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Role of the Project Manager

A project manager plays a critical role in the leadership of a project team in order to achieve the project's objectives. This role is clearly visible throughout the project. Many project managers become involved in a project from its initiation through closing. However, in some organizations, a project manager may be involved in evaluation and analysis activities prior to project initiation. These activities may include consulting with executive and business unit leaders on ideas for advancing strategic objectives, improving organizational performance, or meeting customer needs. In some organizational settings, the project manager may also be called upon to manage or assist in business analysis, business case development, and aspects of portfolio management for a project. A project manager may also be involved in follow-on activities related to realizing business benefits from the project. The role of a project manager may vary from organization to organization. Ultimately, the project management role is tailored to fit the organization in the same way that the project management processes are tailored to fit the project.

▶Project team and roles. A large project comprises many members, each playing a different role. A large project may have more than 100 project members led by a project manager. Team members may fulfill many different roles, such as design, manufacturing, and facilities management. They may represent multiple business units or groups within an organization. The project members make up each leader's team.

▶Responsibility for team. The project manager is responsible for what the team produces—the project outcome. The project manager needs to take a holistic view of the team's products in order to plan, coordinate, and complete them. This is accomplished by reviewing the vision, mission, and objectives of the organization to ensure alignment with their products. The project manager then establishes an interpretation of the vision, mission, and objectives involved in successfully completing their products, and uses this interpretation to communicate and motivate the team toward the successful completion of their objectives.

▶Knowledge and skills. The project manager is not expected to perform every role on the project, but should possess project management knowledge, technical knowledge, understanding, and experience. The project manager provides the project team with leadership, planning, and coordination through communications. The project manager provides written communications (e.g., documented plans and schedules) and communicates in real time with the team using meetings and verbal or nonverbal cues.

3.1 THE PROJECT MANAGER'S SPHERE OF INFLUENCE

Project managers fulfill numerous roles within their sphere of influence. These roles reflect the project manager's capabilities and are representative of the value and contributions of the project management profession. This section highlights the roles of the project manager in the various spheres of influence shown in Figure 3-1.

Figure 3-1. Example of Project Manager's Sphere of Influence

3.1.1 THE PROJECT

The project manager leads the project team to meet the project's objectives and stakeholders’ expectations. The project manager works to balance the competing constraints on the project with the available resources.

The project manager also performs communication roles between the project sponsor, team members, and other stakeholders. This includes providing direction and presenting the vision of success for the project. The project manager uses soft skills (e.g., interpersonal skills and the ability to manage people) to balance the conflicting and competing goals of the project stakeholders in order to achieve consensus. In this context, consensus means that the relevant stakeholders support the project decisions and actions even when there is not 100% agreement.

Research shows that successful project managers consistently and effectively use certain essential skills. Research reveals that the top 2% of project managers, as designated by their bosses and team members, distinguish themselves by demonstrating superior relationship and communication skills while displaying a positive attitude.

The ability to communicate with stakeholders, including the team and sponsors, applies across multiple aspects of the project including, but not limited to the following:

▶Developing finely tuned skills using multiple methods (e.g., verbal, written, and nonverbal);

▶Creating, maintaining, and adhering to communications plans and schedules;

▶Communicating predictably and consistently;

▶Seeking to understand the project stakeholders’ communication needs (communication may be the only deliverable that some stakeholders receive until the project's end product or service is completed);

▶Making communications concise, clear, complete, simple, relevant, and tailored;

▶Including important positive and negative news;

▶Incorporating feedback channels; and

▶Relationship skills involving the development of extensive networks of people throughout the project manager's spheres of influence. These networks include formal networks such as organizational reporting structures. However, the informal networks that project managers develop, maintain, and nurture are more important. Informal networks include the use of established relationships with individuals such as subject matter experts and influential leaders. Use of these formal and informal networks allows the project manager to engage multiple people in solving problems and navigating the bureaucracies encountered in a project.

3.1.2 THE ORGANIZATION

The project manager proactively interacts with other project managers. Other independent projects or projects that are part of the same program may impact a project due to, but not limited to, the following:

▶Demands on the same resources,

▶Priorities of funding,

▶Receipt or distribution of deliverables, and

▶Alignment of project goals and objectives with those of the organization.

Interacting with other project managers helps to create a positive influence for fulfilling the various needs of the project. These needs may be in the form of human, technical, or financial resources and deliverables required by the team for project completion. The project manager seeks ways to develop relationships that assist the team in achieving the goals and objectives of the project.

In addition, the project manager maintains a strong advocacy role within the organization. The project manager proactively interacts with managers within the organization throughout the project. The project manager also works with the project sponsor to address internal political and strategic issues that may impact the team or the viability or quality of the project.

