I tend to refer to Project Leadership as the epitome of good project management – or as an extension of traditional project management. Project Leadership is the art and science of leading successful change, and ensuring that we add as much value as possible to our organization, teams and customers. Project leadership is as much about vision, innovation, engagement and people as it is about tasks, plans and resources. It is characterized by a person’s ability to build relationships with customers and end users, understanding their real needs and leading the team to successfully deliver those needs.
 
We can gain further insight into project leadership – and how to get there - by examining The Project Leadership Matrix™.  

People who operate on the left-hand side of the matrix predominantly have a rational and logical mindset and are focused on skills, events and processes. They make use of their logic and authority when assigning work and will often tell their team members what to do. We could say that this approach to managing people is a push approach.
 
On the contrary, people who operate on the right-hand side of the matrix have a natural tendency to focus on people. They don’t rely on their authority, but appeal to people by finding out what motivates each person at an individual level. People-focused leaders involve team members in the decisions that affect them and show them how they fit into the overall vision. They don’t just tell people what to do, but inspire them by painting an appealing picture of the project’s objectives that they would like them to contribute to. We can call this a pull approach. They pull people with them like a magnet instead of pushing, or forcing them.
 
If you are in doubt where on this scale you operate, think about how easy or difficult you find it to approach a person who doesn’t report to you. In matrix organizations, where team members don’t have an organizational reporting line to the project manager, we cannot rely on our authority to allocate work. This is a situation that task-oriented project managers find challenging – not least when the team member they need to interface with is in a senior position and has a lot of experience. In such situations we need to make use of our people and influencing skills and of our understanding of human behaviour rather than relying on authority.
 
Let’s examine the dimensions of the vertical axis, reactive versus proactive. People who operate in a reactive manner – towards the bottom of the matrix – are drawn to immediate issues that crop up. Even if they arrive at work with a clear intention of what they need to achieve, they may not achieve it because something urgent or unexpected comes up and derails them. They spend their time following the flow of events rather than defining it and are constantly on a back foot.
 
At the other end of the scale we find people with a proactive mindset. People who operate towards the top of the matrix are concerned with the project’s strategic vision and they take steps every single day to create a successful future for the project. They set their own agenda to the benefit of the project, the client and the team. They don’t make knee-jerk decisions and only firefight when a true crisis emerges that cannot wait and that no one else can deal with. In that situation they will strive to address the root causes and put in place measures to ensure that the issue doesn’t reoccur.
 
Although most of us operate in all four quadrants depending on the situation, we have a tendency to spend the majority of our time in one of them. Project managers who are not getting the results they want operate predominantly in quadrant number II. They spend too much time firefighting and dealing with events and tasks that urgently need to be resolved. They are good at getting things done but will never be successful at implementing a strategic change initiative as long as they operate from this space. The biggest sign that something is wrong is the lack of clear direction and the number of project issues that crop up – interpersonal or otherwise. Oftentimes projects are kicked off before they are fully defined, roles and responsibilities are unclear, rules of engagement haven’t been agreed, stakeholders are not engaged, requirements are too vague and objectives aren’t aligned to corporate strategy. Ultimately the project fails to deliver the expected benefits – or if it does deliver them, it’s a long and arduous road to getting there.
 
Project managers who get outstanding results tend to operate in the top part of the matrix – in between quadrant III and quadrant IV. They are proactive and focused on the project’s long-term strategy and they are partly oriented towards tasks and partly towards people. This is the domain of Project Leadership. Project leaders continue to be mindful of the task side of the project and will not be effective if they operate exclusively in quadrant IV. People who operate exclusively in quadrant IV have great ideas and are good at inspiring people, but will often have no concrete plans or operational strategies to back up their vision. Project leaders may also spend time in quadrants I and II, but it is not a strategy they rely on to get results.
 
Many project managers find if difficult to break out of the reactive and task-oriented pattern. They don’t see how they can free up time and energy to proactively deal with people and the strategic side of the project. They are caught in the reactive management trap and find it hard to shift their over-reliance on control and rational thinking to a more people-oriented approach of trust and openness. After all, most of us are trained in mastering the detail and in thinking logically rather than building relationships and leading people. In addition, the more-for-less culture isn’t helping. In many cases it may be increasing the workload and pushing people into a reactive and task-oriented mode.
 
