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Know the role and responsibilities of the project leader.

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Quick reference

Project Leader

The Project Leader is responsible for ensuring the project team executes the project.  On small projects, the project leader often is also a team member with responsibility for executing several project tasks.  On large projects, the project leader role is often a full-time position and the leader focuses their time on project planning, issue/risk resolution, and project communication.

When to use

All projects should have someone who is responsible for ensuring the project team executes the project.  On very small projects there may not be a project team – everything is done by one person.  In that case the individual assigned to the project is the project leader.  Whenever there are multiple people conducting project activities, someone should be designated as the project leader.  The individual filling the role of project leader can change as a project transitions from one phase to another.

Instructions

  1. When a project is approved, management should appoint a project leader whose role initially is to complete/update the Project Charter.
  2. The Project Leader coordinates the planning activities of all team members and ensures an integrated project plan is created.  This includes any replanning due to project changes.
  3. The Project Leader should also lead the risk management process during the planning and execution phases of the project.  Although all team members are responsible for identifying risk and developing risk response plans, the project leader coordinates and directs the activities.
  4. The Project Leader is the primary focal point for all project communication during the planning and execution phases of the project.  This includes both communication within the project team and communication with project stakeholders who are not team members.
  5. The Project Leader tracks project status to ensure project tasks are being completed in accordance with the project plan and appropriately reports that status.
  6. The Project Leader either leads or delegates to the appropriate individual on the project team the responsibility for leading project issue resolution.
  7. Outstanding project leaders lead from three pillars of strength.  They have technical authority in a relevant aspect of the project, they have positional authority based upon their organizational level and network, and they have personal authority based upon how they interact with team members and peers.

Hints & tips

  • Projects Leaders are most successful if they have technical competence in an area of project activity, a network of relationships in the organization, and the respect of their peers.
  • Everything a Project Leader does can be boiled down to one of two categories of activities, risk management and communication management. 
  • Project Manager Definition:  “The person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives.”  PMBOK® Guide.

This definition is taken from the Glossary of the Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017.

