Lead a team

Enablers

• Set a clear vision and mission. (ECO 1.2.1)
• Support diversity and inclusion. (ECO 1.2.2)
• Value servant leadership. (ECO 1.2.3)
• Determine an appropriate leadership style. (ECO 1.2.4)
• Inspire, motivate, and influence team member/stakeholders. (ECO 1.2.5)
• Analyze team members and stakeholders' influence. (ECO 1.2.6)
• Distinguish various options to lead various team members and stakeholders. (ECO 1.2.7)
• Maintain team. (ECO 1.6.4)

Deliverables, and Tools

Vision and Mission

The project manager is the visionary leader for the project:

• Educating the team and other stakeholders about the value achieved or targeted
• Promoting teamwork and collaboration
• Assisting with project management tools and techniques
• Removing roadblocks
• Articulating the project’s mission

Promoting the project’s mission and value inspires the team to remained focused and feel pride

Diversity Awareness and Cultural Competencies

• Use the leadership approach and style that best suits the situation and the stakeholders.
• Be aware of individual and team aims and working relationships.
• Motivations and working styles of groups and individuals vary based on experiences, age, culture, job roles, and many more influences.
• Projects that include more diverse locations, industries, organizations, stakeholders, working styles, and cultures require communication and openness to build trust.

Leadership Styles

• Strong personal ethics, integrity, and trustworthiness
• Interpersonal skills (communicator, collaborator, motivator)
• Conceptual and analytical skills

Leadership ≠ Management

Servant Leadership

Servant leadership: A type of leadership commonly used in Agile which encourages the self-definition, self-discovery, and self-awareness of team members by listening, coaching, and providing an environment which allows them to grow.

• Facilitate rather than manage
• Provide coaching and training
• Remove work impediments
• Focus on accomplishments

Challenge the Status Quo

• Past experiences and processes provide guidance but should not dictate the current project.
• Challenging the status quo provides an avenue for new ideas and perspectives.
• Through challenge and introspection, the best approach can be discovered, and complacency and blind acceptance are avoided.

Influence Matrix

Leading a team is based partially on your influence and the influence of the other project stakeholders.

Influence goes in many directions.

The direction is often dictated by roles or titles:

• Upwards (senior management)
• Downwards (team or specialists)
• Outwards (external)
• Sideward (project manager's peers)

The salience classification model can also distinguish influence based on prioritization, urgency, and other aspects.

Salience Model

A salience model is a classification model that groups stakeholders on the basis of their level of authority, their immediate needs, and how appropriate their involvement is in terms of the project.

Power Grids

• Power/interest grid: groups stakeholders on the basis of their levels of authority and interest in the project.
• Power/influence grid: a classification model that groups stakeholders on the basis of their levels of authority and involvement in the project.

Team Building

• Project teams perform better when there is increased cohesion and solidarity.
• Good project leadership facilitates the bonding between project team members.
• Facilitating team building activities builds unity, but also builds trust, empathy, and focus on the team over the individual.

Reward and Recognition Plan

A reward and recognition plan is a formalized way to reinforce performance or behavior.

Guidelines to Manage a Team

• Use emotional intelligence and other style-typing methods to enable you to flex your behavior to a style that works best for each stakeholder.
• Establish good communication among team members, internally and externally.
• Monitor performance of team members on an ongoing basis.
• Manage conflict.
• Establish an issues log to track and assign project issues.