Project management
- Identify what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding.
From our chapter 4 readings, the most important concept to me was on effective project leaders’ traits and characteristics (Pinto, 2013). This concept revealed that for one to be termed as an effective project leader, they have to exhibit certain qualities that will set them apart from an ordinary project manager. As I have learned, merely having a strong mastery of project management methodologies and best practices is not enough. Navigating through the complexities of project management requires a project manager to possess particular leadership and personality traits, which are vital for promoting a project’s success. As an individual who aspires to manage a project in the future, familiarizing myself with these characteristics was necessary.
- The chapter stressed the idea that project management is a leader-intensive undertaking. Discuss in what sense this statement is true.
Project management is indeed leadership-intensive because project objectives and obstacles cannot be achieved and overcome when the project manager does not sum up as an effective leader. Project management requires a project manager to continually inspire and motivate the project team to put their best forward when executing their project tasks. Furthermore, the project team’s attitude and morale are highly influenced by the leadership side of a project manager (Kerzner, 2018). Project management encompasses constantly uplifting the project team’s energy and instilling in them an optimistic attitude during times of crisis, which are often inevitable when managing a project. The most significant aspect of a project manager’s job is being a positive role model who brings the entire project team together to deliver the level of services expected by the project’s beneficiaries and stakeholders. Project management extends beyond issuing instructions on how things need to be done. It requires the manager to continually lead the way, create awareness about the project’s vision, and empower the project team to stay focused.
- Discuss the concept of emotional intelligence as it relates to the duties of project managers. Why are the five elements of emotional intelligence so critical to successful project management?
Project managers must demonstrate high levels of emotional intelligence. Research studies reveal that emotional intelligence holds the key to a project manager’s exemplary performance (Preston et al., 2015). Generally, a project manager’s role involves more interpersonal actions, hence the need for emotional intelligence. There are many instances where a project does not go as planned, which can easily give a project manager reasons to be angry and annoyed. The five components, social skills, empathy, internal motivation, self-awareness, and self-regulation, enable a project manager to ensure that their behavior and actions do not reflect their emotional state. If this happens, it may lead to dissatisfaction and the loss of moral amongst the project team, ultimately resulting in poor project outcomes. With these five components, a project manager is able to show their negatives emotions (when under stressful situations) in a controlled manner, leading to improved decision making and the ability to achieve positive results regardless of the project setbacks. Moreover, possessing these emotional intelligence elements enables project managers to cultivate strong relationships with the project stakeholders, including the project team, which is fundamental for project success.
References
Kerzner, H. (2018). Project management best practices: Achieving global excellence. John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ss5QDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=project+management+and+leadership&ots=qxnNf-DVKB&sig=rOB4YDxlvmcaQeqRZcXACjdYB_g&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=project%20management%20and%20leadership&f=false
Pinto, J. K. (2013). Project management: achieving competitive advantage (No. s 57). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Retrieved from https://www.amberton.edu/media/Syllabi/Summer%202020/Graduate/MGT6153_E1.pdf
Preston, G., Moon, J., Simon, R., Allen, S., & Kossi, E. (2015). The relevance of emotional intelligence in project leadership. Journal of Information Technology and Economic Development, 6(1), 16. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jayet_Moon/publication/333485769_The_Relevance_of_Emotional_Intelligence_in_Project_Leadership/links/5cefdf0e299bf1fb184a9866/The-Relevance-of-Emotional-Intelligence-in-Project-Leadership.pdf