The project manager may work toward increasing the project management competency and capability within the organization as a whole and is involved in both tacit and explicit knowledge transfer or integration initiatives. The project manager also works to:

▶Demonstrate the value of project management,

▶Increase acceptance of project management in the organization, and

▶Advance the efficacy of the PMO when one exists in the organization.

Depending on the organizational structure, a project manager may report to a functional manager. In other cases, a project manager may be one of several project managers who report to a PMO or a portfolio or program manager who is ultimately responsible for one or more organization-wide projects. The project manager works closely with all relevant managers to achieve the project objectives and to ensure the project management plan aligns with the portfolio or program plan. The project manager also works closely and in collaboration with other roles, such as organizational managers, subject matter experts, and those involved with business analysis. In some situations, the project manager may be an external consultant placed in a temporary management role.

3.1.3 THE INDUSTRY

The project manager stays informed about current industry trends. The project manager takes this information and sees how it may impact or apply to the current projects. These trends include but are not limited to:

▶Product and technology development;

▶New and changing market niches;

▶Standards (e.g., project management, quality management, information security management);

▶Technical support tools;

▶Economic forces that impact the immediate project;

▶Influences affecting the project management discipline; and

▶Process improvement and sustainability strategies.

3.1.4 PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS

A stakeholder is an individual, group, or organization that may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project. Project stakeholders may be internal or external to the project, and they may be actively involved, passively involved, or unaware of the project. Project stakeholders may have a positive or negative impact on the project, or they may be positively or negatively impacted by the project. Examples of stakeholders include but are not limited to:

▶Internal stakeholders:.

Sponsor,

Resource manager,

Project management office (PMO),

Portfolio steering committee,

Program manager,

Project managers of other projects, and

Team members.

▶External stakeholders:.

Customers,

End users,

Suppliers,

Shareholders,

Regulatory bodies, and

Competitors.

Stakeholder involvement may range from occasional contributions in surveys and focus groups to full project sponsorship that includes the provision of financial, political, or other types of support. The type and level of project involvement can change over the course of the project's life cycle. Therefore, successfully identifying, analyzing, and engaging stakeholders and effectively managing their project expectations and participation throughout the project life cycle is critical to project success.

3.2 PROJECT MANAGER COMPETENCES

Recent PMI studies applied the Project Manager Competency Development (PMCD) Framework [6] to the skills needed by project managers through the use of the PMI Talent Triangle^® shown in Figure 3-2. The Talent Triangle focuses on three key skill sets: Ways of Working, Business Acumen, and Power Skills.

Figure 3-2. The PMI Talent Triangle^®

3.2.1 WAYS OF WORKING

It is important for project managers to master diverse and creative ways of getting the job done. Project managers should understand and adopt many ways of working, including predictive, agile, design thinking, or other new practices still to be developed. This will allow individuals to quickly shift their way of working as new challenges arise. This enables success when the right solutions at the right moment in time are applied.

3.2.2 BUSINESS ACUMEN

Business acumen is the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions while understanding the many factors of influence across an organization or industry. Professionals at every level should actively develop business acumen, whether through experience, training, courses, certifications, or self-guided learning, to achieve the highest level of success. This enables a deeper knowledge of how any project aligns with the broader organizational strategy and global trends, enabling efficient and effective decision making.

3.2.3 POWER SKILLS

Beyond the traditional top-down leadership skills, power skills (formerly known as “soft skills”) are the critical interpersonal skills of professionals at every level that enable them to apply influence, inspire change, and build relationships. Power skills include collaborative leadership skills, communication skills, having an innovative mindset, having a for-purpose orientation, and exercising empathy. Mastering these power skills allows professionals to be powerful, influential stakeholders who can instigate change and make ideas a reality.

3.3 QUALITIES AND SKILLS OF A LEADER

Research shows that the qualities and skills of a leader include but are not limited to:

▶Being a visionary (e.g., help to describe the products, goals, and objectives of the project; able to dream and translate those dreams for others);

▶Being optimistic and positive;

▶Being collaborative;

▶Managing relationships and conflict by:

Building trust;

Satisfying concerns;

Seeking consensus;

Balancing competing and opposing goals;

Applying persuasion, negotiation, compromise, and conflict resolution skills;

Developing and nurturing personal and professional networks;

Taking a long-term view that relationships are just as important as the project; and

Continuously developing and applying political acumen.

▶Communicating by:

Spending sufficient time communicating (research shows that top project managers spend about 90% of their time on a project in communicating);

Managing expectations;

Accepting feedback graciously;

Giving feedback constructively; and

Asking and listening.

