Examine the major project manager`s characteristics

Project management is defined as the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
project activities in order to meet the project requirements. It also involves the planning and
organization of an organization's resources in order to move a specific task, event or duty toward
completion. For this to be possible, there is need for a leader in the form of a project manager,
responsible for ensuring the success of the project. However, in order to successfully manage the
project, the project manager is required to possess certain skills. Absence of these skills may
result in project failure. In light of that, the synopsis below serves to bring out the major
characteristics of a project manager.

Mantel et al (2011) states that it depends upon the qualities of a project manager to ensure proper
planning, implementation, and completion of the project. Proper planning, implementation and
completion of any project requires good communication between the manager and the
subordinates as well as external parties involved in the project such as suppliers and customers
depending with the type of project. Barry (2018) stresses that project leadership calls for clear
communication about goals, responsibility, performance, expectations and feedback. It can be
noted that through effective communication, project leaders support individual and team
achievements by creating explicit guidelines for accomplishing results and for the career
advancement of team members. Henceforth, in order to maintain effective and efficient
communication, the project manager should layout during project kickoff how communication
on the project is going to happen and create a project communication plan document that can be
easily articulated. With the current existing technology, a project manager can create digital
platforms to communicate with all team members at the same time such as social media
platforms and emails. Poor communication oftentimes results in the uneven flow of events
during project implementation and might result in project failure.

Another characteristic of a project manager is that they should be a good leader. Exhibiting good
leadership skills as a project manager does not only advocate for the success of the project but
also earns the manager respect from the team members. A project manager who is respected by
his or her team members is bound to have a fruitful project implementation as the team members
will be doing their best to avoid disappointing their leader. The same cannot be said for a project
manager who lacks respect as such a manager may be forced to succumb to hate speech,
behavioural and verbal protests from the team members. In addition, a disrespected leader cannot
unite a team. Mewes (2010) alludes that leaders have a project vision and know how to align
people with their goals. They also provide the structure, as well as motivation, to improve team
performance and inspiration so as to enable it to achieve project objectives. Improved team
performance paves way for efficacy in project management there by producing commendable
results in the project. The importance of good leadership skills is compounded by (Nixon et al.,
2012) who indicates that leadership is an effective tool to be used by the project manager which
moderately influences project outcome thus leading to the conclusion that lack of leadership
skills are directly associated with project failure. The project manager should be able to choose
the appropriate leadership for the project they will be responsible for. However, it is usually the
democratic or participative leadership style that creates a cordial environment in the work place
for both the manager and the team members as it involves one or two employees in the decision
making process in as much as the manager has the final say. This gives the team members a
sense of being valued which is good for esteem and confidence relevant in project success. This
leads to the next characteristic of a project manager which is firmness in decision making.

Decision making is very imperative in any project planning, executing, monitoring and other
aspects of project management. A project manager is responsible for making numerous decisions
in a short space of time. This is due to the fact that all team members look up to him or her and
they cannot proceed with some processes without the project manager approving or disapproving
of them. There are various decision making models that a project manager can implement such
as decision trees, 6 thinking hats, grid analysis and fish bone analysis just to mention a few.
Hence this implies that a project manager has to be fully knowledgeable in order to know which
strategies to implement and how to implement them during the running of the project. Mewes
(2010) also states that decision making can be learnt from past experiences. Thus project
managers cannot keep making the same decisions as they made in the past rather they should be
able to embrace change and do new things. The importance of decision making is supported by
Grünig, (2009) who mentions that decision-making is not only vital for an organisation to keep
on track but it can be a matter of success and failure. Subsequently, it is highly significant that a
project manager possesses firm or rather strong decision making skills in order to achieve project
success.
Furthermore, a good project manager should be able to stimulate a shared vision in the
organization. The project manager should be able to articulate a clear vision of the project and
communicate to the project team in order to create a project strategy well connected to business
strategy (Shenhar, 2004). A shared vision offers people opportunities to create their own vision,
to explore what the vision will mean to their jobs and lives, and to envision their future as part of
the vision for the organization as indicated by Bennis, (1997). Just like including team members
in decision making processes, this also gives employees of team members a sense of being
valued and they feel that they have an imperative role to play in ensuring that the project is a
success. In addition, by enabling the enactment of a shared vision, concurrent development
facilitates downstream coordination, enhances product integrity, and improves product
development success (Doll, 2002). Thus, if the team is to be effective, it will need to be driven
forward by either an implicit or explicit shared vision, which has been developed from within the
group, is valued by the group and deemed to be attainable and realistic. The project manager is
required to have the ability to maintain the vision as unstable visions bring about confusion
among team members executing strategies and plans, eventually leading to deterioration in
follower or team commitment to vision and organizational performance (Kantabutra, 2009).

