Chapter# 3

THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER

• The project manager plays a critical role in the
leadership of a project team in order to achieve the
project’s objectives. This role is clearly visible
throughout the project.
• In some organizational settings, the project manager
may also be called upon to manage or assist in
business analysis, business case development, and
aspects of portfolio management for a project.
• A project manager may also be involved in follow-on
activities related to realizing business benefits from the
project.
Roles of project manager:
• Membership and roles. A large project and an orchestra each comprise many
members, each playing a different role. A large orchestra may have more than
100 musicians who are led by a conductor. Like the major sections of the
orchestra, they represent multiple business units or groups within an
organization. The musicians and the project members make up each leader’s
team.
• Responsibility for team. The project manager and conductor are both
responsible for what their teams produce—the project outcome or the orchestra
concert, respectively. The two leaders need to take a holistic
• view of their team’s products in order to plan, coordinate, and complete them.
The two leaders begin by reviewing the vision, mission, and objectives of their
respective organizations to ensure alignment with their products.
• The two leaders establish their interpretation of the vision, mission, and
objectives involved in successfully completing their products. The leaders use
their interpretation to communicate and motivate their teams toward the
successful completion of their objectives.
• Knowledge and skills:
The conductor is not expected to be able to play every instrument in the orchestra, but
should possess musical knowledge, understanding, and experience. The conductor provides
the orchestra with leadership, planning, and coordination through communications. The
conductor provides written communication in the form of musical scores and practice
schedules. The conductor also communicates in real time with the team by using a baton and
other body movements.
• The project manager is not expected to perform every role on the project, but should
possess project management knowledge, technical knowledge, understanding, and
experience. The project manager provides the project team with leadership, planning, and
coordination through communications.
• The project manager provides written communications (e.g., documented plans and
schedules) and communicates in real time with the team using meetings and verbal or
nonverbal cues.
• The remainder of this section covers the key aspects of the role of the project manager.
While there are thousands of books and articles available on the subject, this section is not
intended to cover the entire spectrum of information available. Rather, it is designed to
present an overview that will provide the practitioner with a basic
DEFINITION OF A PROJECT MANAGER

• The role of a project manager is distinct from that

of a functional manager or operations manager.
Typically, the functional manager focuses on
providing management oversight for a functional or
business unit.
• Operations managers are responsible for ensuring
that business operations are efficient.
• The project manager is the person assigned by the
performing organization to lead the team that is
responsible for achieving the project objectives.
THE PROJECT

• The project manager also performs communication

roles between the project sponsor, team members,
and other stakeholders. This includes providing
direction and presenting the vision of success for
the project.
• Research shows that successful project managers
consistently and effectively use certain essential
skills. Research reveals that the top 2% of project
managers as designated by their bosses and team
members distinguish themselves
Ability to communicate with stakeholders, including the team
and sponsors:

• Developing finely tuned skills using multiple methods (e.g., verbal,

written, and nonverbal);
• Creating, maintaining, and adhering to communications plans and
schedules;
• Communicating predictably and consistently;
• Seeking to understand the project stakeholders’ communication needs
(communication may be the only deliverable that some stakeholders
received until the project’s end product or service is completed);
• Making communications concise, clear, complete, simple, relevant,
and tailored;
• Including important positive and negative news;
• Incorporating feedback channels; and
THE ORGANIZATION
The project manager proactively interacts with other
project managers. Other independent projects or
projects that are part of the same program may
impact a project due to but not limited to the
following:
• Demands on the same resources,
• Priorities of funding,
• Receipt or distribution of deliverables, and
• Alignment of project goals and objectives with
those of the organization.
The project manager also works to:

• Demonstrate the value of project management,

• Increase acceptance of project management in the
organization, and
• Advance the efficacy of the PMO when one exists in
the organization.
THE INDUSTRY

