The Role of Project Leader

The leader must be sure to take the group dynamics into consideration. It is important to make everyone involved feel that their needs are important. For the project to be a success, everyone participating must feel as if they are contributing and that they are being valued equally.

At this point the scope of the project has been defined in detail and the project team are ready to be appointed. Although a Project Manager can be appointed at any stage of the project, s/he will need to be appointed prior to the establishment of the project team. The Project Manager is responsible for all aspects of project performance including: planning, budget execution, project execution, and close-out Funding.

As each new project is started, a new team leader may be assigned. The reason for this is with each new project the area of expertise needed may change. These teamwork groups are helpful to the manager. By delegating the responsibility of a project to the designated group, it lessen

The job of project manager, as performed by Ron Barnes of CanDo Construction Ltd., is fundamental in making things happen, as he is responsible for winning and completing projects. To do this successfully, he must gather an accurate assessment of the competition through direct contact, past experience, or second-hand reports. He must also organize available material and human resources, and determine the timeframe necessary to complete all processes of a project.

Project management takes a leading role within operations. If done correctly, project management allows projects to be completed in an allotted amount of time, at an allotted budget, with an allotted number of employees as pre-determined through a vetted planning process. Many

According to Vance Packard, leadership appears to be the art of getting others to want to do something that you are convinced should be done (Lewis, 2003). Leadership is a pertinent part of project management. James Lewis (2003) says leadership is not a position; it’s the ability to gain commitment from people. According to Professor Warren G. Bennis, “Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right”. The importance of leadership in a project is demonstrated in the case study, “A Peaceful Evacuation: Building a Multi-Project Team Battalion by Leading Upward”. This case study involves two leaders, who had similar, but mostly, different

The project manager has almost total authority over the members of her team in the projectized structure. She makes assignments and directs team members’ task efforts; she controls the project budget; she conducts team members’ performance assessments and approves team members’ raises and bonuses; and she approves annual leave.

2. Leatherbarrow, C., Fletcher, J. & Currie, D. (2010) Introduction to Human Resource Management. 2nd Edition. London: CIPD

C. Leatherbarrow & J. Fletcher, 2014, Introduction to Human Resource Management, guide to HR in practice, 3rd edition, London, CIPD

Without leadership, a team lacks direction and cohesion. Leadership is there to solve challenges associated with teamwork and to insure the attainment of the main objective of the team effort. Leadership reduces the risks associated with a project. This happens because the person or team providing direction for the project do not get involved in detailed implementation freeing them to see the big picture from which they identify and reduce or eliminate risks. Leadership increasingly means the difference between a successful project and a failed one despite the availability of resources. This is because of the role leadership plays in the effective allocation of resources to achieve the projects objectives.

Alexander, M., 2003. A handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 9th ed. London: Kogan Page

Project Human Resource Management – identification of project team and assigning roles and responsibilities to each task.

Project Manager is responsible for performance measurement which includes finding variances between planned and actual work, cost and schedule. The project manager assigns the tasks to the team members and they follow the required course of action. The project manager provides the status reports to all the vital stakeholders in order to provide visibility. The Stakeholders review the metrics and variance and initiate necessary steps for the variances determined in order to complete the project within budget and time.

r. Project managers are typically the link to the customer and must manage the tension between customer expectations and what is feasible and reasonable. They provide direction, coordination, and integration to the project team, which is often made up of par-time participants loyal to their functional departments. Often times, project managers must work with many different types of people, such as vendors, suppliers and subcontractors.

Project management is a series of steps taken in sequence to manage a project through all phases from conception to completion. The steps are documented in a strategic plan. The plan is used to ensure that all parties are working towards a common goal. Project management requires applying knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to specific activities in accordance with established standards and guidelines. There are five basic functions of project management: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Basic activities of project management include: identifying project requirements to define the outcomes; addressing various needs, concerns and expectations of others; setting up, maintaining and carrying out communications; managing others; creating project deliverables; and balancing competing project constraints.