Project Management Leadership: Building Creative Teams, 2nd Edition

Chapter 5

Leadership Behaviors

Learning Outcomes

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Understand why leadership behaviors are what make leaders.
• Identify a range of important behaviors that are adopted by successful leaders.
• Understand why these behaviors are important.

We judge ourselves on our intentions, others judge us on our behaviors.

‘Behaviors’ is the name we give to things we do. Our behaviors are usually driven by our values; they are what others observe about us and what they use to decide the type of person we are. For example, someone might notice that we are late for a project meeting. If this is the first time, then their opinion of us might not change, but if our tardiness is observed regularly, then their opinion of us probably will change.

Certain behaviors are more socially acceptable than others. In the example above, our consistent lateness might only be annoying. However, if we have told a lie, then just one occasion might get us the label of ‘liar’!

For a leader, behaviors are everything. It is the outward perception that creates the perception in others of us as a leader. This perception is finely balanced and, if our behaviors are not consistent with what is expected from a leader, then we are not seen as ‘a leader’.

1. What are Leadership Behaviors?

Leadership behaviors are what we do in response to how we interpret leadership theories within a particular situation. For example, we can look at Adair’s Action Centred Leadership model ...