Becoming a Project Leader
Bruce MaasEmeritus Vice Provost for IT and
CIO, University of Wisconsin
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Why the Book?
Project Management is necessary, but not sufficient
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Why the Book?
We do not teach project managers about leadership. Those who
learn, do so with painful experiences, or with mentoring, or
a combination of the two3
What About Me?
Thrust into project management without preparation. Chosen
because of leadership skills. So I came at it 180 degrees from
everyone else, and yet it worked4
PMI and PMBOKOftentimes projects are formed
without project sponsors understanding the pre-defined role they need to play. Many projects fail for this reason. One reason why project leadership needed.
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My Experience
My career was financial, and academic support. I used IT and
access to data as a tool. I understood why our enterprise
project needed leadership, because the stakes were so high. I
was organized. I was tenacious. I was “sacrificed” ;) 6
My ExperienceI delivered a $9.5M project for
$6.0M, on time, under budget, and with significantly increased scope.
I adapted to absent project sponsors, took authority, and
begged for forgiveness.7
I learned…From failure
From lack of preparationFrom observation
That good people need a PM who fights for them, who has courage
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I learned…That training in PM methodology
was not enough. The tough problems require leadership and
resilience. My dream was to write this book in part to pay back those who have served without support,
to encourage others
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Big ThemeProjects today need to be managed in living order, not geometric order
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Geometric vs Living OrderGeometric Order
The traditional concept of order in which events are well organized
and predictable
Requires Management11
Geometric vs Living OrderLiving Order
The natural order of events and objects as they evolve. Agile.
Requires Leadership
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Quote to RememberJames March, a renowned
organization researcher from Stanford University concluded that “leadership involves plumbing as
well as poetry”.
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Life of a Project Manager“…we have found that project
managers must frequently cope with numerous unexpected events.
These can range from everyday occurrences such as the failure of a worker to show up or changes in a customer’s requirements, to rarer
events, such as the bankruptcy of a key vendor.”
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Life of a Project Manager“Such unexpected results often
disrupt the orderly progress of the project. Maintaining project in
geometric order becomes impossible as projects are
transformed to living order. Coping with the challenging living order of the project becomes the primary
role of the project manager.”15
We Recommend a Hybrid Model
Four Key Roles of the Project Manager
1. Planning (Decision Choregrapher-Chap 2)2. Agility (Plumber-Chap 3)
3. Resilience (Entrepreneur-Chap 4)
4. Collaborative Teamwork (Gardener-Chap 5)
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Today’s PMs …need to…Periodically cope with deviations from the
plans (role1), to continuously cope with unexpected events (role2), and to cope
with major threats (role3). The 4th role is to facilitate the implemention of the first
three practices and thus cope most effectively with project changes.
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Planning
Employ an Evolving Process(Finalize the Formulation of project
objectives as you try to reach them)
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Agility
Be Responsive and Action Oriented
(quick action during execution phase)
Remote control rarely offers real control
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ResilienceThere are both technical and
adaptive problems to surmount In order to prevent a major
disruption, the PM must be willing to initiate a change rather than
simply respond to eventsIn challenging status quo, embrace
behavior of hedgehog and fox!
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Collaborative TeamworkCultivate and Sustain
Collaboration by Focusing on the Individual, the Team, and the
Work
“The right people” does not necessarily mean the stars.
Project and team needs trump individual interests.
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Becoming a Project LeaderLearn on the Job Through
Experience, Reflection, and Mentoring. Taking initiative while consistently challenging the status quo is one of the key ingredients in
developing leadership competence.
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Tailoring Project Decisions to Project Context
A world dominated by living order requires moving from a one-size-fits-all paradigm to tailoring the
decisions to the context of the specific situation.
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Bruce Maas
Emeritus Vice Provost for IT and CIOHonorary Fellow-School of
InformationUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
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