Chapter 10 Being an Effective Project Manager 353
Project managers need to adapt their communication pattern to that of the senior
group. For example, one project manager recognized that top management had a tendency to use sports metaphors to describe business situations, so she framed a recent
slip in schedule by admitting that “we lost five yards, but we still have two plays to
make a first down.” Smart project managers learn the language of top management and
use it to their advantage.
Finally, a few project managers admit ignoring chains of command. If they are confident that top management will reject an important request and that what they want to
do will benefit the project, they do it without asking permission. While acknowledging
that this is very risky, they claim that bosses typically won’t argue with success.
Leading by Example
A highly visible, interactive management style is not only essential to building and
sustaining cooperative relationships, it also allows project managers to utilize their
most powerful leadership tool—their own behavior (Peters, 1988; Kouznes & Posner,
2012). Often, when faced with uncertainty, people look to others for cues as to how to
respond and demonstrate a propensity to mimic the behavior of people they respect.
A project manager’s behavior symbolizes how other people should work on the project. Through her behavior a project manager can influence how others act and respond
to a variety of issues related to the project. (See Snapshot from Practice 10.3: Leading
at the Edge for a dramatic example of this.)
To be effective, project managers must “walk the talk” (see Figure 10.4). Six aspects
of leading by example are discussed next.
Priorities
Actions speak louder than words. Subordinates and others discern project managers’
priorities by how they spend their time. If a project manager claims that this project is
critical and then is perceived as devoting more time to other projects, then all his verbal reassurances are likely to fall on deaf ears. Conversely, a project manager who
takes the time to observe a critical test instead of simply waiting for a report affirms
FIGURE 10.4
Leading by Example
Problem
solving
Standards
of
performance
Leading
by
example
Ethics
Priorities
Cooperation
Urgency
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354 Chapter 10 Being an Effective Project Manager
SNAPSHOT FROM PRACTICE 10.3
Leading at the Edge*
In 1914, the intrepid explorer Ernest
Shackleton embarked on the Endurance with his team of seamen and scientists, intent upon crossing the
unexplored Antarctic continent. What
happened in the two years between their departure
and their ultimate incredible rescue has rarely been
matched in the annals of survival: a ship crushed by
expanding ice pack . . . a crew stranded on the floes of
the frozen Weddell Sea . . . two perilous treks in open
boats across a raging Southern Ocean . . . a team
marooned on the wild, forlorn Elephant Island,
stretched to the limits of human endurance.
This adventure provided the basis for the book Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition written
by Dennis Perkins. Perkins provides numerous incidents
of how Shackleton’s personal example influenced the
behavior of his beleaguered crew. For example, from the
beginning of the Trans-Atlantic expedition to its end,
Shackleton consistently encouraged behavior that
emphasized caring and respect:
After the destruction of the Endurance Shackleton
heated hot milk for the crew and went from tent to
tent with the “life giving” drink. After the sail to the
island of South Georgia, when the exhausted crew
had landed, Shackleton took the first watch, which he
kept for three hours instead of the usual one.
Crew members emulated the caring behaviors that
Shackleton modeled. A good example of this occurred
during one of the most dramatic moments in the Endurance saga. The food supply had dwindled to perilously
low levels. Less than a week’s supply remained, and the
tiny ration of seal steak usually served at breakfast was
eliminated. The waste meat generally used to feed the
dogs was inspected for edible scraps.
Under these wretched conditions, and after a wet
sleepless night, an argument broke out among some of
the team members. Caught in the middle, one crew
member (Greenstreet) spilled his tiny ration of powdered milk and shouted at the biologist (Clark). Alfred
Lansing described what happened next:
© Topham/The Image Works
Greenstreet paused to get his breath, and in that instant his anger was spent and he suddenly fell silent.
Everyone else in the tent became quiet, too, and
looked at Greenstreet, shaggy-haired, bearded, and
filthy with blubber soot, holding his empty mug in his
hand and looking helplessly down into the snow that
had thirstily soaked up his precious milk. The loss was
so tragic he seemed almost on the point of weeping.
Without speaking, Clark reached out and poured
some milk into Greenstreet’s mug. Then Worsely, then
Macklin, and Rickerson and Kerr, Orde-Lees, and finally Blackborrow. They finished in silence.
* Adapted from Dennis N. T. Perkins, Leading at the Edge:
Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of
Shackleton’s Antarctica Expedition (New York: AMACOM
Press, 2000), pp. 94–95; and Alfred Lansing, Endurance:
Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage (New York: Carroll &
Graf, 1998), p. 127.
the importance of the testers and their work. Likewise, the types of questions project
managers pose communicate priorities. By repeatedly asking how specific issues
relate to satisfying the customer, a project manager can reinforce the importance of
customer satisfaction.