▶Being respectful (helping others retain their autonomy), courteous, friendly, kind, honest, trustworthy, loyal, and ethical;

▶Exhibiting integrity and being culturally sensitive, courageous, a problem solver, and decisive;

▶Giving credit to others where due;

▶Being a lifelong learner who is results- and action-oriented;

▶Focusing on the important things, including:

Continuously prioritizing work by reviewing and adjusting as necessary;

Finding and using a prioritization method that works for them and the project;

Differentiating high-level strategic priorities, especially those related to critical success factors for the project;

Maintaining vigilance on primary project constraints;

Remaining flexible on tactical priorities; and

Being able to sift through massive amounts of information to obtain the most important information.

▶Having a holistic and systemic view of the project, taking internal and external factors into account equally;

▶Being able to apply critical thinking (e.g., application of analytical methods to reach decisions) and identify themself as a change agent; and

▶Being able to build effective teams, be service oriented, and have fun and share humor effectively with team members.

3.3.1 LEADERSHIP STYLES

Project managers may lead their teams in many ways. The style a project manager selects may be a personal preference, or the result of the combination of multiple factors associated with the project. The style a project manager uses may change over time based on the factors in play. Major factors to consider include but are not limited to:

▶Leader characteristics (e.g., attitudes, moods, needs, values, ethics);

▶Team member characteristics (e.g., attitudes, moods, needs, values, ethics);

▶Organizational characteristics (e.g., its purpose, structure, and type of work performed); and

▶Environmental characteristics (e.g., social situation, economic state, and political elements).

Research describes numerous leadership styles that a project manager can adopt. Some of the most common examples of these styles include but are not limited to:

▶Laissez-faire (e.g., allowing the team to make their own decisions and establish their own goals, also referred to as taking a hands-off style);

▶Transactional (e.g., focus on goals, feedback, and accomplishment to determine rewards; management by exception);

▶Servant leader (e.g., demonstrates commitment to serve and put other people first; focuses on other people's growth, learning, development, autonomy, and well-being; concentrates on relationships, community, and collaboration; leadership is secondary and emerges after service);

▶Transformational (e.g., empowering followers through idealized attributes and behaviors, inspirational motivation, encouragement for innovation and creativity, and individual consideration);

▶Charismatic (e.g., able to inspire; is high-energy, enthusiastic, self-confident; holds strong convictions); and

▶Interactional (e.g., a combination of transactional, transformational, and charismatic).

3.3.2 LEADERSHIP COMPARED TO MANAGEMENT

The words leadership and management are often used interchangeably. However, they are not synonymous. The word management is more closely associated with directing another person to get from one point to another using a known set of expected behaviors. In contrast, leadership involves working with others through discussion or debate in order to guide them from one point to another.

The method that a project manager chooses to employ reveals a distinct difference in behavior, self-perception, and project role. Table 3-1 compares management and leadership on several important levels.

Project managers need to employ both leadership and management in order to be successful. The skill is in finding the right balance for each situation. The way in which management and leadership are employed often shows up in the project manager's leadership style.

Table 3-1. Team Management and Team Leadership Compared

3.3.3 POLITICS, POWER, AND GETTING THINGS DONE

Leadership and management are ultimately about being able to get things done. The skills and qualities noted help the project manager to achieve project goals and objectives. At the root of many of these skills and qualities is the ability to deal with politics. Politics involves influence, negotiation, autonomy, and power.

The project manager observes and collects data about the project and organizational landscapes. The data then needs to be reviewed in the context of the project, the people involved, the organization, and the environment as a whole. This review yields the information and knowledge necessary for the project manager to plan and implement the most appropriate action. The project manager's action is a result of selecting the right kind of power to influence and negotiate with others. Exercise of power also carries with it the responsibility of being sensitive to and respectful of other people. The effective action of the project manager maintains the autonomy of those involved. The project manager's action results in the right people performing the activities necessary to fulfill the project's objectives.

Power can originate with traits exhibited by the individual or the organization. Power is often supported by other people's perceptions of the leader. It is essential for project managers to be aware of their relationships with other people. Relationships enable project managers to get things done on the project. There are numerous forms of power at the disposal of project managers. Power and its use can be complex given its nature and the various factors at play in a project. Various forms of power include but are not limited to:

▶Positional (sometimes called formal, authoritative, legitimate) (e.g., formal position granted in the organization or team);

▶Informational (e.g., control of gathering or distribution);

▶Referent (e.g., respect or admiration others hold for the individual, credibility gained);

▶Situational (e.g., gained due to unique situation such as a specific crisis);

▶Personal or charismatic (e.g., charm, attraction);

▶Relational (e.g., participates in networking, connections, and alliances);

▶Expert (e.g., skill, information possessed; experience, training, education, certification);

▶Reward-oriented (e.g., ability to give praise, monetary rewards, or other desired items);

▶Punitive or coercive (e.g., ability to invoke discipline or negative consequences);

▶Ingratiating (e.g., application of flattery or other common ground to win favor or cooperation);

▶Pressure-based (e.g., limit freedom of choice or movement for the purpose of gaining compliance to desired action);

▶Guilt-based (e.g., imposition of obligation or sense of duty);

▶Persuasive (e.g., ability to provide arguments that move people to a desired course of action); and

▶Avoiding (e.g., refusing to participate).

