John Potter Plymouth Business School University of Plymouth Project Management

The role of the project leader What project leaders need to spend their time doing Looking upwards – managing your sponsor to achieve organizational commitment Looking backwards, monitoring progress and that learning from mistakes takes place Looking inwards, reviewing your performance to ensure that your leadership is a positive contribution to the work of the team Looking outwards – managing the client, end user and external stakeholders and meeting their expectations Looking forwards planning, setting milestones and targets and obtaining resources Looking downwards. Managing the team to maximise their performance individually and as a team

Give yourself a mark out of five for each of the following statements. 1 is not true, 5 is very true. 1.I have clearly demonstrated to my senior management that I understand the full impact of my project on the organisation 2.I feel fine asking my sponsor for help 3. I help my sponsor to help me by keeping them fully informed 4. I understand the politics at the top of my organisation 5. I can always get access to senior management when I need to Total score out of 25………………… How good are you at looking upwards?

How good are you at looking backwards? Give yourself a mark out of five for each of the following statements. 1 is not true, 5 is very true. 1. I have ensured that my project has appropriate mechanisms for measuring progress 2. We are good at keeping people informed about our progress 3. When things go wrong we are good at taking action to put things right quickly 4. My project team never makes the same mistake twice 5. Team members share with me the responsibility for keeping things on track. Total score out of 25…………………

How good are you at looking downwards Give yourself a mark out of five for each of the following statements. 1 is not true, 5 is very true. 1. My team members say I am very supportive 2. I review individual performance and progress with team members regularly 3. I put time and effort into our working together as a team 4. I am aware of the personal strengths and areas for development for my team members 5. I bring the members of my team together regularly Total score out of 25…………………

How good are you at looking outwards? Give yourself a mark out of five for each of the following statements. 1 is not true, 5 is very true. 1. My team is good at making invisible team members feel they belong 2. I know how to get things done informally in the organization 3. My team genuinely regard key people outside the organization as part of our team 4. Team members share with me the responsibility for managing important external relationships 5. I have all the contacts I need both inside and outside the organization Total score out of 25…………………

How good are you at looking forwards? Give yourself a mark out of five for each of the following statements. 1 is not true, 5 is very true. 1. My team and I are very clear about our targets 2. I don’t get caught out by not having enough resources when I need them 3. Team members share with me the responsibility for planning and anticipating events and milestones 4. I am constantly trying to anticipate the problems that lie over the horizon 5. I am seldom caught out by unforeseen events Total score out of 25…………………

How good are you at looking inwards? Give yourself a mark out of five for each of the following statements. 1 is not true, 5 is very true. 1. I am honest with myself 2. I take active steps to manage my pressure and stress levels 3. I communicate conviction and confidence about the project to others 4. I seek regular feedback from others about how to improve my performance as a project leader 5. I take time out to think how effectively I am managing the project. Total score out of 25…………………

 Looking upwards……………..  Looking backwards……………  Looking downwards………….  Looking outwards……………..  Looking forwards………………  Looking inwards…………………..

 In their book Project Leadership (1990), Briner, Geddes and Hastings propose 14 integrative processes which the project leader needs to operate  Wiring into stakeholders ◦ Securing stakeholder agreement, marketing the project, networking and building credibility  Keeping ‘on the ball’ ◦ Anticipating, seeking feedback, keeping the whole team informed and continuous planning and review  Focusing on results ◦ Creating a supportive culture, being tough on quality, clarifying success criteria, providing purpose and direction, celebrating success and reflecting on performance Briner, W, Geddes, M, Hastings,C (1990) Project Leadership. Aldershot, England: Gower

Briner, W, Geddes, M, Hastings,C (1990) Project Leadership. Gower: Aldershot, England. References

This resource was created by the University of Plymouth, Learning from WOeRk project. This project is funded by HEFCE as part of the HEA/JISC OER release programme.Learning from WOeRk This resource is licensed under the terms of the Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales license ( The resource, where specified below, contains other 3 rd party materials under their own licenses. The licenses and attributions are outlined below: 1.The name of the University of Plymouth and its logos are unregistered trade marks of the University. The University reserves all rights to these items beyond their inclusion in these CC resources. 2.The JISC logo, the and the logo of the Higher Education Academy are licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution -non-commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK England & Wales license. All reproductions must comply with the terms of that license. Back page originally developed by the OER phase 1 C-Change project ©University of Plymouth, 2010, some rights reserved Author John Potter InstituteUniversity of Plymouth Titlehanding over the project, close down and knowledge capture Date Created 10/06/2011 Educational Level Level 5 Keywords Learning from WOeRK Work Based Learning WBL Continuous Professional Development CPD leadership and management UKOER LFWOER Text for audio