Project Management

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Your first introduction as a team leader...

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Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States
As project managers, we often have to introduce ourselves to new groups of people. On your first introduction, aside from the project specifics, how do you introduce yourself as the leader?
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Sergio Luis Conte Helping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based Organizations Buenos Aires, Argentina
Mar 11, 2019 9:30 AM
Replying to Steve Ratkaj
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I find your perspective very interesting. Is this based on your current position within PepsiCo? If the PM is not the "leader", who then is the leader of the project?
Perhaps due to english is not my first language I am not understanding @Keith post. Indeed the project manager will be the head of the team but it does not mean to be a leader from the point of view of lidership. PM manage and facilitate. Could be the leader? Sure, but if not she/he can perform project manager without problem. That is based on my personal experience, personal research (I have presented papers and performed conferences including the PMI). Just to comment, from the first time I have assigned as project manager I have to lead the team and from that time I always have the possibility to be the leader too. But I hate very much when some people that I helped along this years and today are very successful project managers came to me and said "I can not manage a project because I have not leadership ability". That is totally wrong. Just take a look to sports, Do you think that the coach is the leader of the team? Most of the time is not what you will see. That´s has no impact on the project manager accountability. Sometimes I´d like to make a comparision between the project manager and the orchestra director. Each orchestra could have more than one leader for each instrument and the orchestra director is not the leader, is the integrator, is the facilitator and indeed is how take the decisions about team orchestration.
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Wade Harshman Scrum Master| GDIT Indianapolis, In, United States
Keith, this is a good topic and I've had some good conversations about first impressions, but let me counter your specific question with a bit of wisdom passed down to me from some career Soldiers: If you have to say you're the leader, you're not.
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brian winters Information Architect Or, United States
We may be confusing leadership as a general trait that is demonstrated over time and who is leading a project. I believe you as a project manager must demonsrate leadership in the actions and decisions you make as well as the support of the project team. A sucessful project manager demonstrates leadership in his/her role as a project manger.
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Mamadou KINDA DELEGUE GENERAL| RESEAU INITIATIVE COTE D'IVOIRE (RICI) Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
I think, you don't need to show your team that you are the leader by words or others gestures. You have to bring them to rely on you :
- understanding the whole project more than them and make the team understand it too,
- developing technics and skills to motivate and manage the team and leverage their efficient contribution to the project success
- being convinced by the capacities of the team to achieve the project goals and being more involved.
This will make the team consider you as their leader and follow you in all the processes to implement the project successfully.
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Lily Murariu Research Council Officer Program Advisor| National Research Council Canada Cantley, Quebec, Canada
There is no magic formula, every new team brings something new.
Be humble, be honest, respect the group and be a good listener.
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