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what makes a project leader successful?

January 23, 2008 from Raven's Brain: Project Management

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Project Leadership is becoming a hot topic in the world of project management. I came across a great list of leadership "behaviors" in a post over at Slow Leadership titled What every manager ought to know about communication. I like the list and believe it also answers the question "what makes a project leader successful?":
  • They seek out the information they need. They don’t rely on others to bring it to their attention.
  • They know that the more glib, polished, and authoritative the person speaking, the more closely he or she should be questioned. Confidence tricksters and sharp salespeople are very persuasive and articulate. The person who knows the truth may not be either, but is still the only one worth hearing.
  • They never judge the worth of a piece of information by the status of the person they get it from, only by its reliability and importance.
  • They know that laziness in seeking out and testing information opens the door to being manipulated by those who are devoted to self-interest and not to the truth.
  • They never make a final decision until they must. Until then, they keep their minds, ears, and eyes open and alert to possible changes that would require a different choice.
  • They value evidence above convenience.
  • They know judgment and emotions are poor bedfellows.
  • They are aware of their own biases and take care to allow for them in making a decision.
  • They may have strong opinions, but they hold to them very lightly. They never cling to any opinion when the evidence is pointing another way, and they drop it instantly if it proves unsound.
  • They use at least 80% of their time to look, listen, explore, analyze, reflect, and consider. Only then do they speak.
  • They give themselves time. Only fools rush to be faster than others when the cost is likely to be making more unforced errors. Most of the time, it’s better to be right than first.

    • Read more of this great post here: http://www.slowleadership.org/blog/?p=367

    Some great tips and behaviors to focus on for increased personal and work success. A big one for me is the first item - "They seek out the information they need. They don’t rely on others to bring it to their attention.". It's important that a project leader be proactive and seek out the answers, rather than waiting or reacting for something to happen. Of course others also caught my attention - Judgement and Emotions are poor bedfellows and a leader needs to be aware of the effects of their actions, inactions, behaviors, attitudes, communication style and more to be self and emotionally aware and keep judgement, biases, emotions, opinions, etc. in check.

    posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
    Technorati tags: Project Management, Project LeaderManagement, Leadership, Project Manager


    This article is syndicated from Raven's Brain: Project Management . The original article is available here. Read more in Project Management News, Raven's Brain: Project Management .

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