PP MGT 4301 DB

MGT 4301, Project Planning 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

8. Formulate a project plan to present to stakeholders. 8.1 Identify the leadership traits necessary to lead projects and the team member traits that

promote successful teams. 8.2 List the five conditions that support the development of high-performing teams. 8.3 Describe the five strategies to manage dysfunctional conflict within project teams.

Required Unit Resources Chapter 10: Being an Effective Project Manager—Read the following sections:

• Introduction • 10.1–10.7 • Summary

Chapter 11: Managing Project Teams—Read the following sections:

• Introduction • 11.1–11.5 • Summary

Unit Lesson

Leadership and Teams The video segments for this unit explain and demonstrate the importance of proper team leadership and the correct way to handle team conflicts. To access the following resources, click the links below. ClickView Pty Limited (Producer). (2001). Managing project teams successfully (Segment 3 of 8) [Video]. In

Project management success factors. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=49889&loid=171089

Video Arts (Producer). (2000). Weekly meeting (Segment 5 of 8) [Video]. In Project management. Films on

Demand. https://fod-infobase- com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=124190&loid=455602

Video Arts (Producer). (2000). Implement the project (Segment 6 of 8) [Video]. In Project management. Films

on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=124190&loid=455603

The transcripts for these videos can be found by clicking on “Transcript” in the gray bar to the right of the videos in the Films on Demand database. Project management, on one hand, is a series of interrelated steps that can be taught to anyone willing to learn. On the other hand, project management is an art that requires an individual to possess finesse and

UNIT V STUDY GUIDE Leadership and Teams

MGT 4301, Project Planning 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title

interpersonal skills to be a truly skilled project manager. Knowing when to use a certain management technique and doing so effectively is what sets experienced and successful project managers apart from inexperienced ones. Using an athletic coach analogy, leaders are more successful when they take strides to accomplish the tasks listed below.

• Surround yourself with assistant coaches (project team members) who are competent. If a head coach is able to assign tasks to an assistant without having to constantly look over his or her shoulder, it frees the head coach to dedicate time and effort to the most critical and time-sensitive areas.

• Create a team with various specialty areas. Diversity among team members promotes an environment where teammates are able to capitalize on the strengths of each individual while also limiting the effects of individual weaknesses.

• Develop a mutual trust among team members. Successful teams trust their coach’s ability to provide the appropriate direction. Leaders and team members must be timely, organized, dependable, and consistent in their actions.

• Motivate your team. Communicate, challenge, encourage, support, appreciate, empower, and celebrate on a regular basis (Larson & Gray, 2021).

In some fields, an organization’s leaders can achieve their positions by passing tests and earning advanced degrees with little experience in their fields. It is not unusual for these types of leaders to encounter resistance. The project team may feel that the leader has not earned the right to be in charge and that he or she does not understand the environment in which the project is supposed to function. The resistance may be openly stated or may be under the surface, which means the project team would appear to be working toward project goals but would not be making measurable project progress. Experienced and successful project managers know that these types of situations require motivation, communication, conflict management, and political and cultural awareness to gain the support of the project team and move the project forward. By acknowledging team reservations, experienced project managers create a relationship of trust and respect by being willing to take criticism and validating that the team’s opinions are important. Beginning project managers, unaware of the unstated resistance, may spend an excessive amount of time reviewing various management plans, network diagrams, or performance assessments in an attempt to find the error that is causing the lack of progress. In the types of organizations in which leaders do not have to come up through the ranks, beginning project managers can also fail by trying to unilaterally make decisions for the project and the project team because they are in a position of higher authority. The military is an example of this type of situation. Officers are placed in command through completion of a college degree and training school. Many have never been a regular soldier and do not understand what enlisted personnel do as a part of the team. When special projects arise, experienced officers will show trust in their enlisted staff, their project team, and solicit their opinions, feedback, and suggestions before determining a course of action. New officers will often make decisions with wide-ranging effects without input from their enlisted staff. Making unilateral decisions without asking for the input of the people who do the work can cause them to feel disrespected or distrusted and can potentially lower team morale. Construction traditionally operates on an apprentice system, in which a beginning tradesperson trains with an experienced one until he or she becomes a master in the field. A tradesperson who wants to move into a management position trains with experienced construction managers, who are also usually master tradespeople, until gaining enough experience to be a manager on his or her own. As universities created degree programs in construction management, a college degree became enough to earn a management position with little or no trade experience. The experienced project manager would ask the opinion of the project team, empower and encourage them to make decisions, and share leadership with them to increase their motivation to succeed. Inexperienced. New project managers, however, such as beginning military officers, often inform instead of asking, do not communicate well, and do not share decision-making or leadership responsibility.