Top project managers are proactive and intentional when it comes to power. These project managers will work to acquire the power and authority they need within the boundaries of organizational policies, protocols, and procedures rather than wait for it to be granted.

3.3.4 PERSONALITY

Personality refers to the individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Personality characteristics or traits include but are not limited to:

▶Authentic (e.g., accepts others for what and who they are, shows open concern);

▶Courteous (e.g., ability to apply appropriate behavior and etiquette);

▶Creative (e.g., ability to think abstractly, to see things differently, to innovate);

▶Cultural (e.g., measure of sensitivity to other cultures including values, norms, and beliefs);

▶Emotional (e.g., ability to perceive emotions and the information they present and to manage them; measure of interpersonal skills);

▶Intellectual (e.g., measure of human intelligence over multiple aptitudes);

▶Managerial (e.g., measure of management practice and potential);

▶Political (e.g., measure of political intelligence and making things happen);

▶Service-oriented (e.g., evidence of willingness to serve other people);

▶Social (e.g., ability to understand and manage people); and

▶Systemic (e.g., drive to understand and build systems).

An effective project manager will have some level of ability with each of these characteristics in order to be successful. Each project, organization, and situation requires the project manager to emphasize different aspects of personality.

3.4 PERFORMING INTEGRATION

The role of the project manager is twofold when performing integration on the project:

▶Project managers play a key role in working with the project sponsor to understand the strategic objectives and ensure the alignment of the project objectives and results with those of the portfolio, program, and business areas. In this way, project managers contribute to the integration and execution of the strategy.

▶Project managers are responsible for guiding the team to work together to focus on what is really essential at the project level. This is achieved through the integration of processes, knowledge, and people.

Integration is a critical skill for project managers and takes place at three different levels: the process, cognitive, and context levels.

3.4.1 PERFORMING INTEGRATION AT THE PROCESS LEVEL

Project management may be seen as a set of processes and activities that are undertaken to achieve the project objectives. Some of these processes may take place once (e.g., the initial creation of the project charter), but many others overlap and occur several times throughout the project. One example of this process overlap and multiple occurrences is a change in a requirement that impacts scope, schedule, or budget and requires a change request. Several project management processes such as the Control Scope process and the Perform Integrated Change Control process may involve a change request. The Perform Integrated Change Control process occurs throughout the project for integrating change requests.

Although there is no stated definition on how to integrate the project processes, it is clear that a project has a small chance of meeting its objective if the project manager fails to integrate the project processes where they interact.

3.4.2 INTEGRATION AT THE COGNITIVE LEVEL

There are many different ways to manage a project. The method selected typically depends on the specific characteristics of the project including its size, how complicated the project or organization may be, and the culture of the performing organization. It is clear that the personal skills and abilities of the project manager are closely related to the way in which the project is managed.

The project manager applies experience, insight, ways of working, power skills, and business acumen to the project. It is through the project manager's ability to integrate the applicable project management processes, which makes it possible to achieve the desired project results.

3.4.3 INTEGRATION AT THE CONTEXT LEVEL

There have been many changes in the context in which business and projects take place today compared to a few decades ago. New technologies have been introduced. Social networks, multicultural aspects, virtual teams, and new values are part of the new reality of projects. One example is knowledge and people integration in the context of a large, cross-functional project implementation involving multiple organizations. The project manager considers the implications of this context in communications planning and knowledge management to guide the project team.

Project managers need to be cognizant of the project context and these new aspects when managing the integration. Then project managers can decide how to best use these new elements of the environment in their projects to achieve success.

3.4.4 INTEGRATION AND COMPLEXITY

Some projects may be referred to as complex and considered difficult to manage. In simple terms, complex and complicated are concepts often used to describe what is considered to be intricate.

Complexity itself is a perception of an individual based on personal experience, observation, and skill. Rather than being complex, a project is more accurately described as containing complexity. Portfolios, programs, and projects may contain elements of complexity.

When approaching the integration of a project, the project manager should consider elements that are both inside and outside of the project. The project manager should examine the characteristics or properties of the project. Complexity as a characteristic or property of a project is typically defined as:

▶Containing multiple parts,

▶Possessing a number of connections between the parts,

▶Exhibiting dynamic interactions between the parts, and

▶Exhibiting behavior, produced as a result of those interactions, which cannot be explained as the simple sum of the parts (e.g., emergent behavior).

Examining these various items that appear to make the project complex should help the project manager identify key areas when planning, managing, and controlling the project to ensure integration.