successful project management - Commonwealth of Learning

• complain privately that members are not playing their assigned roles
properly.
A familiar story! Think of your own situation when a particular project was in
progress. How did the manager manage the project?
On the contrary, the role of the project manager is that of an enabler. The manager’s
role is to:
• plan with the members;
• help the team members get the work completed;
• get scarce resources that are required;
• buffer members from disruptive outside forces;
• facilitate communication to ensure information reaches stakeholders; and
• provide leadership.
As far back as 1962, Packard gave a definition of leadership, which can be
summarised as the art of getting others to want to do something that is believed has
to be done. The distinction between a dictator and an effective project manager is
that a dictator gets others to do things that he/she wants done. On the other hand, as
a leader, the project manager gets members to want to do the work. Without
leadership, projects tend to just satisfy the minimum requirements. The DE project
manager actually manages several integral components of a project. Among them
are: communication issues, the project team, cost issues, the action plan, the scope
of the project, project risks, project stakeholders, and change. He/she also manages
conflicts that inevitably arise when members from different sections of the institution
come together to work on an assignment outside their normal job description. To
reflect on the ideas discussed so far, work on this brief activity.
?? Activity
i. In what ways is project management linked to change management?
ii.
How does the paradigm of a project member affect his/her participation in
the project?
iii.
What are the project logistics for the project you chose and listed above?
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