Project Leadership Styles

Question: Discuss about the Project Leadership Styles. Answer: Introduction: Reflective journal as a tool of learning is deeply seated in personal growth, experiential learning, professional development and learner autonomy. At the beginning of my learning journey on project management, I was encouraged to maintain a reflective log. This journal contained the different learning I acquired during the course, documented the lessons learned and helped me to recognize my strengths and limitations. It served as a valuable component of my learning experience (Wood, 2012). Besides the demands of a usual written assignment, the journal enabled me to think deeply and to challenge my old beliefs and ideas with new information. It allowed me to synthesize the course work that I learnt into my personal philosophy and thoughts together with integrating them into my daily experiences and actions. If not for the reflective journal, I would have approached the subject of project management like a regular training session. I would not have experienced any personal growth, development changes and transitions in perspective all through the process. Through a formal training minus the reflective writing part, only the technical aspects would have been learnt by me. However, writing the journal made me generate questions, think and act critically. I became capable of integrating my learning into real world situations. One particular subject matter that I faced difficulty in understanding was the scheduling part of project management and the tools used in it. I understood the theoretical concept behind PERT and CPM but was finding difficulty in understanding its practical application. The questions were not very difficult to solve but the application of these concepts on more complex projects in real life was a bit challenging for me. However, the reflective journal again assisted me here. I listed down my limitations and the points I was not able to grasp properly. Subsequent to that, I started developing small real life simulations which were not very complex and with the help of my mentor began applying the concepts on those simulations. This subject has immensely contributed to my current growth as a project manager as well as my future capacity to perform project management effectively. I learnt the valuable lesson that project management is not only about the processes, but it is also about the people and their attitude and behaviors (Roberts, 2007). There are a number of aspects of human nature which can have either negative or positive impact on the outcomes of a project and it is critical to address them properly. Also a proficient project leader should be able to invoke a variety of leadership styles. The key is to make use of each style in the right situation (Barker and Cole, 2014). For e.g. coercive leadership style is most effective when there is a crisis like during a takeover attempt or an organizational turnaround. Likewise, a democratic leadership is best suited when the project manager wants his team to assume ownership or buy into a plan, goal or a decision, or when he/she is not certain and requires new ideas from competent team-members (Harris, 2009). My current leadership style is authoritative which allows me to share my vision with the team, and enables my team members to use their talent and devise a collaborative solution. References Barker, S. and Cole, R. (2014). Brilliant Project Management. Pearson Education. Harris, D. (2009). Project Leadership Styles. [Online]. Available through: https://www.projectsmart.com/articles/project-leadership-styles.php. [Accessed on 12th August 2016]. Roberts, P. (2007). Guide to Project Management: Achieving lasting benefit through effective change. John Wiley Sons. Wood, J. (2012). Transformation through Journal Writing: The Art of Self-Reflection for the Helping Professions. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.