But no matter why we find ourselves in these situations, there will always be ways around them by thinking creatively and knowing that we have a choice. We may not be able to change external factors, such as limited budgets, reduced workforces and a reactive company culture, but we can control how we respond to them, what we choose to focus on and how we influence people around us. I was almost at the point of giving up my job as a project manager in financial services because I found it to be too exhausting. Little did I know that my working patterns were self-imposed and not the fault of the industry, the company, the project, the client or my manager. It is easy to feel victimized and look for someone to blame outside of ourselves. But the reality is that we hold the answer and the key to working more effectively, getting better results, feeling more energized and working with people to deliver better projects. Had I left my job at that time I would have found the exact same problems elsewhere. Instead I started examining what I could do to change the situation. I started looking at how I could work smarter rather than harder.

• Look at The Project Leadership Matrix and determine where you operate most of the time. Do you have a natural preference for tasks or people?
• Do you rely on your authority over people, or do you inspire and influence people at an individual level?
• Are you good at attending to important activities that lead to success of your project, or do you often get side-tracked and interrupted?

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As a project manager, you are the one others turn to for day-to-day
decision-making, direction and issue resolution. It is important that you set a good example and seek to be the best you can every single day. The 7 areas below will help you achieve that. 

1. Focus on customer needs
The single biggest success factor for a project is whether it delivers what the customers really need. Not only will that create a happy customer, it will also dramatically increase your success as a project manager. The tricky part is that customer needs aren’t necessarily synonymous with what the customers say they want. Outstanding project managers focus on the customer’s real needs and seek to uncover the reasons behind the requirements. They do that through enquiry and by consistently learning about the client’s business.

2. Keep your promises
As a project manager is it absolutely essential that what you say and do is credible and that your clients and stakeholders trust you. When you take on an action or commit to a deadline – however big or small – always deliver it when you said you would. This is also true when it comes to chasing other people for the actions they take on. You will gain an enormous amount of respect for being effective, timely and reliable and it will be easier for you to plan and execute the project with minimal resistance. Set a good example in everything that you do. 
 
3. Be proactive
They key to success for any manager and leader is to be proactive and
consistently focus your efforts and attention on the long-term as opposed to being reactive in the present moment. Too often we get caught up in urgent or unimportant activities and we procrastinate on the big important things such as planning and initiating the project properly, writing the business case, learning about our client’s business or taking the time to build strong relationships with our customers and team members. Don’t sit back and wait for things to happen. Take the initiative as a matter of course.
 
4. Support your team
Your team is the project’s biggest asset so nurture it and enable each individual team member to thrive. Allow for people’s individuality, play to their strengths and give them the support they need to succeed. To build a great team, spend one-on-one time with people on a weekly basis. Ask them what you can do to help, what they worry about and how you can assist them in working more effectively. Never be afraid to ask questions and to lend a helping hand. One of your most important roles is to remove blockages so that your team can get on with its work. 
 
5. Delegate 
If you are to add maximum value, you must learn to delegate. This will help you create space to concentrate on the big picture and on the strategic aspects of the project. Tracking timesheets, taking minutes and planning detailed work-streams are important aspects of a project, but it’s not important that you do them. Get a project administrator on board or train your senior team leads to take on a more senior role. Not only do you develop their skill set, you also free yourself up to focus on customer relationships, communication, team building and setting the vision.
 
6. Challenge the status quo
It is no longer enough to turn up for work and deliver a project the way we used to. The global crisis has meant that everything is being scrutinised and that executives are constantly on the look-out for how we can deliver change in a better, cheaper and faster way. You need to challenge the status quo on a daily basis and help identify how the team can work smarter, what new technologies you can employ, which extra benefits you can deliver and how project processes can be improved.

7. Stay calm under pressure
As a project manager you are under daily pressure to deliver, make decisions and sort out issues. You need set a great example by managing your state of mind and remaining calm when the pressure is on. Maintain a balanced perspective and think of solutions rather than placing blame or making knee-jerk decisions. In situations of conflict, take on the role of a mediator and convey both sides of the argument. Whatever you do, do it well; as the way you conduct yourself is the most you can ever expect from your team. 


Questions: 
- How good are you at doing each of these activities on a daily basis?
- What is the biggest action you take away from this?


