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LMA8X05 – LOGISTICS PROJECT MANAGEMENT

28 August 2023

Chapter 10: Being an Effective Project Manager

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Where We Are Now

• Understand the difference between managing and

leading a project.
• Understand the need to engage project stakeholders.
• Identify and apply different “influence currencies” to
build positive relations with others.

Learning • Create a stakeholder map and develop strategies for

managing project dependencies.

Objectives • Understand the need for a highly interactive

management style on projects.
• More effectively manage project expectations.
• Develop strategies for managing upward relations.
• Understand the importance of building trust and acting
in an ethical manner while working on a project.
• Identify the qualities of an effective project manager.

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Managing versus Leading a Project

• Managing—coping with complexity • Leading—coping with change

- Formulate plans and objectives - Recognize the need to change to
- Monitor results keep the project on track
- Take corrective action - Initiate change
- Expedite activities - Provide direction and motivation
- Solve technical problems - Innovate and adapt as necessary
- Serve as peacemaker - Integrate assigned resources
- Make tradeoffs among time, costs, and
project scope

Engaging Project
Stakeholders
Stakeholders are people and organizations that are
actively involved in the project or whose interests may be
positively or negatively affected by the project.

• Project Management Maxims

• You can’t do it all and get it all done.
• Projects usually involve a vast web of
relationships.
• Hands-on work is not the same as leading.
• More pressure and more involvement can reduce
your effectiveness as a leader.
• What’s important to you likely isn’t as important to
someone else.
• Different groups have different stakes
(responsibilities, agendas, and priorities) in the
outcome of a project.

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Network of Stakeholders

Influence as Exchange

The Law of Reciprocity

- One good deed deserves another, and likewise one bad deed deserves another.
Quid pro Quo
- Mutual exchange of resources and services build relationships.
- You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
Influence “Currencies” (Cohen and Bradford)
- Cooperative relationships are built on the exchange of organizational “currencies” (favors).

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Commonly Traded Organizational Currencies

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Social Network Building

Mapping Stakeholder Dependencies

- Project team’s perspective

• Whose cooperation will we need?

• Whose agreement or approval will we need?

• Whose opposition would keep us from accomplishing the project?

- Stakeholder’s perspective
• What differences exist between the team and the people on whom the team

depends?

• How do the stakeholders view the project?

• What is the current status of the relationship the team has with the stakeholders?

• What sources of influence does the team have relative to the stakeholders on whom

the team depends?

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Stakeholder Map for Financial Software Installation Project

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Management by Wandering Around (MBWA)

Management by Wandering Around (MBWA) involves managers spending the

majority of their time outside their offices in order to have face-to-face interactions
with employees building cooperative relationships.
• Relationships should be built before they are needed.

Characteristics of Effective Project Managers

• Initiate contact with key stakeholders to keep abreast of developments
• Anticipate potential problems
• Provide encouragement
• Reinforce the objectives and vision of the project
• Intervene to resolve conflicts and prevent stalemates from occurring

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Managing Upward Relations

Project success is strongly affected by the degree to which a project has the support of top management. Top
management must
- Provide an appropriate budget
- Be responsive to unexpected needs
- Send a clear signal to others in the organization of the importance of the project and the need to cooperate
- Rescind unreasonable demand
- Provide additional resources
- Recognize the accomplishments of team members

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Leading by Example

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Ethics and Project Management

• Ethical Dilemmas—situations where it is difficult to determine whether conduct is right or wrong

- Padding of cost and time estimations
- Exaggerating pay-offs of project proposals
- Falsely assuring customers that everything is on track
- Being pressured to alter status reports
- Falsifying cost accounts
- Compromising safety standards to accelerate progress
- Approving shoddy work

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Building Trust: The Key to Exercising Influence

Trust
- Is an elusive concept.
- Is a function of character (personal motives) and competence (skills necessary
to realize motives).
- Is sustained through frequent face-to-face contact.

The core of highly effective people is a character ethic (Stephen Covey in Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People).
- Consistency—more predictable
- Openness—more receptive to others
- A sense of purpose—what is best for the organization and the project

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Qualities of an Effective Project Manager

Effective
Systems Personal
communication Proactivity
skills thinking integrity

High emotional General

Effective time
intelligence business Optimism
(EQ) perspective management

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Contradictions of Project Management

1 2 3 4 5 6
Innovate and See the big Encourage Be hands- Be flexible but Manage team
maintain stability picture while individuals but off/hands-on firm versus
getting their stress the team organizational
hands dirty loyalties

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Chapter 11: Managing Project Teams

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Where We Are Now

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• Identify key characteristics of a high-performance

project team.
• Distinguish the different stages of team development.
• Understand the impact situational factors have on
project team development.
• Identify strategies for developing a high-performance
Learning project team.
• Distinguish functional conflict from dysfunctional
Objectives conflict and describe strategies for encouraging
functional conflict and discouraging dysfunctional
conflict.
• Understand the challenges of managing virtual project
teams.
• Recognize the different pitfalls that can occur in a
project team.

