Role of a Project Leader

Role of a Project Leader -- Analysis of Best Practices

Critical Traits for Project Management Success

The most effective project managers have consistently shown a very high level of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in ascertaining what specific tasks needed to be completed at a specific time, while also managing the diverse skill sets of a project team. This ability to create a unified strategy across the entire organization ensured the project would succeed, as the unique strengths of each member were applied to each phase where their help was needed the most. The ability of a project leader to use Emotional Intelligence (EI) to create a foundation of trust while also ensuring each team member is assigned to the best possible role illustrates transformational leadership (Barczak, McDonough, Athanassiou, 2006). The best project managers have this ability to quickly determine the best assignments by team member and plan accordingly.

In addition, project leaders who have transformational skills in the area of individualized attention, idealized influence and individual motivation are exceptionally effective as project managers (Krishnan, 2001). What all these project managers also share is an exceptional skill at being able to also fuel innovation and commitment to the project goal by infusing purpose and meaning into each role. The work engagement aspect of their leadership skills is exceptional. Great project managers create an exceptionally strong level of autonomy, mastery and purpose in their teams that also propels them to higher levels of achievement than average (Tims, Bakker, Xanthopoulou, 2011).

Please think back to a project you were once involved with that has been closed out without reaching all of the objectives of the team. Please elaborate on what went wrong and discuss how an understanding of the antecedents and determinants of project management success might have influenced the decision-making of the project manager.

One of the least successful projects involved with had a part-time leader who failed to deliver on commitments made, and often had incomplete and outdated project plans. This part-time project manager was being asked to fulfill several different roles in the organization concurrently. It is commonly known that for a project to stand a high probability of success, it requires a dedicated project manager (Schulz, 2000).