Chapter 10 Being an Effective Project Manager 355
Urgency
Through their actions project managers can convey a sense of urgency, which can permeate project activities. This urgency in part can be conveyed through stringent deadlines, frequent status report meetings, and aggressive solutions for expediting the
project. The project manager uses these tools like a metronome to pick up the beat of
the project. At the same time, such devices will be ineffective if there is not also a corresponding change in the project manager’s behavior. If they want others to work faster
and solve problems quicker, then they need to work faster. They need to hasten the
pace of their own behavior. They should accelerate the frequency of their interactions,
talk and walk more quickly, get to work sooner, and leave work later. By simply
increasing the pace of their daily interaction patterns, project managers can reinforce a
sense of urgency in others.
Problem Solving
How project managers respond to problems sets the tone for how others tackle problems. If bad news is greeted by verbal attacks, then others will be reluctant to be forthcoming.5 If the project manager is more concerned with finding out who is to blame
instead of how to prevent problems from happening again, then others will tend to
cover their tracks and cast the blame elsewhere. If, on the other hand, project managers
focus more on how they can turn a problem into an opportunity or what can be learned
from a mistake, then others are more likely to adopt a more proactive approach to
problem solving.
Cooperation
How project managers act toward outsiders influences how team members interact
with outsiders. If a project manager makes disparaging remarks about the “idiots” in
the marketing department, then this oftentimes becomes the shared view of the entire
team. If project managers set the norm of treating outsiders with respect and being
responsive to their needs, then others will more likely follow suit.
Standards of Performance
Veteran project managers recognize that if they want participants to exceed project
expectations then they have to exceed others’ expectations of a good project manager.
They establish a high standard for project performance through the quality of their
daily interactions. They respond quickly to the needs of others, carefully prepare and
run crisp meetings, stay on top of all the critical issues, facilitate effective problem
solving, and stand firm on important matters.
Ethics
How others respond to ethical dilemmas that arise in the course of a project will be
influenced by how the project manager has responded to similar dilemmas. In many
cases, team members base their actions on how they think the project manager would
respond. If project managers deliberately distort or withhold vital information from
customers or top management, then they are signaling to others that this kind of behavior is acceptable. Project management invariably creates a variety of ethical dilemmas;
this would be an appropriate time to delve into this topic in more detail.
5
This is the classic “kill the messenger” syndrome. This and other forces that contribute to distorting information can be
found in Erik Larson and Jon King “The Systemic Distortion of Information: An On-going Management Challenge,” Organizational Dynamics, Winter 1996, pp. 49–62.
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356 Chapter 10 Being an Effective Project Manager
10.5 Ethics and Project Management
LO 10-8
Understand the importance of building trust
and acting in an ethical
manner while working
on a project.
Questions of ethics have already arisen in previous chapters that discussed padding of
cost and time estimations, exaggerating pay-offs of project proposals, and so forth.
Ethical dilemmas involve situations where it is difficult to determine whether conduct
is right or wrong.
In a survey of project managers, 81 percent reported that they encounter ethical
issues in their work.6 These dilemmas range from being pressured to alter status
reports, backdate signatures, compromising safety standards to accelerate progress,
and approving shoddy work. The more recent work of Müller and colleagues suggests
that the most common dilemma project managers face involves transparency issues
related to project performance (Müller et al., 2013, 2014). For example, is it acceptable to falsely assure customers that everything is on track when in reality you are
doing so to prevent them from panicking and making matters even worse?
Project management is complicated work, and, as such, ethics invariably involve
gray areas of judgment and interpretation. For example, it is difficult to distinguish
deliberate falsification of estimates from genuine mistakes or the willful exaggeration
of project payoffs from genuine optimism. It becomes problematic to determine
whether unfulfilled promises were deliberate deception or an appropriate response to
changing circumstances.
To provide greater clarity to business ethics, many companies and professional
groups publish a code of conduct. Cynics see these documents as simply window
dressing, while advocates argue that they are important, albeit limited, first steps. In
practice, personal ethics do not lie in formal statutes but at the intersection of one’s
work, family, education, profession, religious beliefs, and daily interactions. Most
project managers report that they rely on their own private sense of right and wrong—
what one project manager called his “internal compass.” One common rule of thumb
for testing whether a response is ethical is to ask, “Imagine that whatever you did was
going to be reported on the front page of your local newspaper. How would you like
that? Would you be comfortable?”
