Project leadership and project management. Project leader and project manager. Do these terms generally invoke the same thoughts or concepts when you think of them? On the surface, I think most of us would say yes. Both mean you're in charge of the project. You manage a team and a client and a series of tasks needed to complete a project and turn over some end solution to your project client. Isn't that what project leadership and project management is all about?
Well, yes and no. I maintain that what I just described is really project management. I really simplified it in those few statements. There is no question that it is really much more complex than that. It's all of what I just mentioned PLUS many best practices and adhering to policies and processes and methodologies and trying to make a lot of people happy all at the same time. Project management is following the processes and managing the resources in an effort to bring home a successful project. On some projects you can just sort of go through the motions and find success on the engagement. If you're trying to manage five or six projects at once, you might actually go crazy if you don't sort out those two or three projects that are 'easier' and rely more on the PM processes to help you do the work and focus your next leadership skills on those two other projects that may be experiencing issues, or have some team conflict, or have difficult clients.
Well, yes and no. I maintain that what I just described is really project management. I really simplified it in those few statements. There is no question that it is really much more complex than that. It's all of what I just mentioned PLUS many best practices and adhering to policies and processes and methodologies and trying to make a lot of people happy all at the same time. Project management is following the processes and managing the resources in an effort to bring home a successful project. On some projects you can just sort of go through the motions and find success on the engagement. If you're trying to manage five or six projects at once, you might actually go crazy if you don't sort out those two or three projects that are 'easier' and rely more on the PM processes to help you do the work and focus your next leadership skills on those two other projects that may be experiencing issues, or have some team conflict, or have difficult clients.
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