Successful project managers must do more than manage; they must also lead the project. And if you want to lead effectively, your focus should be on your stakeholders. Here's a few thoughts on leading a project.

1. a few thoughts on
Leading a Project
by Steven Brown
August 5th, 2020
Professional project managers are trained to manage resources like facilities, equipment,
finances, information, and people. Their job is to plan, organize, and control those assets to
best meet the goals of the organization. But, today, you must do more than manage; you
must also lead the project.
If you want to lead effectively, your focus should be on your stakeholders – those people that
have a strong interest in the success of the project. Your boss, for example. And the people
who will use the results of your project (whether it’s an office building, an improved service, or
a new product). And, of course, you must closely focus on your project team members.
You can’t focus on all these stakeholders at the same time. As you go through the formal
stages of initiating, planning, executing, and closing the project, your job changes
dramatically. Therefore, your focus must also change. This short paper provides a framework
for doing that.
So, let’s start at the beginning of a project. Or, actually, let’s begin before the project even
starts: at the initiating stage.
There are many important activities necessary to initiate a project. Consider this: all these
tasks relate directly to your boss. Your “boss”
certainly includes the person you report to, but
you should also consider any other stakeholder
that is not a member of the project team itself:
like your boss’ boss, the customer of your
project, a sponsor, or a mentor of the project.
All these tasks must be coordinated with those
various bosses and they’re your focus at the
beginning.
Figure out in advance who needs to know what
during the life of your project, then find out how
to best report that out. This is where you begin
to think very seriously about how to manage expectations. Up front, you want everyone to
agree on your responsibilities, your goals, and the expected outcomes of your project.

2. Now let’s look at the planning stage. Here, every single activity is dependent upon you as the
leader of the project. So, in this stage of the
project the focus must be on you and what you
plan to accomplish. I’m not advocating you shut
everyone else out as you put the plan together,
but this is your responsibility and you can’t
delegate it. Certainly, reserve some time to
check in with all those bosses; they can add
some valuable insight.
Since you’ve already been communicating with
lots of key people, the foundation for your
communication plan is already laid. Now, you
just flesh out the details. The most important thing to remember is that communication is the
primary way you will manage everyone’s expectations of you and your project, so your
communication plan must be determined in advance. Everyone, from the team to the
customer, needs specific information; you must be able to report that information properly.
I hope you see that each of these planning tasks are interconnected……and that you’re
working on the entire list simultaneously. And, one more time, your guiding light is to manage
expectations.
In the executing stage, the focus is on your team. If you did a good job in the first two stages,
this part of the project can be much less
stressful. Lead the team. Monitor and control
changes; don’t just accept them. Measure,
analyze, and communicate with your team.
You’re the one responsible for the project but
you’re not making every detailed decision here.
Leadership is situational: sometimes you’re
delegating, sometimes you’re directing,
sometimes you’re facilitating.
Lead the team through this especially important
stage, but don’t micromanage.
When the project ends, you want all stakeholders to approve the results. And that is
absolutely a function of how well the team executes their assignments and how well you have
managed your bosses’ expectations to this point.

3. As awkward as it sounds, your focus in the closing stage is on everyone. Apply your
leadership skills to benefit your team, all your
bosses, and yourself. Evaluate the project and
share lessons learned with all your
stakeholders. Equally important, determine
how you will lead the next project even better.
You owe that to yourself and to your boss.
Close with team members so that they will
want to work with you again on your next
project. DO make sure that everyone agrees
the specific expectations were met.
To sum it all up, Project Leadership needs a framework, as does any discipline. And that’s
what I’ve provided here: not the framework; but a framework for leading a project.
As your project progresses, your focus should shift accordingly. And overlaid on this
framework is the constant reminder that the success of your project very much depends on
how well you manage your bosses’ expectations.
I have several video courses on LinkedIn Learning that might be of interest to you. You can
view all my courses at: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructors/steven-brown .
Want to read a really good book on project management? Check out “Project Leadership”, by
Timothy Kloppenborg, et.al. This book inspired my thoughts on shifting your focus throughout
a project’s lifecycle.