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The project manager leads the project team.  They orchestrate the project activities to achieve the project goal.  This requires the application of leadership skills, technical knowledge or project management skills, and business and strategic skills.

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Quick reference

Project Manager

The project manager leads the project team. An effective leader has project management skills, interpersonal skills and business/industry acumen.

When to use

Every project needs to have someone in charge. When a project is initiated one of the first steps the stakeholders and sponsor should take is to appoint a project manager. Throughout the lifecycle of the project, the manager leads the project team.

Instructions

Project Manager: “The person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives.” PMBOK® Guide

A project manager is the primary person responsible for ensuring the project management processes are followed.  They need to orchestrate the activities of the other project team members.  The project manager does not need to be the expert in everything that is done on the project.  However, they should be the be the expert on project management activities and they should be knowledgeable about the roles and responsibilities of their team members.

Project Manager Competencies

According to the PMBOK® Guide, project managers should be competent in three areas.  These are referred to as the project management talent triangle:

  • "Technical project management – knowledge, skills and behavior related to specific domains or project, program and portfolio management. The technical aspects of performing one’s role. 
  • Leadership – knowledge, skills and behavior needed to guide, motivate and direct a team, to help an organization achieve its business goals.
  • Strategic and business management – the knowledge and expertise in the industry and organization that enhanced performance and better delivers business outcomes."

Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017, Figure 3-2, Page 57, page 56 and Glossary definition, Page 716.  

Leadership

The project manager role is more than just applying technical project management knowledge and skills to project activities, it includes a strong dose or leadership. On many (most?) projects the project manager is not the direct supervisor of all project team members. They cannot direct someone to do a project task and fire them if they don’t. Instead the project leader must build the trust and confidence of project team members and the stakeholders. This requires the ability to apply inter-personal skills effectively.     

PMBOK is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

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  • 00:05 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
  • 00:06 Let's now talk about the role of the project manager or project leader.
  • 00:10 The Project Manager Body of Knowledge, the PMBOK Guide,
  • 00:14 defines a project manager as the person assigned by the performing organization
  • 00:19 to lead the team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives.
  • 00:24 The project manager is like an orchestra conductor.
  • 00:27 They're leading a number of different individuals,
  • 00:30 who are subject matter experts in their field.
  • 00:32 The project manager must coordinate their activities in such a way that everyone
  • 00:36 stays in synch and
  • 00:37 contributes their part at the right time in order to create the end result.
  • 00:41 Which, for the conductor, is the music that was being performed.
  • 00:45 So we see that in both cases, team members include different individuals with
  • 00:49 different skills and often at different levels of proficiency.
  • 00:52 And in both cases, although it is others who are doing the work,
  • 00:56 the leader is responsible to keep everything together.
  • 00:59 At the end of the project or performance, it's usually the leader who is given
  • 01:03 the recognition for the success or the blame if the result was unfavorable.
  • 01:08 Finally, the leader does not need to be an expert in every discipline.
  • 01:12 The orchestra conductor is not an expert on every instrument, but they do need to
  • 01:17 have enough knowledge to know when something has been done correctly or
  • 01:20 incorrectly.
  • 01:21 A good project leader will have the main knowledge
  • 01:24 that helps guide their decisions and the direction of the project team.
  • 01:29 Speaking of leadership,
  • 01:30 let's talk about some of the leadership skills of a project manager.
  • 01:34 Effective project managers need to work well with the project team and
  • 01:37 the stakeholders.
  • 01:38 This requires interpersonal skills and
  • 01:40 the ability to work across multiple levels in the organization.
  • 01:45 To be effective, the project manager needs to generate trust and
  • 01:48 inspire confidence in others.
  • 01:50 In many cases, the project manager will not have formal managerial authority over
  • 01:54 the project team, so they must lead through the power of their personality.
  • 01:58 Creating that trust and
  • 01:59 confidence requires ethical behavior on the part of the project manager.
  • 02:03 If the team members or stakeholders think that the project manager is lying, or
  • 02:07 at least not telling the full truth, it will destroy their effectiveness.
  • 02:11 The bottom line is that the effective project manager requires some strong
  • 02:15 interpersonal skills.
  • 02:17 And we'll talk about this some more on another lesson.
  • 02:20 Let's close out this lesson with a brief discussion
  • 02:23 of the Project Management Talent Triangle that's been
  • 02:25 developed by the Project Management Institute.
  • 02:28 This triangle represents the skills and knowledge of effective project leadership.
  • 02:33 This triangle is used by PMI to guide the continuing education activities
  • 02:37 that are a part of maintaining a PMP credential.
  • 02:41 One side of the triangle is technical project management.
  • 02:44 This side addresses the knowledge and use of project management practices.
  • 02:48 Many of the PMBOK processes are focused on this side of the talent triangle.
  • 02:51 This applies to projects, programs, and portfolios.
  • 02:55 Another side is leadership.
  • 02:57 Projects are normally done with project teams, and it's necessary that the project
  • 03:01 manager is able to guide, motivate, and direct the teams.
  • 03:04 This side is focused on the development of the interpersonal and
  • 03:07 communication skills associated with team interactions and team behavior.
  • 03:11 The third side is strategic and business management.
  • 03:14 This is the knowledge of the industry and organization.
  • 03:17 With this side, project manager is able to recognize key risks to the project
  • 03:21 due to industry dynamics and internal organizational politics.
  • 03:26 Projects don't occur in sterile academic or
  • 03:28 theoretical environments, they occur in the real world.
  • 03:31 And a good project manager understands the real world of their business and
  • 03:36 how to navigate it.
  • 03:38 Project mangers have a difficult job.
  • 03:41 They must ochestrate the project team to achieve the project goal.
  • 03:45 This will require project management expertise, leadership, and
  • 03:49 an understanding of their business environment.

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