Research consistently points out that project success is strongly affected by the degree to which a project has the support of top management and that ties directly into your ability to handle managing upward relations. Such support is reflected in an appropriate budget, responsiveness to unexpected needs, and a clear signal to others in the…
Tag: Leadership
Influence as Currency Exchange
To successfully manage a project, a manager must build a cooperative network among divergent allies and make use of their influence. Networks are mutually beneficial alliances that are generally governed by the law of reciprocity. The basic principle is that “one good deed deserves another, and likewise, one bad deed deserves another.” The primary way…
Managing versus Leading a Project
I will begin with a brief discussion on managing versus leading a project. Then in a subsequent article I will move to tackle the importance of managing project stakeholders. I couldn’t wait to be the manager of my own project and run the project the way I thought it should be done. Boy, did I…
High Performance Project Team: Pitfalls
A high-performance project team can produce dramatic results. However, like any good think, there is a dark side to a project team that a manager needs to be aware of. I referred to this phenomenon as projectitis in this article. Now I would like to examine in more detail some of the pathologies that a high-performance…
10 Ideas on How to Effectivelly Manage Your Virtual Team
A virtual team give access to global talent and brings time and cost savings – but how do you manage it? Plan and standardise: Adopt a disciplined approach using well-tried project management methodology such as PRINCE2®, Scrum, Lean, for your virtual team. Technology: Telephone, fax, email, video conferencing, forum, chat rooms, blog, remote access, networked…
Leadership and How It Ruins Our Every Day
Leadership…well, this is a sour subject for many of us. I think that most of us have encountered, at some point in their careers, people in leadership roles who were incompetent and misguided about their real abilities. This impacts every aspect of our lives, be it personal or career related and we should really talk…
11 Proactive Ways to Enlist Cooperation on Your Project
It is rare for a project of any size not to rely on at least one person or group outside your department or even your company. Even in a minor role, these external players have the potential to loom large if they fall behind schedule. So you must be proactive to enlist cooperation on your…
Bennis Transformational Theory – Leadership Theories Series
Use Bennis transformational theory to develop a vision for your organization based on values and beliefs and not management-speak. Following interviews with a range of leaders Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus identified four strategies that leaders should use when trying to transform their organizations. These are shown below. Strategy 1 Develop a clear and understandable vision…
Bass Transformational Theory – Leadership Theories Series
Use bass transformational theory to identify the values and beliefs that you need to display to be recognized as a transformational leader. Bernard Bass built upon the work of Burns to develop an expanded and more detailed version of transformational leadership theory. Bass Identified what he called the 41st: Idealized influence refers to the charisma.…
Transformational Theory – Leadership Theories Series
Use transformational theory as a means of energizing your staff by aligning their goals with yours and those of the organization. James MacGregor Burns provided the basic transformational theory which was later expanded upon by Bass and Bennis and Nanus. To understand the developed theory and how to use it you should read this and…