organization
- strategy
- mission
- goals and objectives
- products and services
- operations
- market condition
- time to market factors
- competition
project management and business skills
- risks and issues
- financial implications
- cost-benefit analysis: NPV, ROI
- business value
- benefits realization expectations and strategies
- scope, budget, schedule, and quality
leadership skills
- guide: lead people to results
- negotiate: fair and balanced results
- communicate: 90% of project management
- think: critical thinking is a skill
- motivate: inspire and direct the project team
- resilience: work through issues
- solve: solve problems and quick wins
- interpersonal: approachable and friendly
project management and leadership
- being a visionary
- being optimistic and positive
- being collaborative
leadership communication
- 90% of project management is communication
- managing expectations
- accepting feedback
- offer constructive feedback
- asking and listening
six leadership styles
- transactional: management by exception rewards and punishments
- servant leader: focus on needs of the project team and pple served adaptive agile carry food and water for the team, provide an opportunity for growth, etc
- laissez-faire: hands-off approach to project decisions
- transformational leader: inspiring and motivational, you can do it empower team
- charismatic leader: does the work with you, do as I do, high energy
- interactional leader: fantastic, hybrid type, transactional, transformational, and charismatic combined. team takes responsibility for their work.
types of power
- positional power: result of the position
- informational power: control of data gathering and distribution of information
- referent power: respected or admired b/c of past relationship or vouched by a respected person
- situational power: power based on situation, shift or changed in organization
- personal or charismatic power: warm personality that others like
- reward power: can reward the project team and team acts accordingly
- ingratiating power: gains favor through flattery, false power as this wears down
- pressure-based power: can restrict choices to get the project team to perform and do the work
- guilt based power: make team feel guilty to gain compliance
- persuasive power: persuade pple toward a specific outcome or decision
- avoiding power: refusal to act, avoid
comparing leadership and management
- leadership and management are not the same
- leadership is about aligning and motivating
- leadership is more about emotional intelligence
- leadership is inspiring people to work together to achieve great things
- management is about getting things done
- management is about business skills
leadership and management personality
leadership: authentic, courteous, creative, cultural, emotional, intellectual
five traits that overlap in Project management: managerial, political, service-oriented, social, systemic nature of the framework and build that can operate within that framework
management: direct, maintain, administrate, focus on systems not relationship, control not trust, near term goals not long range vision, how and when, bottom line, do things right not do the right things, operational issues and problem solving
process level integration
- interrelatonship among processes
- processes are predefined actions to bring a specific result
- process level integration are largely integrated and affect one another throughout the project
cognitive level integration
- experience and maturity of the project manager
- insight
- leadership
- ability
- mastery of knowledge areas
context level integration
- how the project is managed by changing times
- consideration for how the project environment has changed
- social networking, texting, and virtual teams
- insight to take advantage of evolving project landscapes
- benefits and disruptions
project communication
who needs what information , when do they need it, and whats the best modality to deliver the message
