The Role Of Communication Process In Effective Leadership Of Projects

Project Context

Describe about the Professional Project for Leadership of Projects.

This report is aimed at shedding some light on the various aspects of the project work titled “The role of communication process in effective leadership of projects”. The context of the project would be discussed in section 2 of the report, whereas the detailed project proposal would be unveiled in section 3 of the report.

Project management is defined as the task of  applying suitable methods,  along with the knowledge and expertise collected  from  previous  projects,  along with technical skills and  management policies towards  the achievement of the goals and  objectives of any project (Daim et al. 2012). On the other hand, the PMBOK defines project management as the following:

“Project management is the discipline of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria.” It is evident from a definition that the personnel associated with the management process play a vital role in completing the project in a successful manner (Rose, 2013).

Researchers Verburg, Bosch-Sijtsema and Vartiainen (2013) have identified the major leadership qualities that every project manager must essentially have in order to ensure that the team working on the project act in accordance to the plans. Some such qualities include the following:

1. the ability to inspire the subordinates in achieving a shared vision,
2. Communicating efficiently with them,

iii. Ensuring the integrity of the team,

1. Being a enthusiast,
2. Dealing with the subordinates with empathy and sympathy (Binder, 2016).
3. being competent enough to oversee all the major aspects of the project and delegate the project activities to the resources having the skills to perform the same.

 A quick look at the above-mentioned list makes it clear that having the right knowledge and attitude towards the project is not sufficient for managing it effortlessly: communicating these very ideas with the subordinates and the other stakeholders is indeed an integral and essential part of the process.

Experts Hackman and Johnson (2013) have commented in their book that “effective leader’s use language as their most tangible skill” for the appropriate management of the requirements of the project. On the other hand, researchers () have shed light on some of the communication skills that successful project managers are, more often than not, found to possess.   The skills highlighted by the authors include the following:

Respect towards the subordinates and the superiors.

The clarity of thoughts and the ability to communicate the same to the project stakeholders,

iii. A transparency in the vision and ideas being communicated.

Thus, it can be said that the experts in the domain of project management are unanimous on the statement that effective and efficient communication is one of the key skills that every project manager should possess. The  literature  review conducted  in the preliminary  phase of this   project works  has  made  this idea even more  stronger, as  we came across several scholarly articles that speak volumes of the communication skills that are essential for   successful management of organizational projects. Surprisingly, the researchers have not considered the role of these very factors in developing an efficient leadership style.

Problem Definition

Thus, the research work being discussed in this report would actually target this particular research gap and concentrate on unearthing the role communication factors in effective project leadership.

Project Background

Researchers Hackman and Johnson (2013) are of the opinion that effective communication processes do not merely relay information and instructions from the higher management to the subordinates who would actually   work on them, but makes the   team aware of the roles and responsibilities they require to undertake in order to meet the business objectives of the project.  Author  Yukl  (2012) seconds  their opinion,  as he adds that an efficient  leader would not  only be able  to communicate effortless with   his   team, but  would also touch  all  the stakeholders of the project, be it internal or external , in a wider context. Thus, it can be said be conclude that effective communication process is considered as an integral part of an effective project leadership process.

The discussions made in section 2 of this report indicate that the role of communication skills and factors in the process of leading an organizational project effectively is one of those   domains of project management that has not been included studied much.  While several experts have accepted good communication as an essential ingredient of effective project leadership capability, none of them has been able to shed light on the role that ‘communication’ exactly plays in this process. Thus, the research project under consideration would be conducted with the sole purpose of filing up this research gap.

This research work is aimed at identifying the roles that efficient communication process plays in the development of an effective project leadership and management process. Besides this, attempts would also be made so as to identify the techniques that can be utilized so as to improve project communication skills.

Thus, the objectives of this research work   can be outlined as the following;

To identify the role of an effective leader in project management

To shed some light on the role of communication processes plays in the development of effective project leadership styles

To identify the techniques that can be utilized so as to improve project communication skills

The Project Management Institute, widely known as the PMI, considers communication as one of those very skills that can only be improved with  more and more practice, but can never be perfected (Snijders, Wuttke & Zandhuis, 2012).

