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| Project Leaders |
Project Leaders Skills
Thinking Ahead
Any chess master will tell you that you must always think several moves ahead of your opponent. Anticipating trends and how they might impact the business is a crucial skill for any leader. For example, a linens manufacturer identifies the negative impact of rising
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Material prices in the manufacturing country of origin! The advanced leader will closely monitor the market to anticipate what will .Happen in the next few months and how to minimize collateral damage as a. Result of that trend.
Sharing a Vision
The ability to see the ‘bigger picture’ behind a project and effectively convey that vision to others is an incredibly valuable and important quality in a Project Manager. Successfully articulating the vision of a project ensures the team can experience it in their mind and helps to get them on board without delay.
Integrity
Part of being a great team leader is the ability to gain the trust of your team. By demonstrating that you are committed to adhering to both your values and ethical practices in general, team members will soon recognize that you are an honest leader whom they are happy to put their trust and faith in.
Competence
When a leader is unable to demonstrate that they are competent and capable, they will be unable to gain the respect and trust of their team and colleagues. A team must always feel confident that their leader is in control and knows exactly what they are doing.
Learning to Innovate
It is easy to be innovative when you are in a start-up, but most organizations are more mature and process-oriented. The advanced leader knows when and how to bend or conform to the rules to pursue an innovative idea that is aligned to the overall business strategy. For example, a headphone manufacturer decides to test their products on celebrity musicians instead of using the traditional scientific approach. As a result, the company receives not only celebrity endorsements, but also develops a great product that is based on real-life experience. The advanced leader knows when to go out on a limb—while managing risks—to achieve better business results.
Making the Right Decisions
Business is about making money. If you don’t understand the market drivers, you can’t make smart business decisions. The advanced leader understands how to take action based on a deep understanding of both local and global financial trends. This skill assimilates all five of the other skills. The advanced leader makes informed, innovative decisions that are aligned to the business strategy, interpreted for the appropriate audience, based on anticipated trends and executed through the right channels.
For example, a major technology component company had a need to engage with a younger generation, making the decision to acquire a hip headphone manufacturer rather than creating the next best thing. The advanced leader can identify the alignment between the two products, interpret the market trend for the short and the long term, innovate to acquire rather than create, and leverage their networks to have the courage to make the right business decisions
Delegator
Having a good understanding of your team members allows you to delegate tasks to the right individuals for the best possible results. Team members will respond well to a manager who delegates appropriate tasks that are well suited to their skill set and subsequently trust them to get on with it. Encourage staff to approach you to discuss any queries or difficulties if they need to rather than undermine them by constantly checking up on them and they will feel more valued .
Managing Alignment
Everything you do needs to be aligned to your organizational culture, strategy, structure and internal politics. Managing alignment requires understanding how to move your project, team, products and organization in concert and knowing that not everything will be aligned at all times and how and when to realign. For example, an IT project requires a change in behaviour by both the end user and management. The advanced leader knows how to drive the alignment and sees it needs to begin at the start of the project.
Leveraging Networks
Effective networking and communication is an obvious skill set for any manager. The advanced leader needs to learn how to leverage the networks he or she has already built. For example, a veteran nurse is assigned to implement a new medical billing system at the hospital where she works. Because she has spent years building rapport and trust with the entire team of doctors, she is able to leverage her network to introduce the new system within a few weeks. The advanced leader knows how to lead change from the middle.
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Becoming an Interpreter
Like a language translator, the advanced leader has the ability to read between the lines to understand and interpret the data within the right context. Interpreting requires the ability to pull disparate pieces of information from various sources to see the picture from different perspectives. For example, a project status report contains subjective data based on the team’s perspective. The advanced leader can interpret the subjective data by taking in all the perspectives, convert the information to have meaning from his or her perspective and interpret it for someone else who may have a different perspective.
The Author: Ala'a Elbeheri
About:
A versatile and highly accomplished senior certified IT risk management Advisor and Senior IT Lead Auditor with over 20 years of progressive experience in all domains of ICT.
• Program and portfolio management, complex project management, and service delivery, and client relationship management.
• Capable of providing invaluable information while making key strategic decisions and spearheading customer-centric projects in IT/ICT in diverse sectors.
• Displays strong business and commercial acumen and delivers cost-effective solutions contributing to financial and operational business growth in international working environments.
• Fluent in oral and written English, German, and Arabic with an Professional knowledge of French.
• Energetic and dynamic relishes challenges and demonstrates in-depth analytical and strategic ability to facilitate operational and procedural planning.
• Fully conversant with industry standards, with a consistent track record in delivering cost-effective strategic solutions.
• Strong people skills, with proven ability to build successful, cohesive teams and interact well with individuals across all levels of the business. Committed to promoting the ongoing development of IT skills throughout an organization.
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