• The project manager stays informed about current industry

trends. These trends include but are not limited to:
• Product and technology development;
• New and changing market niches;
• Standards (e.g., project management, quality management,
information security management);
• Technical support tools;
• Economic forces that impact the immediate project;
• Influences affecting the project management discipline; and
• Process improvement and sustainability strategies.
PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINE

Continuing knowledge transfer and integration is very important

for the project manager. This professional development is
ongoing in the project management profession and in other areas
where the project manager maintains
• Contribution of knowledge and expertise to others within the
profession at the local, national, and global levels (e.g.,
communities of practice, international organizations); and
• Participation in training, continuing education, and
development:
• In the project management profession (e.g., universities, PMI);
• In a related profession; and
• In other professions (e.g., information technology, aerospace).
PROJECT MANAGER
OMPETENCES
• Technical project management. The knowledge,
skills, and behaviors related to specific domains of
project, program, and portfolio management.
• Leadership. The knowledge, skills, and behaviors
needed to guide, motivate, and direct a team, to
help an organization achieve its business goals.
• Strategic and business management. The
knowledge of and expertise in the industry and
organization that enhanced performance and
better delivers business outcomes.
TECHNICAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT
SKILLS

Technical project management skills are defined as the skills to

effectively apply project management knowledge to deliver the
desired outcomes for programs or projects. There are numerous
technical project management skills.
Critical success factors for the project,
Schedule,
Selected financial reports, and
Issue log.
Tailor both traditional and agile tools, techniques, and methods for each
project.
Make time to plan thoroughly and prioritize diligently.
Manage project elements, including, but not limited to, schedule, cost,
resources, and risks.
STRATEGIC AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
SKILLS

• Strategic and business management skills involve the ability to

see the high-level overview of the organization and effectively
negotiate and implement decisions and actions that support
strategic alignment and innovation
Project managers should be knowledgeable enough about the
business to be able to:
Explain to others the essential business aspects of a project;
Work with the project sponsor, team, and subject matter
experts to develop an appropriate project delivery
strategy; and
 Implement that strategy in a way that maximizes the business
value of the project.
At a minimum, the project manager should be knowledgeable enough
to explain to others the following aspects of the organization:

• Strategy;
• Mission;
• Goals and objectives;
• Products and services;
• Operations (e.g., location, type, technology);
• The market and the market condition, such as
customers, state of the market (i.e., growing or
shrinking), and time-to-market factors, etc.; and
• Competition (e.g., what, who, position in the market
place).
Strategic and business skills help the project manager to
determine which business factors should be considered for their
project. These factors include but are not limited to:
Risks and issues,
Financial implications,
Cost versus benefits analysis (e.g., net present value, return on
investment), including the various options
considered,
Business value,
Benefits realization expectations and strategies, and
Scope, budget, schedule, and quality.
LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Leadership skills involve the ability to guide,
motivate, and direct a team. These skills may include
demonstrating essential capabilities such as
negotiation, resilience, communication, problem
solving, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills.
DEALING WITH PEOPLE:A
• project manager applies leadership skills and
qualities when working with all project
stakeholders, including the project team, the
steering team, and project sponsors.
QUALITIES AND SKILLS OF A LEADER

• Research shows that the qualities and skills of a

leader include but are not limited to:
• Being a visionary (e.g., help to describe the
products, goals, and objectives of the project; able
to dream and translate those dreams for others);
• Being optimistic and positive;
• Being collaborative;
• Managing relationships and conflict
• Communicating
POLITICS, POWER, AND
GETTING THINGS DONE
Leadership and management are ultimately about
being able to get things done. The skills and qualities
noted help the project manager to achieve the
project goals and objectives. At the root of many of
these skills and qualities is the ability to deal with
politics. Politics involves influence, negotiation,
autonomy, and power.
Various forms of power include but are not limited
to:

