Leader
Project managers need to be leaders. Robbins (2001, p.313) states that leaders
must cope with change. They set the vision, the goals, and assist the organization
in attaining those vision and goals. How do we know who the leaders are? Leaders
are noticed by the way they participate in groups. They usually challenge the
way things are done and look for ways to achieve excellence. Leaders influence
others. They motivate people to achieve something beyond their expectations.
There are two types of leaders-transactional and transformational. According
to Robbins (2001) the transactional leaders "guide or motivate their followers
in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements"
(p.329). The transformational leaders "inspire followers to transcend their own
self-interests for the good of the organization, and who are capable of having
a profound and extraordinary effect on his or her followers" (p. 329).
Management
What is the role of a manager? Robbins (2001) describes a manager as an "individual
who achieves goals through other people" (p.2). Robbins also says that management
takes place in organizations, which are "consciously coordinated social units,
composed of two or more people, that functions on a relatively continuous basis
to achieve a common goal or set of goals" (p.2). Management responsibilities
include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. In the 1960's, Henry
Mintzberg defined 10 roles that management exhibited as they did their jobs.
These roles are described as part of three groups that include interpersonal,
information and decisional roles. They are listed below as described by Mintzberg:
(Robbins, 2001, p.3-4)
- Interpersonal - figurehead, leader, liaison
- Informational-monitoring, dissemination of information, spokesperson
- Decisional-initiating and overseeing new projects, conflict resolution,
resource allocation, and negotiating.
This list is not complete. There are other roles to be described later in this
critique.
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Introduction
