Leadership styles for Project Manager

Leadership Styles for Project Manager

“Effective leadership excites people to exceptional performance”.

Project leadership is about creating the culture and working environment within the project that contributes to its success and performance. Successful project managers are managers who practice both strong management skills and effective leadership skills. Project managers have mastered implementing project management methodologies, leveraging advancement in technologies as applied in useful project management and team collaboration tools and techniques.The performance of a project manager and the effectiveness of a leader are both measured in terms of the performance of the followers. Effective leaders have the ability to apply the appropriate skill at the appropriate time and in the appropriate place. Leader must help the team find the path to their goals and help them in that process

Autocratic Leadership makes decisions without input and having all powers, authority and responsibility. This leadership style is seldom warranted, unless the Project Manager clearly knows more about the subject matter and has immature and inexperienced team members. That is seldom the case, and if it is true the Project Manager has made poor selections for team members. A Project Manager who uses an autocratic style outside a ‘life or death emergency’ project should re‐examine her/his overall methodology and motivation.

Authoritative leadership is a visionary and motivates people by making clear concept of work by which to achieve vision. Authoritative leaders inspire an entrepreneurial spirit and a vibrant enthusiasm for the mission.

Affiliative leadership is a very common management style used by project managers and has a positive impact on the project team. Such type of leaders create emotional bonds that bring a feeling of bonding and belonging to the organisation. It works best in times of stress.

Democratic leadership builds consensus through participation.The democratic leadership style is most effective when the leader needs the team to buy into or have ownership of a decision or goal. Democratic leadership encourages the team members to actively participate in the decision-making process.

Coaching leadership works best when the leader wants to help teammates build lasting personal strengths that make them more successful overall. Coaching leadership is least effective when teammates are unwilling to learn, or if the leader lacks proficiency.

Supportive leadership involves building trust, inspiration, and helping colleagues overcome the challenges they encounter. If you're approachable and empathetic, then you're probably a supportive leader. You show concern for employees, and you treat them with dignity and respect. Your employees, in turn, feel valued and cared for. In times of change, they trust you to help them manage uncertainty

Bureaucratic Leadership runs projects “by the book”, ensuring the team follows procedures exactly and regulatory requirements must be met. Usually, though, this style is the refuge of insecure project managers who fear accountability for variations from the standards. Projects may benefit from variation from published standards, if those variations can be justified. A consistently bureaucratic leadership style may indicate poor ability to manage risk or apply the Intel value of Informed Risk‐Taking.