Unfortunately, scandals at Enron, Worldcom, and Arthur Andersen have demonstrated the willingness of highly trained professionals to abdicate personal responsibility for illegal actions and to obey the directives of superiors (see Snapshot from
Practice 10.4: The Collapse of Arthur Andersen). Top management and the culture of
an organization play a decisive role in shaping members’ beliefs of what is right and
wrong. Many organizations encourage ethical transgressions by creating a “win at all
cost” mentality. The pressures to succeed obscure consideration of whether the ends
justify the means. Other organizations place a premium on “fair play” and command a
market position by virtue of being trustworthy and reliable.7
Many project managers claim that ethical behavior is its own reward. By following
your own internal compass your behavior expresses your personal values. Others suggest that ethical behavior is doubly rewarding. You not only are able to fall asleep at
night but you also develop a sound and admirable reputation. As will be explored in
the next section, such a reputation is essential to establishing the trust necessary to
exercise influence effectively.
6
While this survey is a bit old, our conversations with project managers suggest that the results hold true today (J. Cabanis,
“A Question of Ethics: The Issues Project Managers Face and How They Resolve Them,” PM Network, December 1995,
pp. 8–28).
7 For a more in-depth discussion of ethics, see: L. Trevino and K. Nelson, Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about
How to Do It Right, 5th ed. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2011).
Chapter 10 Being an Effective Project Manager 357
SNAPSHOT FROM PRACTICE 10.4
The Collapse of Arthur Andersen*
“Think straight and talk straight”
was the principle on which Arthur
E. Andersen built his accounting firm in
the early 1900s. It was a phrase his
mother taught him and became the
firm’s motto. The commitment to integrity and a systematic, planned approach to work were instrumental
in Arthur Andersen becoming one of the largest and
best-known accounting firms in the world.
According to the book, Inside Arthur Anderson by
Susan Squires and colleagues:
Working for Arthur Andersen was not for everyone.
It could be a tough culture. It was much too hierarchical and top down for the more free spirited. Many
people left after less than two years, believing the rewards did not warrant the demands that were made
on them. Others learned to play by the rules and
some even thrived. To remain in the firm, staff members were expected to work hard, respect authority of
rank, and maintain a high level of conformity. In return
they were rewarded with support, promotion, and the
possibility of making partner. Those individuals who
made a career with the firm grew old together, professionally and personally, and most had never
worked anywhere else. To these survivors, Andersen
was their second family, and they developed strong
loyalties to the firm and its culture. (p. 133)
On October 23, 2001, David Duncan told his Enron project team that they needed to start complying with
Andersen’s new policy on handling audit documents.
The policy had been instituted to make sure that the
firm’s extraneous paperwork could not be used in court
cases. Although the document retention policy required
that papers supporting the firm’s opinions and audit be
retained, it allowed a broad category of secondary
documents to be destroyed. The team reacted with
© Stephen J. Carrera/AP Photo
stunned silence to Duncan’s directive. Then everyone
got up and began racing to do what they had been told
to do. No one asked Duncan to explain further. None
asked whether what they were doing was wrong. No
one questioned whether what he or she were doing
might be illegal. Andersen’s Houston staff just reacted,
following orders without question.
On November 9, 2001, the day after the Securities
Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a subpoena to
Andersen, the shredding stopped. More than one ton of
documents had been destroyed and 30,000 e-mails
and Enron-related computer files erased. According to
Andersen’s legal defense team, the shredding was business as usual. The lawyers claimed that the shredding
was standard practice for eliminating unnecessary files.
To the SEC, it appeared to be the start of a deep coverup operation. Subsequently one of the most respected
accounting firms in the world closed its doors.
* Susan E. Squires, Cynthia J. Smith, Lorna McDougall, and
William R. Yeak, Inside Arthur Andersen: Shifting Values,
Unexpected Consequences (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall, 2004).
10.6 Building Trust: The Key to Exercising Influence
The significance of trust can be discerned by its absence. Imagine how different a
working relationship is when you distrust the other party as opposed to trusting them.
Here is what one line manager had to say about how he reacted to a project manager he
did not trust:
Whenever Jim approached me about something, I found myself trying to read between the
lines to figure what was really going on. When he made a request, my initial reaction was
“no” until he proved it.
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358 Chapter 10 Being an Effective Project Manager
Conversely, trust is the “lubricant” that maintains smooth and efficient interactions.
For example, here is what a functional manager had to say about how he dealt with a
project manager he trusted:
If Sally said she needed something, no questions were asked. I knew it was important or she
wouldn’t have asked. Likewise, if I needed something, I know she would come through for
me if she could.
Trust is an elusive concept. It is hard to nail down in precise terms why some project
managers are trusted and others are not. One popular way to understand trust is to see
it as a function of character and competence. Character focuses on personal motives
(i.e., does he or she want to do the right thing?), while competence focuses on skills
necessary to realize motives (i.e., does he or she know the right things to do?).