MGT 4301, Project Planning 3

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title

A Closer Look In many cases, one becomes a project manager by accident. For instance, an individual is hired as a budget coordinator for a particular company. After a few months on the job, however, the manager assigns him or her to a project. A few months later, another project is added to the workload. As one can imagine, this additional work creates stress and may lead to the person leaving the organization altogether. To grow within an organization, one should be open to working on projects. Why? When on a project, the employee has a chance to learn more about operations outside of his or her department. In other words, he or she is able to gain a holistic perspective of company operations. Jack Welch, ex-chief executive officer (CEO)of General Electric (GE), stated that his growth at GE was directly related to taking on assignments anywhere the company operated, including globally. He felt that learning how other divisions of GE worked provided him with a competitive advantage. When in the running for the top leadership position, he accentuated the vast experience he accumulated over the years, and it was tough to argue his perspective. Welch served as CEO of GE from 1981 to 2001, and the company’s value grew 40-fold during his tenure (Borjas, n.d.). By having a big-picture perspective, one understands the importance of cause and effect. For example, if a marketing department launches a new campaign, it is obvious that other departments will be affected, such as accounting, finance, information technology (IT), and operations. The project manager must ensure that stakeholders from all affected departments are a part of the planning group. By taking this proactive role, negative risks are controlled, and positive risks are exploited. Welch knew that success depended on seeing how all the parts come together and how one part can cause too much strain on the entire operation. Similarly, project managers must avoid thinking in silos. The leadership aspect requires that key stakeholders from the various departments play integral roles in the project endeavor.

References Borjas, T. R. (n.d.). Jack Welch 1935–. In Reference for Business.

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/biography/S-Z/Welch-Jack-1935.html Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2021). Project management: The managerial process (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill

Education. https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781260736205

MGT 4301, Project Planning 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

8. Formulate a project plan to present to stakeholders. 8.1 Identify the leadership traits necessary to lead projects and the team member traits that

promote successful teams. 8.2 List the five conditions that support the development of high-performing teams. 8.3 Describe the five strategies to manage dysfunctional conflict within project teams.

Required Unit Resources Chapter 10: Being an Effective Project Manager—Read the following sections:

• Introduction • 10.1–10.7 • Summary

Chapter 11: Managing Project Teams—Read the following sections:

• Introduction • 11.1–11.5 • Summary

Unit Lesson

Leadership and Teams The video segments for this unit explain and demonstrate the importance of proper team leadership and the correct way to handle team conflicts. To access the following resources, click the links below. ClickView Pty Limited (Producer). (2001). Managing project teams successfully (Segment 3 of 8) [Video]. In

Project management success factors. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=49889&loid=171089

Video Arts (Producer). (2000). Weekly meeting (Segment 5 of 8) [Video]. In Project management. Films on

Demand. https://fod-infobase- com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=124190&loid=455602

Video Arts (Producer). (2000). Implement the project (Segment 6 of 8) [Video]. In Project management. Films

on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=124190&loid=455603

The transcripts for these videos can be found by clicking on “Transcript” in the gray bar to the right of the videos in the Films on Demand database. Project management, on one hand, is a series of interrelated steps that can be taught to anyone willing to learn. On the other hand, project management is an art that requires an individual to possess finesse and

UNIT V STUDY GUIDE Leadership and Teams

MGT 4301, Project Planning 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title

interpersonal skills to be a truly skilled project manager. Knowing when to use a certain management technique and doing so effectively is what sets experienced and successful project managers apart from inexperienced ones. Using an athletic coach analogy, leaders are more successful when they take strides to accomplish the tasks listed below.

• Surround yourself with assistant coaches (project team members) who are competent. If a head coach is able to assign tasks to an assistant without having to constantly look over his or her shoulder, it frees the head coach to dedicate time and effort to the most critical and time-sensitive areas.

