Leadership & Ethics in project By MCA-SEM IV. Leadership & Ethics in project Project leadership: Successful Project also requires leadership that involves

Leadership & Ethics in project

By MCA-SEM

IV


Project leadership: Successful Project also requires leadership that involves setting direction, aligning

people & motivating them. This requires understanding several approaches to leadership & appropriate

leadership styles.

Some Modern Approaches to Leadership: James Kouzes & Barry posse’s defined five practices of exemplary leadership that

can help you have a clearer direction to become a more effective & successful project Leader



1.Model the way : The most effective leaders lead by example A leader’s behavior wins respect, not his/ her title or position within the

organization. Leaders set an example of what they expect from others by modeling the way

they want others to behave.

2.Inspire a shared vision: An exemplary leader has an exciting vision or dream that acts as a force for

inventing the future. In turn, this vision should inspire people. So they become committed to a

purpose.


3.Challenge the process : Exemplary leaders do not rely on fate or luck. They venture out & accept challenges. Often leaders are good listener who recognize good ideas, support those ideas, &

then challenge the process to make these new ideas happen. Although, leaders accept risks & failure, they minimize it by taking &

encouraging others to make incremental step.


4.Enable others to Act: Visions & dreams do not just happen because of one person’s actions. This requires a team effort so a leader’s ability to get others to act is crucial. Exemplary leader enable other to act by encouraging collaboration & building trust

among all the project stakeholders.

5.Encourage the Heart : Often the project journey is long & difficult. People can become tired, disillusioned, frustrated, and willing to give up. Exemplary leaders rally others to carry on by encouraging the heart. Although this encouragement can be a simple gesture such as thank-you note. The leader should show appreciation for people’s contributions & create a culture of

celebration that recognizes those accomplishments.


Leadership Style: Experts found that the best leaders do not rely on only one leadership style, but

tend to use several or a combination style, depending on the situation.

The following six styles will help you to understand how a particular leadership style influences performance and results.

1.The Coercive Style: The coercive style can be summered as a “do as I say” approach to leading others. This style can be effective in a crisis, to kick start a turnaround situation. Although effective in some situations, the coercive style can have a negative

impact on the climate of the organization or project.


2. The Authoritative Style: The leader who follows the authoritative style takes a “come with me” approach in

which the leader outlines a clearly defined goal. But empowers people to choose their own means for achieving it.

3.The Affiliative Style: This style follows the attitude that “people come first”. The affiliative style centers on the value of the individual rather than Goals and tasks and attempts to keep people happy by creating harmony among

them.

4.The Democratic Style: The democratic style attempts to develop consensus through participation by asking

“what do you think?” The leader who spends time getting other people’s ideas, while building trust,

respect and commitment.


5. The Pacesetting Style: A leader who uses the pacesetting style sets high performance standards and has a

“do as I do, now” attitude. This style may be appropriate in situations that require quick results from a highly

motivated, self directed and competent team.

6. The Coaching Style: The coaching style leader follows the “try this “ approach to help people identify

their unique strengths and weaknesses so that they can reach their personal and career goals.

In this style, leader encourages people to set long-term professional goals and then helps them to develop a plan for achieving them.


Ethics in Projects: Ethics can be defined as a set of moral principles and values. Unfortunately, ethical decisions are not always that clear cut. For example, fig. below show that while some decisions ( i.e. legal and ethical or

illegal and unethical) are usually clear to us , we often have to make decisions or actions that may be legal but unethical or illegal but ethical.

To a large degree legality & the ethicalness of certain actions are governed by society & culture.



Multicultural Projects: A common type of multicultural projects would be an international

one. Domestic projects are becoming increasingly multicultural as many

organizations attempt to diversify their work force. The ability to lead and manage a multicultural team will become an

increasingly more important skill for successful project leaders.


The challenges of international project: International projects are more complex because geographical, cultural and social

differences must be taken into account.

The complexities include:Number of locations: International projects are located in several different countries, cities or regions. Travel time and costs must be taken into account as well as differences in time

zones.

Currency exchange: Most countries have their own unique currency. Moreover, some currencies are not valued outside the issuing country.


Regulations and laws: Each country has its own regulations and laws, but laws can be local and interpreted

differently.

Political In stability: Doing a project in a political unstable country can create interesting challenges that

can endanger the safety and welfare of the project team.

Attitude towards work and time: Different culture can have different attitudes towards work and time.

Religion: Although religion has an important influence in all societies, some societies are

more affected in terms of how they go about their daily life and their work.


Language: Not everyone speaks the same language you do. Although English has become the international language of business,

not everyone can speak it fluently and words can have different meanings.

Careful selection of words and phrases is important to reduce the likelihood that they are misunderstood or misinterpreted.

Thanks

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Leadership & Ethics in project By MCA-SEM IV. Leadership & Ethics in project Project leadership: Successful Project also requires leadership that involves