Leadership

Success on any program or project requires strong leadership from the program or project manager. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI):

• A leader "guides, inspires, and motivates team members and other project stakeholders to manage and overcome issues to effectively achieve project objectives" (2007, p. 23). Leadership is a key personal competency for the project manager.

• Leadership is important throughout all phases of a project's life cycle, but it is especially essential for communicating the project's vision and then inspiring the team to achieve high performance (2008a, p. 240).

• Leadership "is the process that will facilitate project goal achievement" (1987, p. F-6).

• "Leadership skills are needed for managing multiple project teams throughout the program life cycle" (2008c, p.13). Program managers must establish the overall direction of the program through their leadership of the program management team.

In the third edition of the PMBOK(r) Guide (PMI 2004), John Kotter writes that both leadership and management are necessary in order to produce outstanding results, but management is more concerned with "consistently producing key results expected by stakeholders" (p. 24), while leadership involves establishing direction and aligning, motivating, and inspiring people. This edition of the PMBOK(r) Guide stresses the importance of project managers as leaders, especially on large projects, but it also emphasizes that any team member can demonstrate leadership at any time in a variety of ways.

Adams and Campbell (1982) write that the "most important function of a manager, but oftentimes the least mentioned, is the leadership function. This is also true for the manager of a project" (p. 3). They explain that leading a project team requires skills, knowledge, and the ability to communicate with a diverse group of people who represent different functions and backgrounds. They understand the challenges of leading in a matrix management environment but warn that project managers without leadership ability may never see their projects completed.

Project managers tend to gradually acquire leadership skills early in their project careers and then sharpen them as they work on more complex projects and with more seasoned project managers. Project managers must be not only leaders but also managers, facilitators, and mentors. This chapter describes these key roles.

The Importance of Leadership in Program and Project Management

In many ways, program and project managers face more leadership challenges than functional or operational managers. Programs and projects may have more stakeholders than functional or operational teams, and they may not all be easy to identify. Organizational structures are often less clear in a program or project environment.

The primary