Unit 5 IP Assignment Details Individual Project: Leadership Style for Project Management Leadership change letter: 2–3 pages; Project charter updated: Sections 6–8 complete Jim asked you to join him to present the team’s leadership discussion to Sam and Gloria. The meeting went very well. You addressed your concerns, highlighted some key problem areas that were shared by the rest of the team, and connected everything back to how their actions are impacting the success of the project. They now realize that their behaviors and actions are putting the project at risk. They were also pretty embarrassed with the type of behaviors they displayed in the meeting as the company leaders. Both Sam and Gloria were very receptive to the ideas that you presented to them. In fact, so receptive that they both said they see a lot of leadership potential in you. “We are both sorry about the whole ordeal. We will both work together to control our emotions and not let it take over us again,” says Sam. “Yes I agree. I will approve the charter’s budget, but there were a few sections that were incomplete and others I changed,” says Gloria. Jim looks shocked, saying “What? Incomplete sections? I was pretty sure we completed everything before I forwarded the charter to you.” “Here, take a look,” says Gloria, handing the project charter to Jim. “Sections six through eight are incomplete and missing some very important information.” “Wow,” says Jim. “You are right. I should have taken a closer look at this before I gave it to you.” Jim turns to you, handing you the document. “You have done such an excellent job throughout this entire project. Would you be willing to complete the project charter?” Click here for the project charter template. “Of course.” you say. “Because of this incident and the leadership that you have displayed over the past few months, we would like you to take over Jim’s position as the new project manager,” says Sam to you. “We would like you to write a letter to the team to explain the leadership change. No need to blame anyone in the letter, but address areas of improvement and ways you intend to move the project forward as the new project manager,” says Gloria. “I’ll have a copy for approval on your desk in the morning,” you say. Back at your desk, you write a 2–3-page, APA-style letter addressing Gloria’s comments and include examples of your leadership style and drive motivation to help get buy-in from the rest of the team. Once that letter is done, you update the existing project charter template with any changes and complete the remaining sections, 6–8, to be given to Gloria in the morning. The materials found in the M.U.S.E. may help you with this assignment. Additional information is also provided in the Lessons from Experience series found at the following link: Reading:A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)—Fifth Edition: Chapter 9. “PMBOK,” is a registered mark of Project Management Institute, Inc. Communication Policy (See bolow) Introduction The story that you are about to read is from actual events that occurred in the field. Its purpose is to provide you with a real-world example from a seasoned professional in the business world. The Conflict Solver I started my career in project management at the associate level, working for a nonprofit trade association. As a project coordinator, my job was to support the project manager by monitoring the different work packages assigned to team members, departmental staff, and vendors. I was responsible for making sure that everyone was fulfilling their work orders by hitting their target milestones and deadlines and that costs were kept within budget. Halfway into the one of the projects, two of the team members were experiencing personal conflict with each other. They were indifferent on their work package information, quality assurance standards, and how risk was being handled. They criticized each other openly and often got into heated arguments in front of everyone on the project. When I tried to get the project manager to mediate the conflict, he downplayed the problem. The project manager felt that this internal conflict between two team members was underneath his leadership responsibility. He believed that as adults, the team members should learn to work out this problem themselves. Because the project was going according to plan, meeting all scope expectations, hitting deadlines, and within budget, it did not seem to impact the project. Eight months later, the project began to stall. The conflict between the two team members escalated, disturbing the work of other team members and stakeholders. The two individuals stopped communicating with each other, which impacted the release of important information being shared among the entire team. Other team members, trying to avoid the consent conflict, stopped interacting with these two individuals and servicing their work packages. The project began running late, employee morale and productivity was down, and several of the work packages finished over budget. It is important to take away the following from this scenario: • Be proactive in dealing with team conflicts before they become an issue for the project and team members. • No problem is too little for managers to resolve.
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