Behavior of the week: Manage Projects

Leadership manifests itself in a number of situations but one of the most common is managing a group of people to complete a common task or reach a shared objective. Managing these types of projects involves leadership and requires a clear focus on the ultimate objective. However, if you are too rigid in your expectations or plans, it will set you up to fail when life inevitably throws a curve ball.

Innovative solutions to customer problems often result in the creating of a project, “an individual or collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned and designed to achieve a particular aim.” There are very specific principles, methods, and tools for project and program management, such as those offered by the Project Management Institute as part of its Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. 

Leaders must understand and follow these principles in order to delegate tasks effectively. The leadership skill of delegation is crucial for successful project management, because there is simply too much for one person to do.  The book Change Agents in Sunglasses: the Art and Science of Leadership in the Information Age describes how a leader must create change agents throughout the organization when large change projects are undertaken.

Ultimately, leaders must sustain focus even when other people on their team, who may be certified project management professionals, are doing the nuts-and-bolts work of developing,  coordinating, and managing resources.