The 6 Sins of Project Leadership

J. LeRoy is ExecVP, International Institute for Learning.

  Leadership   ProjectsAtWork  

Project managers are sometimes viewed as mechanics assigned to fix a problem, rather than leaders who implement an organization’s strategy. But 21st Century PMs must exhibit a wide range of leadership skills to guide cross-functional teams that deliver value through major initiatives. And to succeeed, they overcome these six “sins” of leadership.

Gone are the days of top-down structures. In today’s “flatter” and more cross-functional world, leadership is needed everywhere. Organizations require that everyone, including their project managers, take up the baton. For too long, project managers were viewed by others, and themselves, more as mechanics assigned to “fix” a problem, rather than a critical leadership resource responsible for implementing the organization’s strategy.

The successful 21^st Century project manager must exhibit a wide range of leadership skills to guide cross-functional teams in the pursuit of delivering value and excellence through projects, programs, and other major initiatives. Beware of the following six sins of project management leadership, any one of which will undermine your ability to function at the highest levels of performance.

Sin 1: You think like an employee, not a CEO.

The head of one of the world’s largest engineering and procurement companies lamented to me recently that many of …

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