Project management is the process of managing projects. This involves activities such as identifying stakeholders and making sure that they are informed; planning, controlling, and coordinating project outcomes; monitoring the project for completion and status; setting up resources; and providing overall facilitation. Project management is a discipline of organizational management and planning that involves the practice of planning, leading, and controlling projects that have a defined beginning and end. Project management seeks to integrate stakeholder needs into a cohesive plan for each project.
Project managers are more than just people who oversee work done, as they manage the people, systems, and technology involved. Project management need to be diligent and disciplined in the roles, duties, and responsibilities that are expected from them.
There are a number of leadership styles through which you can opt for as a project manager. In this article, we are going to discuss leadership styles in detail.
The most important leadership styles in project management
How you lead is very important in project management. There are different styles of leadership, and each has its own advantages. For instance, some leaders like to follow a top-down style, while others prefer to lead by example. Because of the importance of the leadership style, here are the most important styles used by project managers today:
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The authoritarian style
This leadership style is characterized by a high degree of control over subordinates. The leader’s decisions are final, and subordinates must follow them without question. Authoritarian leaders have a tendency to micromanage, which can cause problems for the organization because it can lead to a lack of trust between leaders and their teams.
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The democratic style of leadership
Democratic leaders encourage open communication among their team members and provide clear guidelines that everyone can follow to help them perform their tasks effectively and efficiently. If they make a mistake then they take responsibility for it and ensure sure that they don’t let it happen again by implementing steps and measures to prevent them from happening again.
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Coaching leadership style
Coaching as a leadership style is a great way to develop high-performing teams. This type of leadership style is based on trust and mutual respect between the leader and team members. A coaching leader listens to ideas from the people he or she works with but also knows when to challenge them. A coaching leadership style provides guidance when needed but also let people do their jobs without overstepping boundaries.
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Affiliative leadership style
The affiliative leadership style is the most common leadership style in project management. This type of leadership is based on communication and trust. The leader creates a positive environment where the team members feel valued, appreciated, and respected. This can be achieved by giving feedback to the team members on a regular basis, sharing information with them, and listening to their ideas.
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Coercive leadership style
A coercive leadership style is another common leadership style in project management. It is characterized by a strong, demanding, and controlling style of leadership. The leader makes decisions based on his or her own interests and not the interests of the team. The leader doesn’t listen to what others have to say and instead gets angry if they don’t follow his or her orders.
The main problem with this kind of leadership is that it can often lead to conflict within teams as people aren’t happy with the way things are being run, but they also don’t want to take any action because they’re afraid of losing their job. Also, if someone does speak up about how things are going, then they could be seen as disloyal or even a threat. This is why it’s important for leaders to know when it’s time for them to step down and let someone else take over.
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Pacesetting leadership style
A pacesetting leadership style in project management is a style of leadership that sets the vision and direction for an organization or team. The main characteristic of this type of leadership is that it involves setting and managing the direction, goals, and objectives of an organization or team.
Pacesetting leadership is different from other types of leadership in that it does not follow a set pattern or formula. It involves setting high-level goals, identifying opportunities to move towards those goals, understanding how to achieve them, and then rallying people around these goals.
The pacesetting leader must develop and implement plans that are specific enough to be measurable but flexible enough to allow for multiple approaches and solutions. This approach allows team members to participate in defining the overall direction of the project while still maintaining their own roles, responsibilities, and tasks within that structure.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have added a list of important leadership styles in project management. Each style has its own essence, so if you want to be a good leader in your project, then you need to make use of different leadership styles under different circumstances.
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