Free «Successful Project Management and Leadership» Essay Sample

In project management, the determinant role is assigned to effective leadership. Different scholars have raised a range of ideas about the role, abilities and duties of a successful leader. In the concept of its development, project management and leadership courses are considered to be the helpful tool and necessary condition for success in all fields of future career. How to be Successful in Project management and Leadership gives more insights into this problem.

This article is written by David Shoemaker, Vice President of Learning Solutions and Innovation at eCornell. Though there are many papers about effective leadership today, this is a unique one. It puts considerable emphasis on the need to expound a successful development plan for future prosperity and gives the best approach of doing it. This summary presents the key ideas that have been mentioned by the author.

Nowadays, we live in a world of change. Thus, leadership can be a complex skill in the project management field, because of the continuously changed behavior. That is why it is obvious that new skills and current practices for successful development need adaptive capacity.

Leadership inclines people to work willingly and enthusiastically to achieve their objectives. Nevertheless, the achievement of set goals is impossible without a development plan. Hence, leadership abilities also require the creation and execution of the detailed plan with a lot of energy, significant concentration and powerful incentive.

The role of project management and leadership courses is highlighted in the article. As the basic components of the effective leader, the author outlines the following acquired knowledge: recognition of one’s strengths and weaknesses, creation of personal management style and profitable project management plan.

Afterwards, the author pays additional attention to the consequences of the courses. Five areas of knowledge in the context of career are distinguished by the researcher. Making a change, as the way to realize the goal, takes a notable place among them. The article points out this capacity in order to become the successful leader. Effective leadership involves helping people manage the challenging reality, because the more we are able to handle the situation, the more adaptive we become to it. The article shows that there is no greater asset than having an adaptive outlook on the performance system in the organization. Changes may be uncomfortable, but skilled leaders must be wise enough to accept them openly and adapt to variable circumstances. Therefore, this standpoint views the leadership as closely connected with the process of change.

Another crucial issue is awareness of the mentors’ and colleagues’ role as well as other various networks for the achievement of the established goal. Skilled leaders must be attentive to their environment, take its support and keep up the new practices through it (Shoemaker).

Amongst the characteristics of any effective leader that are discussed in the paper, the author recommends to be able for the vision and solution of the problems and tasks. The leader should be able not only to face complications, but also to cope with them. The following values are collaboration, competency and creativity. It is possible to be the successful leader only in the case of collaboration with other people, especially workfellows. Such collaboration implies the discussion of some questions with other participants of the working team. The implementation of a number of changes or corrections into the current strategy becomes possible after discussing them with other participants of the process.

Competency in the branch of project management is one of the most significant values for the leader, because the deep knowledge both in the theoretical and practical background of the area is an obligation for the person, who manages the large project or who is responsible for the coordination, development and practical implementation of some innovations into the organization.

A creative approach towards the professional activity is a key success factor for the modern leader in the world of competition and rapid development of new technologies and approaches towards management. Fairness and justice are those values, which provide the credit of trust for the leader from the chief, employees and partners. They create the support network in the workplace.

People can learn how to become successful leaders by improving their leadership skills. Great leaders always develop their acquired skills and get new ones in order to become better managers.

Achieving the objectives of the organization depends on the successful development plan and how the leader implements it in his/her work and life. The author states that self-knowledge of strengths and weaknesses helps make the personal plan. In order to create the successful development plan at the workplace, the leader has to understand the performance system in the company and get feedback from other workmates.

Thus, the author gives insight into the topic of leadership with some major points of its success in project management. It explores abilities to be the leader and manage changes in one’s own life. The main idea is awareness of the fact that effective leadership begins with oneself.

As a result, it forces to analyze own possibilities, attitude to changes and the way of overcoming obstacles. This article can be a practical guide for creating new and alternative approaches, because adaptation to change always requires some knowledge of transformation and self-perfection.

Observably, this article has the main idea, but the main principles are given very briefly. That is why further investigation of the subject matter is necessary. However, it is the only imperfection of this paper.

In conclusion, it is the useful article not only for students, researchers or managers, but also for everyone who wants to become successful in business and life. Thus, it is worth attention.