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The need for highly competent, confident, and effective project managers is growing, in a world where projects are becoming larger, more complex, and increasingly cross-cultural. It is no longer enough to master the essential tools and techniques involved in managing tasks, costs, and resources. To be an excellent project manager, you must have drive, confidence, and attitude, and be able to lead your team to success through your vision and engagement. You must become a project management champion and take your team on a journey by sharing an appealing project vision and a road map for achieving that vision. 
 
It is not your ability to manage tasks and resources that will set you apart. It is your ability to build relationships and lead the team to success through your vision and engagement. As much as knowledge matters, it is your drive, confidence, and attitude that will really help you get your projects over the finishing line.

To become a project management champion, you must fully embrace the goals, objectives, and plans of the project. Spend time visualizing what the end state looks like once the changes have been implemented and the objectives achieved. See it the way the end users and beneficiaries see it. Feel it, taste it, and smell it. Take ownership, not just for delivering project outputs and capabilities, but for delivering the ultimate business benefits.
 
The greater clarity you have regarding the future you wish to create, the easier it will be for you to provide focus and direction to the team. When you understand and take ownership of the strategy for achieving a successful outcome, you are able to inspire and motivate the team and make the day-to-day decisions necessary to reach that future. Keep the vision alive and make it relevant to your people. Draw them into it by illustrating how they fit in and how each of their roles matters to its overall execution.

As a  project champion, you are more than a manager of people and resources. You become an inspiration to the team and the embodiment of the project. You become an agent of change who measures and monitors the ultimate business benefits. You become the person who makes sure that the customer adopts and implements the necessary business processes and procedures to support the end product so that the change initiative is ultimately successful. As a project champion you serve your team and your customer and you set a great example for others to follow.

 ***

· How well do you understand your project’s vision and objectives?  
  Give yourself a score between 1 and 10.

· What would need to happen in order for you to rate your understanding of
  the vision 10 out of 10?

· What can you do to inspire your team to achieve the vision?

· What can you do to become an agent of change?


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Proactive project managers are people who focus their efforts and attention on the long-term as opposed to being reactive in the present moment. They believe that their actions matter and that they can positively influence a situation by doing something about it. 

One of the best ways in which you can be proactive as a project manager is to work with your team and stakeholders to actively identify, analyze and mitigate project risks before they turn into issues. You can also make a concerted effort to build strong and lasting relationships with your stakeholders so that you are able to draw on their knowledge and support the day you need it. When you keep your stakeholders abreast of developments and have an excellent rapport with them, they are very unlikely to ever turn against you. They respect you and they know that you are actively working to improve all aspects of the project on their behalf. 

Another way to be proactive is to carry out project reviews and to liaise with your team members on a one-to-one basis. Ask for feedback and investigate if there is anything at all you can do to optimize the way the team works. In addition, be proactive and explore if your QA activities are as good as they can be. Poor product quality is one of the biggest reasons for project failure.

Reactive is the opposite of proactive. Reactive people often hold a belief that they have no control over a situation. This could relate to the behavior of an unreasonable stakeholder or the issues that arise during a project. They surrender and wait until a potential problem has become a burning issue before they take action. 

One of the reasons why some project managers give in and become reactive, is that their workload is so big that they feel they have no option but to fire fight in the present moment. But in reality we always have an option even if it is not an easy one. If you feel overloaded and overworked, look at how you can delegate more, how you can get better at saying ‘no’ to new requests and how you can optimizing the way you manage your time. 
 
To become more proactive, make it a habit to regularly engage in the following;  

- Spend time on your own and with team members identifying anything which could go wrong on the project. Thoroughly analyze the risks and identify an owner and mitigating actions. Do this as often as possible.

- Ask team members as often as you can what is preventing them from moving forward or what could make them work more effectively.

- Build strong relationships with all key players on the project. See things from their point of view, understand their interests and address their issues and concerns.

- Carry out project reviews and encourage a culture of learning and contribution. Discuss how past issues can be avoided and take action to make improvements.

- Demonstrate and prototype the solution to the customer and end users as often as possible. Ask for feedback and verify that what you are building matches their requirements and expectations.

- Identify and review your project controls on a regular basis. Assess if they are working as expected and keeping cost, quality and time under control.

- Actively manage your stakeholders’ expectations through face-to-face meetings and regular project reporting. Make them appreciate which risks, issues and constraints you are facing. Make sure there are no negative surprises. 
 
- Organize knowledge sharing and fun team building activities to improve morale and motivation. 

- Assess your own working practices and determine how you can optimize the way you spend your time. Could you for instance start delegating more?


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