Project Leader

Quick reference

• 00:04 Hello again, this is Ray Sheen and
• 00:06 I'd now like to discuss the role of the project leader.
• 00:09 I want to start this discussion by setting a context for project leadership.
• 00:14 The work of most projects is accomplished by a team of people.
• 00:18 Different individuals on the team have different levels of authority and
• 00:21 responsibility with respect to the project.
• 00:23 That means that there are different levels of leadership expected from them.
• 00:27 But the point is that the entire team is responsible for the project.
• 00:31 It isn't just one person.
• 00:32 In fact, on Agile Scrum projects,
• 00:35 there is no one person who performs all of the aspects of a classic project leader.
• 00:40 The role is shared among the team members.
• 00:43 However, for our purposes we will assume the core team model.
• 00:48 In this model the project leader is at the center of the team and is responsible for
• 00:53 overall project integration and performance.
• 00:55 That does not mean that they are doing the work, just rather that they are planning,
• 01:00 monitoring, and integrating the work.
• 01:02 The core team members are subject matter experts,
• 01:05 often representing particular departments or
• 01:08 functions who lead the detailed planning and execution of a portion of the project.
• 01:12 They're typically expected to lead a sub team and are responsible for
• 01:16 a subset of the deliverables.
• 01:18 More about them in another lesson.
• 01:20 Finally the extended team members are those doing work assigned to them often
• 01:25 under the oversight of a core team member.
• 01:27 Now we have shown this like it is a formal level, but
• 01:30 often there is some blurring between these.
• 01:33 I've been involved with many projects where the project leader was also
• 01:37 a subject matter expert for a portion of the project.
• 01:39 And was the one performing the tasks associated with that portion of
• 01:44 the project, so they were doing all three levels.
• 01:47 Now let's look at the responsibilities of the project leader.
• 01:51 First, they are leading the project planning effort,
• 01:54 gathering inputs from team members, on scope, schedule, and
• 01:57 resource requirements, and creating an integrated project plan.
• 02:01 Also they ensure that risks have been identified, and
• 02:04 that risk response plans have been inserted into the project baseline plan.
• 02:09 When planning completes, the project execution gets underway.
• 02:12 The project leader is responsible for
• 02:14 ensuring that the project execution is completed from beginning to end.
• 02:19 Not that the leader does everything, but
• 02:21 rather they ensure that the team completes all project activities.
• 02:24 A key role at this time is often to recruit and
• 02:27 engage project team members and align them with the project goals.
• 02:31 If team members change due to reassignment,
• 02:34 the project leader ensures a clean handoff to the new person and
• 02:38 that the new people are quickly brought up to speed.
• 02:41 The leader also tracks task completion in accordance with the requirements that were
• 02:46 captured during project planning.
• 02:48 And finally the project leader normally leads the communication process,
• 02:53 both within the project team and externally with project stakeholders.
• 02:58 Which brings us to this third point,
• 03:00 in addition to tracking the project leader is responsible for project control.
• 03:05 That is to keep the project focused on the goals and
• 03:08 take corrective action when it isn't.
• 03:10 They need to know the current state of all aspects of the project, and
• 03:14 be ready to report these to stakeholders.
• 03:17 In particular, they're usually the voice of the project
• 03:20 team at management reviews and toll-gate meetings.
• 03:22 The project leader leads the risk identification process during
• 03:26 the planning phase.
• 03:27 And this emphasis continues as they manage the risk mitigation
• 03:31 processes throughout the project.
• 03:33 And finally, when project change occurs and
• 03:36 on almost every project there will be changes, the project leader coordinates
• 03:41 the changes through the project team and with project stakeholders.
• 03:45 Let's finish this topic by reviewing some research that has shown
• 03:48 the characteristics of good project leaders.
• 03:51 Research was conducted at Wharton Business School and
• 03:54 identified three pillars of authority for effective project leadership.
• 03:58 The first pillar of an effective project leader is their technical authority.
• 04:02 People trust them because of their competence.
• 04:05 They know that the leader knows what they're talking about.
• 04:09 This authority is initially based upon things like training, education,
• 04:13 certifications.
• 04:14 But over time it becomes much more heavily based upon the leaders reputation and
• 04:20 actual track record within the organization.
• 04:23 The second pillar is that of positional authority.
• 04:26 This is the title, the position in the org chart, or
• 04:29 the pay level of the project leader.
• 04:31 People listen to leaders because of the power that they have to either help or
• 04:36 hinder someone's career.
• 04:38 This includes whether or
• 04:40 not the project they're leading is clearly aligned with the business strategy.
• 04:44 That means that what they are doing is very important.
• 04:48 An interesting aspect of positional authority is that it
• 04:51 includes the authority of people the project leader knows.
• 04:54 Are they the president's nephew?
• 04:56 Did they carpool with one of the senior managers?
• 04:59 That senior manager authority is reflected onto the project leader.
• 05:04 The third pillar as important as the other two, is that of personal authority.
• 05:09 Do people like the project leader?
• 05:11 Do they want to be on that project?
• 05:13 Is that leader encouraging and supportive?
• 05:15 Or is that person abusive and intolerant?
• 05:18 Are they pleasant to work with?
• 05:19 This pillar is based upon the reputation and interpersonal interactions
• 05:25 among the peers of those who work with that project leader.
• 05:29 The most effective project leaders are strong on all three pillars.
• 05:33 A project leader can improve their standing within the three pillars,
• 05:37 they can develop and demonstrate technical expertise.
• 05:40 They can expand their own network and they can create and
• 05:44 establish strong positive peer relationships.
• 05:48 Now whether you view yourself as a project leader or project manager,
• 05:52 this role is one of the keys to project success.
• 05:54 And it does require both leadership and management skills.

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