Trident ConsultingTrident offers training, consulting and recruiting services to business professionals.

Project managers are leaders. They are expected to motivate their teams, manage stakeholder expectations, satisfy stakeholder needs, establish and maintain control of their projects, and most importantly exercise sound judgment and make good decisions that result in delivery of successful project outcomes.

Leadership in itself can be a nebulous concept, and the characteristics of a good leader are widely debated. However, in the project management context, leadership revolves around creating an atmosphere and vision that compels project team members and stakeholders to act in ways that facilitate project success.

Some of the ways project managers exercise good leadership is listed below:

• A Leader inspires the work force to accomplish great things; he or she does not simply demand that people accomplish great things.
• A Leader empathizes with the work force, and not only with him/herself.
• Leaders lead from the front, not from the rear.
• Leaders seek to understand the challenges project team members face in accomplishes difficult tasks, they do not ignore these challenges or choose to deny their existence altogether.
• Leaders place the well being of the project and the team above their own, they do not only care about themselves.
• Leaders listen more than they speak, they do not speak more than they listen.
• Leaders are concerned primarily with how project results impact the organization, not only with how results impact their image or reputation.
• Leaders create an environment for success, not barriers to success.
• Leaders reward in public and reprimand in private, never the reverse.
• Leaders give credit to their teams, they do not take the credit for themselves.
• Leaders accept responsibility for failure, they do not blame their teams for letting them down.
• Leaders maintain a positive and constructive attitude, even in the face of adversity. They do not panic.
• Leaders communicate often with their teams, and do so in a straightforward and honest manner, they do not hide information, or spin it to mislead the team.

In short, project managers exhibit leadership through focusing more on project outcomes and team members than on themselves. Of course, there are other characteristics of leadership not included in this short list. While it is true that leadership skills can be taught, effective leadership is somewhat dependent on individual style and personality. Skills can assist individuals to become leaders, but each person must tailor his or her leadership approach to match his or her individual personality.