Demonstrate Leadership Behaviour

Demonstrate Leadership Behaviour

By Linky van der Merwe

In the latest version (version 7) of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), released by the Project Management Institute on 1 August 2021, there are 12 Principles. You may not have had time to review those principles, but one of them, and the central tenant of this post, is ‘Demonstrate Leadership Behaviours’.

The PMBOK Guide has moved away from the traditional focus on processes, inputs and outputs, and what you find now is an emphasis on Principles, Performance Domains, Models, Methods and Artifacts, and Standards. In other words, there is a shift from process-based standards to standards based on principles; from Knowledge Areas to Project Performance Domains with the focus on outcomes rather than outputs / deliverables.

The purpose of this article is to delve a bit deeper into the Principle of ‘Demonstrating Leadership Behaviour’. Since Leadership is a project management skill that has received increasing focus over the years, I wanted to understand how it could be positioned as a principle.

Leadership to support individual and team needs

Leadership traits exhibited by people in the project environments vary widely but tend to include some of the following characteristics; establishing and maintaining a vision, critical thinking and creativity, motivation, encouragement and empathy.

The PMBOK Guide provides an interesting perspective on leadership by stating that it isn’t exclusive to any specific role. It further states that high-performing projects feature multiple people exhibiting effective leadership skills, traits and characteristics to help the team perform and to deliver the required results. It continues to say that it takes leadership to motivate a group towards a common goal, influence them to align their individual interests in favour of the collective effort, and to ultimately achieve success as a team.

An important point is made in favour of situational leadership, which occurs when the style of leadership is tailored to meet the needs of the team. In this instance, effective leadership is shown when it best fits a given situation. Some examples of this type of leadership are outlined below;

·         When chaos exists, directive action will create more clarity than collaborative problem solving.

·         In environments with competent and engaged teams, empowered delegation is better than centralised coordination.

·         When there’s conflict over priorities, neutral facilitation helps more than detailed recommendations.

There is a statement in the PMBOK with which I agree wholeheartedly: ‘effective leadership skill is grown’. Leadership is something that can be learned and developed so that it becomes a professional asset to the individual.

Of course, leaders need to be role models when it comes to honesty, integrity and ethical conduct as well as having an understanding of what motivates people. Motivators can include autonomy, recognition, purpose, growth opportunities and personal contribution.

A last point made as part of the principle to demonstrate leadership behaviour, is that by blending styles, growing skills and leveraging motivators, any team member or stakeholder can motivate, influence, coach and grow the project team, regardless of their official role.

Which leadership skills should you develop?

Your leadership acumen can be developed by practicing a combination of skills and techniques. Project managers will recognise many of these as activities they perform on projects every day.

Ensure the vision for the project outcomes is well understood and that the team is focused on the agreed goals. Seek resources and support for the project and overcome obstacles to progress.

Negotiate and resolve conflict within the project team and between the team and other stakeholders. Adapt your communication style and messaging to ensure relevancy to the audience.

Coaching and mentoring fellow project team members will take a large proportion of your time. Appreciate and reward contributions made by the team and provide opportunities for growth and development. Do this by delegating responsibilities to team members and empowering them for high performance.

Facilitate collaborative decision-making and practice active listening. Show empathy for project team and stakeholder perspectives. Practice self-awareness of your own bias and behaviours.

Manage and adapt to change during the project life cycle and facilitate a mindset of learning quickly by acknowledging mistakes.

Interpersonal skills include many soft skills, like emotional intelligence, recognising our own and others’ emotion to guide thinking and behaviour. This includes self-awareness, self-management, and social awareness.

Continue to practice all the above while you model the desired behaviours. As you can see, this is quite a tall order for any project manager, but leading is what keeps this role so interesting and will ultimately contribute to your own personal growth.

The perspective of the Guide is that on high-performing projects many members portray effective leadership skills.

Conclusion

It’s a positive step that leadership is given prominence in the Guide. With the increased adoption of Agile approaches it’s clear that no single behavioural or leadership style will suit every team and every project. Rather a flexible and adaptive approach needs to be adopted so that the most appropriate style is used for any given situation.

More information

If you’d like to obtain your own copy of the latest PMBOK Guide v7, you will find it on the Project Management Institute’s website. It is pricey, but a 50% discount is available for PMI members. For a frank overview of the PMBOK Guide v7, you will find the article by Dr Mike Clayton refreshing.