Project Leadership

Projects are managed… sometimes very well, sometimes not. People are led. That takes good leadership along with good project management skills. Project leadership falls to those people who are in charge of the daily work on your project.

Leadership can be difficult to define. We do know that even a highly intelligent and skilled individual can fail at leadership. Another person with solid, yet not extraordinary abilities can soar. When promoting people we need to look not only at their intelligence and technical skills, but also (and maybe even more importantly) at their people skills. Research done on emotional intelligence indicates that if people don’t develop the five components of emotional intelligence their leadership abilities will fall short. They may even fail at their job. Fortunately, emotional intelligence skills can be learned. While most people are adept at one or more of the five components, all five need to be present for true leadership.

THE FIVE COMPONENTS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Self-Awareness
The ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions and drives, as well as their affect on others

Attributes
• Self-confidence
• Realistic self-assessment
• Self-deprecating sense of humor

Self-Regulation
The ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods.
The propensity to suspend judgment – to think before acting.

Attributes:
• Trustworthiness and integrity
• Comfort with ambiguity
• Openness to change

Motivation
A passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status.
A propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence

Attributes:
• Strong drive to achieve
• Optimism, even in the face of failure
• Organizational commitment

Empathy The ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people.
Skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions

Attributes:
• Expertise in building and retaining talent
• Cross-cultural sensitivity
• Service to clients and customers

Social Skill
Proficiency in managing relationships and building networks.
An ability to find common ground and build rapport.

Attributes:
• Effectiveness in leading change
• Persuasiveness
• Expertise in building and leading teams

These components are as important to project success as good project management. Leaders in the field must learn these skills and take an active leadership role. By taking responsibility, not only for safety and budgets, but also for disputes, coordination, motivation, and communication, they will help assure that a project will be successful. If the project leaders accept these responsibilities, all the group members will be able to follow their lead.

Comments

[Anthony Mersino]

Sue, I just read your blog for the first time and enjoyed it! I am interested in what makes project managers and project leaders great so it sounds like I should keep my eye on what you are writing.

Your post on emotional intelligence caught my eye. Where did you find the 5 attribute emotional intelligence framework you are using? I have done extensive work on applying emotional intelligence to project management using an adaptation of the framework developed primarily by Daniel Goleman. You can check out my work over at:
EQ4PM.typepad.com

Good luck to you and please keep up the good work.
Anthony Mersino

[John Carter]

If people would actually understand those 5 components...it would all be so much easier for everybody