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  • 00:04 Hello again.
  • 00:05 This is Ray Sheen and I'd now like to discuss the role of the project leader.
  • 00:11 According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, the PMBOK Guide.
  • 00:15 The project manager is the person assigned by the performing organization to lead
  • 00:20 the team that is responsible for achieving the project objective.
  • 00:24 So, is this person a project leader or a project manager?
  • 00:28 Which is it?
  • 00:29 Well, of course, the answer is that they need to be both.
  • 00:32 Let's explore management and leadership briefly as it applies to projects.
  • 00:36 The project leader needs to determine what mix of management and
  • 00:40 leadership actions they should apply with their people on the project team.
  • 00:44 Some projects requires strong leadership and strong management.
  • 00:48 On those projects, the project leader needs to be engaged with everyone,
  • 00:52 demonstrating what's to be required and
  • 00:55 ensuring that they are doing the correct work.
  • 00:57 And also, empowering them with project activities,
  • 01:00 the leader is leading by example and managing everyone's work.
  • 01:06 Sometimes the team members are subject matter experts who know what to do and
  • 01:10 how to do it, but
  • 01:11 the team does not understand the project or are not motivated to work on it.
  • 01:16 In this case, the project leader needs to provide strong leadership,
  • 01:19 focusing the team and aligning and motivating them.
  • 01:22 They don't need to do a lot of management oversight.
  • 01:25 On some projects, the team understands where they're going but
  • 01:29 they need help with management.
  • 01:30 They struggle with planning, controlling and organizing their work activities.
  • 01:34 Strong management must be supplied here but leadership is not what's missing.
  • 01:40 Finally, sometimes the team is motivated and organized,
  • 01:43 they know what they're to do and they know how to do it.
  • 01:46 The project leader can sit back and just delegate and
  • 01:48 occasionally regulate the project work as needed, the team will deliver results.
  • 01:54 Now let's look at the responsibilities of the project leader.
  • 01:57 First, they're leading the project planning effort.
  • 02:01 Gathering inputs from team members on scope, schedule and
  • 02:03 resource requirements and creating an integrated project plan.
  • 02:07 Also they ensure that the risks have been identified and
  • 02:09 that the risk response plans are being implemented into the overall project plan.
  • 02:14 When planning completes, the project execution gets underway.
  • 02:18 The project leader is responsible for the project execution from beginning to end.
  • 02:22 Not that the leader does everything, but
  • 02:23 rather that they ensure that the team completes all the project activities.
  • 02:27 A key role at this point is often to recruit and
  • 02:30 engage project team members and align them with the project goals.
  • 02:34 If team members change, due to reassignment,
  • 02:36 the project leader ensures a clean hand-off to the new person, and
  • 02:39 the new people are quickly brought up to speed.
  • 02:42 The leader also tracks that task completion is in accordance with
  • 02:45 the requirements that were captured during project planning.
  • 02:48 And finally the project leader normally leads the communication process,
  • 02:52 both within the project team and externally, with the project stakeholders.
  • 02:57 Which brings us to the third point.
  • 02:58 In addition to tracking, the project leader is responsible for project control.
  • 03:03 That is to keep the project focused on the goals and
  • 03:05 to take corrective action when it isn't.
  • 03:07 They need to know the current state of all aspects of the project and
  • 03:10 be ready to report them to stakeholders.
  • 03:13 In particular, they are usually the voice of the project team at
  • 03:16 management reviews and toll gate meetings.
  • 03:18 The project leader leads the risk identification efforts during
  • 03:21 project planning phase and this emphasis continues as they manage the risk
  • 03:25 mitigation processes throughout the rest of the project.
  • 03:28 And finally, whenever project change occurs and
  • 03:31 on most projects there will be a change, the project leader
  • 03:34 coordinates the change through the project team and with the project stakeholders.
  • 03:39 Let's finish this topic by reviewing what research has shown to be
  • 03:41 characteristics of a good project leader.
  • 03:44 This research was conducted at Wharton Business School, and
  • 03:46 identified three pillars of authority for an effective project leader.
  • 03:50 The first pillar of an effective project leader is their technical authority.
  • 03:54 People trust them because of their competence.
  • 03:57 They know that the leader knows what they're talking about.
  • 04:00 This authority is initially based upon things like training,
  • 04:03 education and certifications.
  • 04:05 But over time it becomes much more heavily based upon the leader's reputation and
  • 04:09 the track record within the organization.
  • 04:12 The second pillar is that of positional authority.
  • 04:15 This is the title, the position in the org chart or
  • 04:18 the pay level of the project leader.
  • 04:20 People listen to the leader because of the power they have to either help or
  • 04:24 hinder someone's career.
  • 04:25 This includes whether or not the project that they're working on
  • 04:28 is clearly aligned with the business strategy.
  • 04:31 That means that what they are doing is very important.
  • 04:34 An interesting aspect of positional authority is it includes the authority
  • 04:38 of those you know.
  • 04:39 Are you the president's nephew?
  • 04:41 Do you carpool with one of the senior managers?
  • 04:44 Their authority is reflected onto you.
  • 04:46 The third pillar is as important as the others.
  • 04:49 It is that of personal authority.
  • 04:50 Do people like you?
  • 04:52 Do they wanna be on your project?
  • 04:54 Are you encouraging and supportive or are you abusive and intolerant?
  • 04:58 Are you pleasant to work with?
  • 04:59 This pillar is based upon your reputation and the interpersonal interactions
  • 05:03 among your peers and those you work with on your project.
  • 05:07 The most effective project leaders are strong on all three pillars.
  • 05:11 A project leader can improve their standing within the three pillars.
  • 05:14 They can develop and demonstrate technical expertise.
  • 05:17 They can expand their own network.
  • 05:19 And they can create and establish strong, positive peer relationships.
  • 05:24 Now whether you view yourself as a project leader or project manager,
  • 05:28 this role is one of the keys to project success.
  • 05:32 And it does require both leadership and management skills.

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