The organization thus encourages project managers to spend a very significant amount of time in communicating with their team so as to improve their skills.

Project Proposal

Researcher Proehl (2013) is of the opinion that since most organizational  project teams consist  of team members coming  from diverse backgrounds and cultures,  the only tool that can  be utilized  for keeping  all of them  on the same page  regarding the progress  of the project  is  encourage  effective communication   processes among themselves.

On the other hand, researchers Vaccaro  et al. (2012) have commented that regular communication regarding the progress  of the project, along  with the roles  of  that team members need to  play on making the project a success and the responsibility they are  bestowed with  for  the same. Besides this, communicating the feedbacks  available from the client side  to the project team  members  is an equally important task that effective leaders conduct on a regular basis to encourage their teams.

The following section   of the report provides detailed information regarding the data collection and analysis methods to be utilized for conducting the project. The estimated timeline of the project would also be discussed.

Data collection: It has been decided that besides utilizing the information available from the literary articles being reviewed, primary data would be collected by interviewing veteran project managers. Online surveys would also be utilized for the process of data collection.

Data analysis: Qualitative methods would be utilized for analyzing the data available from the literary articles and from the interview sessions. However, regression analysis methods would be utilized for analyzing the data collected from the online surveys.

The schedule of the research project has been outlined below:

Figure: Gantt chart of the project

(Source: Developed by author)

Conclusion

The information disclosed in the preceding sections of the report indicates that the research project in discussion would emphasize on the role of communication in effective project leadership. The context of the project has been discussed in the report along with the research methods and research timeline.

In the light of the discussions made in the report, it can be concluded successful completion of the project would enable project managers to move one-step closer to communicate effortlessly to their team members, thus gaining success in their project goals.

Binder, J. (2016). Global project management: communication, collaboration and management across borders. CRC Press.

Crawford, J. K. (2014). Project management maturity model. CRC Press.

Daim, T. U., Ha, A., Reutiman, S., Hughes, B., Pathak, U., Bynum, W., & Bhatla, A. (2012). Exploring the communication breakdown in global virtual teams. International Journal of Project Management, 30(2), 199-212.

Gido, J., & Clements, J. P. (2014). Successful project management. Nelson Education.

Hackman, M. Z., & Johnson, C. E. (2013). Leadership: A communication perspective. Waveland Press.

 Heldman, K. (2013). PMP: project management professional exam study guide. John Wiley & Sons.

Kerzner, H. R. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Meng, X. (2012). The effect of relationship management on project performance in construction. International journal of project management, 30(2), 188-198.

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences. Routledge.

Proehl, R. A. (2013). Enhancing the effectiveness of cross?functional teams. Team Performance Management: An International Journal.

Rose, K. H. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)—Fifth Edition. Project Management Journal, 44(3), e1-e1.

 Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.

Snijders, P., Wuttke, T., & Zandhuis, A. (2012). Pocket Companion to PMI’s PMBOK Guide-Updated Version. Van Haren Publishing.

 Steyn, H., Dekker, A. H., Kuschke, B., Van Eck, B. P. S., & Visser, K. (2016). Project management: A multi-disciplinary approach.

Vaccaro, I. G., Jansen, J. J., Van Den Bosch, F. A., & Volberda, H. W. (2012). Management innovation and leadership: The moderating role of organizational size. Journal of Management Studies, 49(1), 28-51.

 Verburg, R. M., Bosch-Sijtsema, P., & Vartiainen, M. (2013). Getting it done: Critical success factors for project managers in virtual work settings. International Journal of Project Management, 31(1), 68-79.

Walker, A. (2015). Project management in construction. John Wiley & Sons.

Yukl, G. (2012). Effective leadership behavior: What we know and what questions need more attention. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 26(4), 66-85.

Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:

Turnitin Report

Formatting

Title Page

Citation

Outline

Place an Order