Exhibiting Project Management Leadership

Project Management Leadership - A case example

How do you exhibit your project management leadership? Is it all about the technical side of project management in terms of tools, processes, and know how? Or is it about human behavior? Take the case of Eldon, a senior program manager with years of experience.

Over the course of his career he had technical positions as well as positions in management. One of Eldon’s project managers was having a difficult time. One day, Eldon overheard his project manager, whose cubicle was not too far away, having a heated discussion over the phone with one of the project team members. Eldon calmly walked over to his project manager’s cubicle and took a nearby seat listening to the conversation. The project manager changed his tone, but was still clearly agitated. After the call was over, Eldon asked the project manager to calm down, explain to him what the problem was, and tell him why he allowed himself to lose his composure. The project manager, though highly skilled technically, admittedly had an anger management problem and sometimes it get out of control.

No one had ever thought to confront the project manager about his behavior, nor help him. It was simply tolerated by others; some even made fun of it. And while it didn’t yet significantly impact anyone else’s attitude or work, it did impact the attitude and work of the project manager. Eldon took the time to discuss the anger management problem with the project manager and encouraged him to overcome it. Rather than lecture him on the inappropriateness and lack of professionalism that losing one’s temper can have in the workplace, Eldon viewed the heated phone discussion that he witnessed as an opportunity for growth and improvement.

We all can learn from Eldon, the senior program manager, and exhibit leadership just as he did. Of course it is easier to turn a blind eye or a deaf ear, but leadership seldom is about taking the easy route.