Introduction

Leadership in project management is a journey of discovery. It begins with finding the best of who you are and continues with developing and nurturing your ideal leadership identity in order to develop skills that will make projects more successful. This course will reinforce your own personal leadership identity to become sustainable with every action you take, or decision you make in all your projects.

In the context of managing projects, the more people abilities you have, the better you are able to get the job done. Accordingly, this course pays special attention to enhancing your ability to leverage personal skills in order to positively influence others. It presents the skills and methods needed to gracefully and assertively influence others in a project over which you do not have direct control.

The course covers different leadership traits, characteristics, behaviors, and styles. It examines interpersonal styles and skills as they affect project leadership, motivation, team dynamics, trust, and employee empowerment. The integration between concepts is covered with the view to create more opportunities for your project to succeed while maintaining your integrity.

Finally, the course focuses on getting what a project needs through negotiation. It demonstrates how influence tactics, personal power, and organizational politics can all be used while involved in various aspects of project negotiating.

Course Objectives

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Develop a strong leadership identity within the project management environment
• Apply leadership styles and behaviors that enhance project success
• Influence stakeholders effectively without direct authority
• Understand and navigate organizational politics within projects
• Build trust, credibility, and strong relationships with project stakeholders
• Apply different sources of power and influence to achieve project goals
• Enhance communication, coaching, and interpersonal skills within project teams
• Use structured negotiation techniques to achieve win-win project outcomes
• Handle resistance, objections, and conflict professionally
• Develop strategies to align stakeholder interests with project objectives
• Strengthen decision-making and leadership presence in complex project environments

Target Audience

This program is suitable for:

• Project Managers and Project Coordinators
• Team Leaders working on projects
• Program Managers and Portfolio Managers
• Engineers and Technical Professionals involved in projects
• Supervisors managing project-based teams
• Professionals working in matrix organizations
• Anyone responsible for leading or influencing project outcomes without direct authority

Course Outlines

Day 1: The Project Environment & Organizational Politics

• Challenges in the project environment
• Understanding organizational politics in project management
• Project management as a political process
• Impact of organizational culture on projects
• Role and influence of stakeholders
• Factors contributing to project politics
• Political behaviors within project teams
• Developing political awareness and skills
• Result-based leadership in projects

Day 2: Project Leadership Essentials

• Traits and attitudes of effective project leaders
• Core building blocks of project leadership
• Leadership styles in project environments
• Role of personality and self-awareness
• Understanding IQ vs. Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
• Communication and coaching in project teams
• Behaviors of high-performing project leaders

Day 3: Power & Influence in Projects

• The role of power in project success
• Sources of power in project environments
• Building personal leadership power
• Influence tactics for project leaders
• Empowerment models and practices
• Building trust and credibility
• Communication, trust, and agreement relationship
• Managing stakeholder behaviors and expectations

Day 4: Negotiation for Project Success

• Why negotiation is essential in projects
• The project leader as a negotiator
• Preparing for project negotiations
• Active listening in negotiation
• Managing emotions and conflict
• Principle-based negotiation approaches
• Common negotiation mistakes
• Persuasion and delegation for project success

Day 5: Developing Project Leadership Excellence

• Self-awareness and self-discipline for leaders
• Leadership development and mentoring
• Managing leadership transitions in projects
• Building a political strategy for project success
• Creating a positive project culture
• Managing multiple stakeholder relationships
• Becoming a complete and effective project leader