Ian WhittinghamManaging Director| Calixo ConsultingGolden Cross, East Sussex, United Kingdom
For the first time, leadership is explicitly acknowledged as an important project management skill in the PMBOK Guide 4th edition. Unfortunately, it has been buried in an appendix (G1). Here is the full text (from page 409):
"Leadership involves focusing the efforts of a group of people toward a common goal and enabling them to work as a team. In general terms, leadership is the ability to get things done through others. Respect and trust, rather than fear and submission, are the key elements of effective leadership. Although important throughout all project phases, effective leadership is critical during the beginning phases of a project when the emphasis is on communicating the vision and motivating and inspiring project participants to achieve high performance.
Throughout the project, the project team leaders are responsible for establishing and maintaining the vision, strategy, and communications; fostering trust and team building; influencing, mentoring and monitoring; and evaluating the performance of the team and the project."
This is a good start at integrating leadership into a project management context. However, there is no mention of decision making. Exercising and facilitating decision making is an important component of effective leadership. In projects, decisions drive actions and actions lead to outcomes. Without effective decision making, projects can flounder and fail. What other components of leadership are missing from the PMBOK definition? Saving Changes...
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Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
Ian, great catch. Many people advocate Situational Leadership and Servant Leadership as two exemplary leadership models of tremendous fit and applicability to the management of projects, the management of project teams, and the management of the PMO. I agree with this premise. The PMBOK would be well served to include these time tested and must have leadership skills. IMHO, leadership, business acumen, and good decision-making is what makes for exceptional project managers and PMO managers.
I agree with your contention that the PMBOK v4 is a good start in this ever so important area. Actually, the PMBOK v4 text on this topic is very general to the point of being quite lacking. Just a brief blurb about some of the time tested models would seem to be in order. This begs the question, do the people behind the PMBOK know about these ever so important models and choose to leave them out or are they so focused in PM minutiae that they have a blind spot for the importance of such things as leadership, business acumen, and good decision-making.
Certainly, I agree however, PMBOK is a guide, a tool, a study manual for certification. Should Leadership have an entire chapter in the book instead of an Appendix at the back of the book? Was it related to the brand marketing of other PMI Leadership products/services to stand alone when certainly, greater depth and focus on leadership core skillsets for the masses could have garnered at least a chapter in the guide?