• Positional (sometimes called formal, authoritative, legitimate) (e.g.,

formal position granted in the organization or team);
• Informational (e.g., control of gathering or distribution);
• Referent (e.g., respect or admiration others hold for the individual,
credibility gained);
• Situational (e.g., gained due to unique situation such as a specific crisis);
• Personal or charismatic (e.g., charm, attraction);
• Relational (e.g., participates in networking, connections, and alliances);
• Expert (e.g., skill, information possessed; experience, training, education,
certification);
• Reward-oriented (e.g., ability to give praise, monetary or other desired
items);
COMPARISON OF LEADERSHIP AND
MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP STYLES

• Project managers may lead their teams in many ways. The style a
project manager selects may be a personal preference, or the result
of the combination of multiple factors associated with the project.
The style a project manager uses may change over time based on
the factors in play. Major factors to consider include but are not
limited to:
• Leader characteristics (e.g., attitudes, moods, needs, values, ethics);
• Team member characteristics (e.g., attitudes, moods, needs, values,
ethics);
• Organizational characteristics (e.g., its purpose, structure, and type
of work performed); and
• Environmental characteristics (e.g., social situation, economic state,
and political elements).
Research describes numerous leadership styles that a project manager can
adopt. Some of the most common examples of these styles include but are
not limited to:
• Laissez-faire (e.g., allowing the team to make their own decisions and
establish their own goals, also referred to as taking a hands-off style);
• Transactional (e.g., focus on goals, feedback, and accomplishment to
determine rewards; management by exception);
• Servant leader (e.g., demonstrates commitment to serve and put other
people first; focuses on other people’s
• growth, learning, development, autonomy, and well-being; concentrates on
relationships, community and
• collaboration; leadership is secondary and emerges after service);
• Transformational (e.g., empowering followers through idealized attributes
and behaviors, inspirational motivation,
PERSONALITY

• Personality refers to the individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
Personality characteristics or traits include but are not limited to:
• Authentic (e.g., accepts others for what and who they are, show open concern);
• Courteous (e.g., ability to apply appropriate behavior and etiquette);
• Creative (e.g., ability to think abstractly, to see things differently, to innovate);
• Cultural (e.g., measure of sensitivity to other cultures including values, norms, and beliefs);
• Emotional (e.g., ability to perceive emotions and the information they present and to manage them; measure of
• interpersonal skills);
• Intellectual (e.g., measure of human intelligence over multiple aptitudes);
• Managerial (e.g., measure of management practice and potential);
• Political (e.g., measure of political intelligence and making things happen);
• Service-oriented (e.g., evidence of willingness to serve other people);
• Social (e.g., ability to understand and manage people); and
• Systemic (e.g., drive to understand and build systems).
• An effective project manager will have some level of ability with each of these characteristics in order to be
successful.
• Each project, organization, and situation requires that the project manager emphasize different aspects of
personality.
PERFORMING
INTEGRATION
• The role of the project manager is twofold when
performing integration on the project:
• Project managers play a key role in working with the
project sponsor to understand the strategic objectives
and ensure the alignment of the project objectives and
results with those of the portfolio, program, and
business areas. In this way, project managers contribute
to the integration and execution of the strategy.
• Integration is a critical skill for project managers.
Integration is covered more in depth in the Project
Integration
• PERFORMING INTEGRATION AT THE PROCESS LEVEL
• INTEGRATION AT THE COGNITIVE LEVEL
• INTEGRATION AT THE CONTEXT LEVEL
INTEGRATION AND
COMPLEXITY
Some projects may be referred to as complex and considered difficult to
manage. In simple terms, complex and complicated are concepts often
used to describe what is considered to be intricate or complicated.
Complexity within projects is a result of the organization’s system
behavior, human behavior, and the uncertainty at work in the
organization or its environment. In Navigating Complexity: A Practice
Guide [13], these three dimensions of complexity are defined as:
• System behavior. The interdependencies of components and systems.
• Human behavior. The interplay between diverse individuals and
groups.
• Ambiguity. Uncertainty of emerging issues and lack of understanding
or confusion.
?