Project Management For Dummies®, UK Edition

Chapter 13

Being an Effective Leader

In This Chapter

Being a leader as well as a manager

Knowing what makes for a good manager, and a bad one

Understanding motivation and demotivation

Seeing why conflict can be really beneficial

Knowing how your teams are really doing, not just reading reports

After intense work on a tight schedule, you submit your Project Charter (the document that integrates and consolidates your project’s Scope Statement, roles and responsibilities, product and activity plans, resource plans, budget, and all the other control elements; see Chapter 2) for review and approval. A few days later, your boss comes to you and says:

‘I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you like to hear first?’

‘Tell me the good news,’ you respond.

‘Your charter’s been approved.’

‘So, what’s the bad news?’ you ask.

‘Now you have to do the project!’

Suddenly, it’s like everything flashes from two dimensions to three and gets very real. Planning the work is something that, although you consult with other people, you do a lot on your own. Now you’re working with others and your success from this point on will depend on their success from this point on! You move from being just a planner to a leader.

This chapter gives you some ideas about leadership in the context of a project and how to get the best out of your team. Doing so isn’t just selfish either. Yes, good leadership helps you get your project delivered successfully, but if you do it right, then you also make team ...