The 4 Types of Project Manager?

Dear Alexandre,

It is the desire of all project managers to have more than one weapon in their arsenal that they can draw on when and if the situation arises. Some of these skills come naturally and may have been learned through different non work related situations while other skills are developed and evolve through various projects a project manager would undertake in their career. I would see the classification of project managers into various grouping based on personal characteristics and attributes as a mechanism to try and breakdown the ingredients it takes to make a project manager. It takes hard work, determination, self learning and a lot of other attributes to become a project manager, not simply something that can be defined or explained in an article. But for learning purposes it make sense in trying to understand what makes something tic.

Daire

Hi Alexandre,

I'd like to read the article, do you have a link?

based on your summary I find it extremely interesting the article positions the PM in an authoritarian type leadership role; the Prophet evangelizes, the Gambler pushes reward over risk, the Expert teaches, and the Executor directs. Even Kiron's Bureaucrat is guided by rules and governance. The use of a "weapon of choice" seems to put the PM in an adversarial position between the project team and the stakeholders.

With that in mind, I'd like to add another type for consideration: The Servant Leader 1 - Serve 2 - Collaboration with stakeholders 3 - focus on communication 4 - Teamwork

I've found that the teams I lead perform better when I let them self-organize while I am focused on clearing roadblocks, managing scope, and helping them be more efficient. I tell the team that I am the least important member, and the easiest to replace; if the team loses a developer or a business analyst they lose all the knowledge that that person has. If they lose their PM they can keep on with a minimum of lost knowledge.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

-Scott

Alexandre,

I will look at the article. In my opinion, like personalities or character strengths, everyone has a bit of all. According to the situation, the best will use the one more appropriate.

I think that different phases of a project requires different PM characteristics. At various stages you may need to be the Prophet, the Gambler, the Expert and the Executor however you may define these. The role may also be determined by the nature of the project and experience of the team. A complex project with a novice team may need a stronger/authoritative hand. I believe a seasons PM needs to be able to determine what is required and govern accordingly

Just as we have situational leadership, we also have situational project management.

I think that different phases of a project requires different PM characteristics. At various stages you may need to be the Prophet, the Gambler, the Expert and the Executor however you may define these. The role may also be determined by the nature of the project and experience of the team. A complex project with a novice team may need a stronger/authoritative hand. I believe a seasons PM needs to be able to determine what is required and govern accordingly

Dear Alexandre,

It is the desire of all project managers to have more than one weapon in their arsenal that they can draw on when and if the situation arises. Some of these skills come naturally and may have been learned through different non work related situations while other skills are developed and evolve through various projects a project manager would undertake in their career. I would see the classification of project managers into various grouping based on personal characteristics and attributes as a mechanism to try and breakdown the ingredients it takes to make a project manager. It takes hard work, determination, self learning and a lot of other attributes to become a project manager, not simply something that can be defined or explained in an article. But for learning purposes it make sense in trying to understand what makes something tic.

Daire