Stephen Covey resurrected the significance of character in the leadership literature in his best-selling Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey criticized
popular management literature as focusing too much on shallow human relations
skills and manipulative techniques, which he labeled the personality ethic. He argues
that at the core of highly effective people is a character ethic that is deeply rooted in
personal values and principles such as dignity, service, fairness, the pursuit of truth,
and respect.
One of the distinguishing traits of character is consistency. When people are guided
by a core set of principles, they are naturally more predictable because their actions are
consistent with these principles. Another feature of character is openness. When people have a clear sense of who they are and what they value, they are more receptive to
others. This trait provides them with the capacity to empathize and the talent to build
consensus among divergent people. Finally, another quality of character is a sense of
purpose. Managers with character are driven not only by personal ambitions but also
for the common good. Their primary concern is what is best for their organization and
the project, not what is best for themselves. This willingness to subordinate personal
interests to a higher purpose garners the respect, loyalty, and trust of others.
The significance of character is summarized by the comments made by two team
members about two very different project managers.
At first everyone liked Joe and was excited about the project. But after a while, people became
suspicious of his motives. He had a tendency to say different things to different people. People
began to feel manipulated. He spent too much time with top management. People began to
believe that he was only looking out for himself. It was HIS project. When the project began
to slip he jumped ship and left us holding the bag. I’ll never work for that guy again.
My first impression of Jack was nothing special. He had a quiet, unassuming management
style. Over time I learned to respect his judgment and his ability to get people to work
together. When you went to him with a problem or a request, he always listened carefully.
If he couldn’t do what you wanted him to do, he would take the time to explain why. When
disagreements arose he always thought of what was best for the project. He treated everyone
by the same rules; no one got special treatment. I’d jump at the opportunity to work on a
project with him again.
Character alone will not engender trust. We must also have confidence in the competency of individuals before we really trust them (Kanter, 1979). We all know wellintended managers whom we like but do not trust because they have a history of
coming up short on their promises. Although we may befriend these managers, we
don’t like to work with or for them.
Competence is reflected at a number of different levels. First, there is task-related
knowledge and skills reflected in the ability to answer questions, solve technical
Chapter 10 Being an Effective Project Manager 359
problems, and excel in certain kinds of work. Second, there is competence at an interpersonal level demonstrated in being able to listen effectively, communicate clearly,
resolve arguments, provide encouragement, and so forth. Finally, there is organizational competence. This includes being able to run effective meetings, set meaningful
objectives, reduce inefficiencies, and build a social network. Too often there is a tendency for young engineers and other professionals to place too much value on task or
technical competence. They underestimate the significance of organizational skills.
Veteran professionals, on the other hand, recognize the importance of management
and place a greater value on organizational and interpersonal skills.
One problem new project managers experience is that it takes time to establish a
sense of character and competency. Character and competency are often demonstrated
when they are tested, such as when a tough call has to be made or when difficult problems have to be solved. Veteran project managers have the advantage of reputation and
an established track record of success. Although endorsements from credible sponsors
can help a young project manager create a favorable first impression, ultimately he or
she will have to demonstrate character and competence during the course of dealings
with others in order to gain their trust.
So far this chapter has addressed the importance of building a network of relationships to complete the project based on trust and reciprocity. The next section examines
the nature of project management work and the personal qualities needed to excel at it.
10.7 Qualities of an Effective Project Manager
LO 10-9
Identify the qualities of
an effective project
manager.
Project management is, at first glance, a misleading discipline in that there is an inherent logic to the process. There is a natural progression from formulating a project
scope statement, to creating a WBS, developing a network, adding resources, finalizing a plan, and reaching milestones. However, when it comes to actually implementing
and completing projects, this logic can quickly disappear. Project managers often
encounter a much messier world, filled with inconsistencies and paradoxes. Effective
project managers have to be able to deal with the contradictory nature of their work.
Some of those contradictions are listed here:
∙ Innovate and maintain stability. Project managers have to put out fires, restore
order, and get the project back on track. At the same time they need to be innovative
and develop new, better ways of doing things. Innovations unravel stable routines
and spark new disturbances that have to be dealt with.
∙ See the big picture while getting your hands dirty. Project managers have to see
the big picture and how their project fits within the larger strategy of their firm.
There are also times when they must get deeply involved in project work and technology. If they don’t worry about the details, who will?
∙ Encourage individuals but stress the team. Project managers have to motivate,
cajole, and entice individual performers while at the same time maintaining teamwork. They have to be careful that they are considered fair and consistent in their
treatment of team members while at the same time treating each member as a special individual.
∙ Hands-off/Hands-on. Project managers have to intervene, resolve stalemates, solve
technical problems, and insist on different approaches. At the same time they have
to recognize when it is appropriate to sit on the sidelines and let other people figure
out what to do.
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