Section 8: Role of the Project Manager Flashcards
Project managers manage ____ and lead ____.
things
people
Project managers get _____ while working _____ and ___-
things done
in the system
framework
Project managers are active _____.
listeners
we hear the message and restate it for confirmation or clarity
The most important skill you can have as a project manager is ____.
communicating
Formal communications
reports and presentations
Informal communications
emails and hallway meeting
vertical communications
follow the organizationl flowchart
horizontal communications
director-to-director etc
Areas in which a project manager can negotiate
Aim for a fair agreement
priorities
technical approach
project scope
schedule
cost
changes to the project scope, schedule or budget
vendor terms and conditions
project team member assignments and schedules
resource constraints
The PMPm test is a chance to
problem solve
5 stages of problem solving
Problem definition
Root cause analysis
Treat causes, not symptoms
Go to the problem
Don’t go to management without a proposed solution
Characteristics of a project manager
Get things done
Lead people
Manage things
Communicates
Listens
Negotiates
Solves problems
Project manager stakeholder influences (4)
Project team - directing
Organizational managers - controls resources
PMO
Steering committee - report on status and progress and set kpi’s
Project managers can influence the organization and also be influenced by the organization in these 7 areas
Policies
Modes of operations
Underlying culture
Political alliances
Differing motivations
Conflicting interests
Power struggles
5 areas of competency in the competency model
Unconsciously incompetent
Consciously incompetent
Consciously competent
Unconsciously competent
Chose Conscious Competence
PM’s goal is to satisfy ___ needs, ___ needs and ____ needs
task
team
individuals
PM’s goal is to ____ between the ___ and the ___.
liaison
project team
business strategy
Top 2 percent of project managers have superior ____
relationship and communication skills
The three values we should have as project managers
knowledge - understand project management
performance - execution
personal - behavior, effectiveness, character, leadership
Three communication methods
verbal
written
non-verbal
PM’s communicate ___ and _____
predictably
consistently
PM’s can share ___ and ____.
positive
negative news
Pm’s incorporate ___ channels.
feedback
3 technical skills project managers need
how to apply project management knowledge
knowledge areas are technical project skills - the activities you do in creating a scope, etc, chapters 4-13
business skills and business expertise (outside of the domain of the exam) - i can negotiate, roi, political capital, sales process, business value
Critical technical project management skills
understand success factors
schedule management
selected financial reports
issue log maintenance
tailor techniques and methds
plan thoroughly and prioritize
manage schedule, cost, resources and risks
3 things to know about strategic and business management skills
ability to see the high-level overview of the organization
effectively negotiate and implement decisions
knowledge of other functions such as finance, marketing and operations
Three parts of business knowledge
Strategy - explain how our project affects the business
Team - work with the project sponsor, team and SMEs
Value - implement strategy to maximize business value
8 characteristics of a good leader
Guide - lead people to results
Motivate - inspire and direct the project team
Negotiate - fair and balanced results
Resilience - work through issues
Communicate - 90% of project management
Solve - solve problems and quick wins
Think - critical thinking is a skill
Interpersonal - approachable and friendly
Three aspects of emotional intelligence
Understand emotion and how it affects behavior
Control emotions and responses
Influence others’ emotions
Being a visionary means being able to describe the _____.
products
A visionary can make the connection between assignments and _____.
value
Six leadership styles
Transactional
Servant
Laissez-faire
Transformational
Charismatic
Interactional
Transactional Management is sometimes called ____.
Management by exception
Characteristics of transactional management
All about rewards and punishments
Rewards to the top performers
Punishes the lowest
leaves the middle alone
Characteristics of the servant leader
Focuses on the needs of the project team
Associated with adaptive (scrum etc)
Carries food and water
Characteristics of a laissez-faire leader
team makes all the decisions
gives autonomy
leader can appear absent
Characteristics of transformational leadership
inspiring and motivating
empower the team to take action
encourages innovation
Characteristics of Charismatic leadership
Does the work with you
do as i do now
high energy and motivating
Characteristics of interactional management
hybrid type
coaching
transactional, transformational and charisamtc
Positional power is the power that comes with being in the position of ____.
project manager
Positional power is known as _____, _____, or ______ power
formal
authoritative
legitimate power
Informational power
Project manager controls data gathering and distribution
keep information to keep power
Referent power
Stakeholders or team has already worked with the PM in the past. Can also be a way to defer to another person’s authority (CEO etc)
Situational Power
Because of certain situations in the organization such as change in leadership or project team
Personal or Charismatic Power
Warm personality that other people like.
Reward Power
The project team sees the PM as someone who can reward them
Ingratiating power
Gains favor through flattery.
This is false power as it wears down
Pressure-based power
Can restrict choices to get the project team to perform
Guilt-based power
Can make the team and stakeholders feel guilty in order to gain compliance
Persuasive power
persuade people toward a specific outcome or decision
Avoiding power
Refuses to act, get involved or make decisions
11 kinds of power
positional
informational
referent
situational
ingratiating
persuasive
guilt-based
avoidance
pressure-based
reward-based
charismatic
Leadership is about ____ ____, and management is about getting ____ ____ and ____ ____.
emotional intelligence
getting things done
business skills
5 traits of leadership personality
Managerial
Political
Service-oriented
Social
Systemic
Performing Integration
How the project is integrated with goals, tactics and visions of the organization
Working with the project sponsor to ensure that the goals of the project mesh with the goals of the organization
Projects must support the broader vision and purpose of the organization
Process-Level Integration
Interrelationship among processes
Processes are
predefined actions to bring about specific results
Cognitive-level integration
Experience and maturity of the project manager
Insight
Leadership
Ability
Mastery of knowledge areas
Seeing problems coming
Context-level integration
how the project is managed as times change
consideration for how the project environment has changed
social networking, texting and virtual teams
insight to take advantage evolving project landscapes
benefits and disruptions
The two key aspects that are most helpful in influencing an organization are ___ and ___.
Communication Skills
Positive Attitude
What are three points of the PMI Talent Traingle
Leadership, technical project management, and strategic and business management are the three components of the PMI Talent Triangle.
Active problem solving begins with ______. ______ is the ability to discern between the cause and effect of the problem. ___________ looks beyond the immediate symptoms to the cause of the symptoms—which then affords opportunities for solutions.
Problem definition
Problem definition
Root-cause analysis
Project communication can be summed up as ________.
who needs what information, when do they need it, and what’s the best modality to deliver the message