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High-Performing Teams
Synergy
• Positive synergy 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 10

• Negative synergy 1+1+1+1+1=2

Characteristics of High-Performing Teams

1. Share a sense of common purpose

2. Make effective use of individual talents and expertise

3. Balance role and share tasks

4. Exert energy toward problem solving

5. Accept differences of opinion and expression

6. Encourage risk taking and creativity

7. Set high personal performance standards

8. Identify source of both professional and personal growth

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The Five-Stage Team Development Model

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Situational Factors Affecting Team Development

There are 10 or Members volunteer Members serve on Members are

fewer members per to serve on the the project from assigned to the
team. project team. beginning to end. project full time.

Members are part of

All relevant
an organization Members report The project involves
culture that fosters functional areas are
solely to the project represented on the a compelling
cooperation and manager. objective.
team.
trust.

Members are located

within conversational
distance of each
other.

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Building High-Performance Project Teams

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Factors affecting recruitment

• The importance of the project

• The management structure being used to complete the
Recruiting project

Project Considerations that need to be factored into the

Members recruitment process

• Problem-solving ability
• Availability
• Technological expertise
• Credibility
• Political connections
• Ambition, initiative, and energy
• Familiarity
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Conducting Project Meetings

The first project

team meeting— Establishing Planning Tracking
project kick-off ground rules decisions decisions
meeting

Managing Managing
change Relationship subsequent
decisions
decisions project meetings

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Establishing Team Norms

Confidentiality is It is acceptable to be in There is zero tolerance Agree to disagree, but Respect outsiders, and Hard work does not get
maintained; no trouble, but it is not for bulling a way through when a decision has do not flaunt one’s in the way of having fun.
information is shared acceptable to surprise a problem or an issue. been made, regardless of position on the project
outside the team unless others. Tell others personal feelings, move team.
all agree to it. immediately when forward.
deadlines or milestones
will not be reached.

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Establishing a Team Identity

Effective use of Co-location of team Creation of project Get the team to build Team rituals
meetings members name or do something
together early on

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Requirement for an Effective Project Vision

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Managing Project Reward Systems

The reward system M ost project m anagers To increase the value of Som e project m anagers There are tim es when we
encourages team advocate the use of group rewards, rewards need to have to use negative need to reward individual
perform ance and extra rewards. have lasting significance. reinforcem ent to m otivate perform ance.
effort. project perform ance.

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Facilitating group decision

Orchestrating making involves four major
steps.
the Decision- • Identifying problems
Making • Generating alternatives
Process • Reaching a decision
• Following up

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Managing Conflict within the Project

Encouraging Functional Conflict

- Functional conflict plays a critical role in obtaining a deeper understanding of the

issues and coming up with the best decisions possible.

- Project managers can legitimize dissent within the team by

• Designating someone to play the role of devil’s advocate.
• Asking the group to take 15 minutes to come up with all the reasons the team should not
pursue a course of action.
Managing Dysfunctional Conflict

- Mediate the conflict

- Arbitrate the conflict

- Control the conflict

- Accept the conflict

- Eliminate the conflict
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Sources of Conflict over the Project Life Cycle

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Rejuvenating the Project Team

Informal Techniques
- Institute new rituals
- Show the team an inspiration movie
- Have the project sponsor give a pep talk
Formal Techniques
- Hire an external consultant to facilitate a team-building session to elevate team performance and clarify
ownership (whether the team has direct influence over the issue) issues
- Link team-building activities with outdoor experience to provide an intense common experience that
accelerate the social development of the team

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Managing Virtual Project Teams

1. Developing trust
- Hold a face-to-face meeting at the beginning and orchestrate the exchange of social

information
- Set clear roles for each team member

- Form teams with people who have already worked effectively together on projects, if

possible

2. Developing effective patterns of communication

- Don’t let team members vanish

- Establish a code of conduct to avoid delays

- Establish clear norms and protocols for surfacing assumptions and conflicts
- Use electronic video technology to verify work

- Share the pain

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Project Team Pitfalls

- Groupthink
• Illusion of invulnerability
• Whitewash of critical thinking
• Negative stereotypes of outsiders
• Direct pressure

- Bureaucratic bypass syndrome

- Team spirit becomes team infatuation

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Due 11 September
Class Test 5
2023

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