• Create a team with various specialty areas. Diversity among team members promotes an environment where teammates are able to capitalize on the strengths of each individual while also limiting the effects of individual weaknesses.

• Develop a mutual trust among team members. Successful teams trust their coach’s ability to provide the appropriate direction. Leaders and team members must be timely, organized, dependable, and consistent in their actions.

• Motivate your team. Communicate, challenge, encourage, support, appreciate, empower, and celebrate on a regular basis (Larson & Gray, 2021).

In some fields, an organization’s leaders can achieve their positions by passing tests and earning advanced degrees with little experience in their fields. It is not unusual for these types of leaders to encounter resistance. The project team may feel that the leader has not earned the right to be in charge and that he or she does not understand the environment in which the project is supposed to function. The resistance may be openly stated or may be under the surface, which means the project team would appear to be working toward project goals but would not be making measurable project progress. Experienced and successful project managers know that these types of situations require motivation, communication, conflict management, and political and cultural awareness to gain the support of the project team and move the project forward. By acknowledging team reservations, experienced project managers create a relationship of trust and respect by being willing to take criticism and validating that the team’s opinions are important. Beginning project managers, unaware of the unstated resistance, may spend an excessive amount of time reviewing various management plans, network diagrams, or performance assessments in an attempt to find the error that is causing the lack of progress. In the types of organizations in which leaders do not have to come up through the ranks, beginning project managers can also fail by trying to unilaterally make decisions for the project and the project team because they are in a position of higher authority. The military is an example of this type of situation. Officers are placed in command through completion of a college degree and training school. Many have never been a regular soldier and do not understand what enlisted personnel do as a part of the team. When special projects arise, experienced officers will show trust in their enlisted staff, their project team, and solicit their opinions, feedback, and suggestions before determining a course of action. New officers will often make decisions with wide-ranging effects without input from their enlisted staff. Making unilateral decisions without asking for the input of the people who do the work can cause them to feel disrespected or distrusted and can potentially lower team morale. Construction traditionally operates on an apprentice system, in which a beginning tradesperson trains with an experienced one until he or she becomes a master in the field. A tradesperson who wants to move into a management position trains with experienced construction managers, who are also usually master tradespeople, until gaining enough experience to be a manager on his or her own. As universities created degree programs in construction management, a college degree became enough to earn a management position with little or no trade experience. The experienced project manager would ask the opinion of the project team, empower and encourage them to make decisions, and share leadership with them to increase their motivation to succeed. Inexperienced. New project managers, however, such as beginning military officers, often inform instead of asking, do not communicate well, and do not share decision-making or leadership responsibility.

MGT 4301, Project Planning 3

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title

A Closer Look In many cases, one becomes a project manager by accident. For instance, an individual is hired as a budget coordinator for a particular company. After a few months on the job, however, the manager assigns him or her to a project. A few months later, another project is added to the workload. As one can imagine, this additional work creates stress and may lead to the person leaving the organization altogether. To grow within an organization, one should be open to working on projects. Why? When on a project, the employee has a chance to learn more about operations outside of his or her department. In other words, he or she is able to gain a holistic perspective of company operations. Jack Welch, ex-chief executive officer (CEO)of General Electric (GE), stated that his growth at GE was directly related to taking on assignments anywhere the company operated, including globally. He felt that learning how other divisions of GE worked provided him with a competitive advantage. When in the running for the top leadership position, he accentuated the vast experience he accumulated over the years, and it was tough to argue his perspective. Welch served as CEO of GE from 1981 to 2001, and the company’s value grew 40-fold during his tenure (Borjas, n.d.). By having a big-picture perspective, one understands the importance of cause and effect. For example, if a marketing department launches a new campaign, it is obvious that other departments will be affected, such as accounting, finance, information technology (IT), and operations. The project manager must ensure that stakeholders from all affected departments are a part of the planning group. By taking this proactive role, negative risks are controlled, and positive risks are exploited. Welch knew that success depended on seeing how all the parts come together and how one part can cause too much strain on the entire operation. Similarly, project managers must avoid thinking in silos. The leadership aspect requires that key stakeholders from the various departments play integral roles in the project endeavor.

References Borjas, T. R. (n.d.). Jack Welch 1935–. In Reference for Business.

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/biography/S-Z/Welch-Jack-1935.html Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2021). Project management: The managerial process (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill

Education. https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781260736205