To add on, a project manager should be able to remain composed when under pressure. This is
very essential in any organization as it ensures stability and smooth flow of operations even
during a crisis. A project manager who is not composed may result into the subordinates or team
members also panicking. When a large group of people panics it oftentimes lead to confusion
and disorder which may contribute to project failure. Hence it is important that a project manager
maintains this composure when things are going sideways during program implementation and
find ways to deal with the challenges thus bringing about the aspects of critical thinking and
emotional strength. Barry (2018) state that when leaders encounter a stressful events, they should
consider it interesting, see it as an opportunity and feel as though they can influence the outcome.
In addition, emotional strength is an equally important characteristic of a project manager. It can
be noted that positive emotions create positive development spirals that extend and increase our
thought and action repertoires, including intellectual, physical, social and psychological
resources, (Fredrickson 2001). Examples of positive emotions include optimism, gratitude, joy
and self-efficacy, all which are essential in successful project management. Fredrickson goes on
to indicate that positive emotions are correlated with performance-enhancing variables such as
creativity, less negative stress, better health, holistic thinking and emotional resilience. In
light of this, it cannot be disputed that a project manager who is emotionally strong, possesses
critical thinking skills and is composed is bound to win in project management.

Moving on, a project manager should be a team builder. Fapohunda (2013) highlights that in
team building, a group of people are enabled to reach their goals. It consists of steps such as
clarification of team goals; identification of hindrances to goal achievements that is facing the
identified challenges and enabling the achievement of the goals. For any project to be a success,
a team has to work together. Gaps in the unity of a team may result into various challenges such
as deterioration of trust among team members and the development of factions within the team.
A team without unity is also difficult to manage and may result in slow or no progress in the
organization. The presence of team work in project management is important because it results in
everyone feeling that his or her point of view is adequately represented and accounted for. Team
building ensures clear work objectives and a climate of cooperation and collaborative problem-
solving and it also enhances higher levels of trust and support. However, for a project manager to
build a team, there are aspects to consider. Successful teams are made up of a collection of
effective individuals who are experienced, have problem solving ability, are open to addressing
the problem and are action oriented, (La Fasto et al 2001). They should also be able to give and
receive feedback. Hence for successful project management, the project manager has to be a
team builder which entails that they should be knowledgeable on how to build and effective team
as well as maintain it.

The last characteristic of a project manager to be discussed is integrity. A project manager with
integrity is a great inspiration to his or her team and a big asset to the organization. Dainty et al
(2003) speaks on integrity as an important characteristic of any project manager when they say
“communication, honesty and integrity, team building, self‐efficacy and competence are the
leadership input a project manager must exhibit for a superior outcome.” A simple definition of
integrity is whereby one lives their life in private in the same way that a person lives in public. It
encompasses aspects which include personal honesty, fairness, consistency and the willingness to
confront injustice, to challenge the status quo, and to address the need for constant improvement,
(Kouzes & Posner 2017). A project manager with integrity constantly empowers his or her team and
acknowledges when they make a mistake and are willing to correct it. Integrity eliminates corruption,
stagnation and unfairness and it advocates for trust and reliability amongst team members. Hence for
project success in any organization, it is imperative that a project manager exhibits integrity.
Conclusively, the above mentioned characteristics are essential in the built up of an effective and
efficient project manager who can contribute to project success.

To what extent do project managers in a developing country like Zimbabwe meet the above
characteristics?

Adams (2013) states that projects are the basic building blocks of development and the absence of
successful project identification, preparation and implementation, development plans are no
more than wishes and developing nations would remain stagnant or regress. For developing
countries to have successful project management, there is need for the project managers to
possess the adequate and necessary skills needed. However, in developing countries there are
various hindrances to this and these include corruption due to poor economic backgrounds of
most people, the presence of capitalism and lack of relevant knowledge. Examples of projects
that are mostly implemented in developing countries such as Zimbabwe include the construction
of a bridge, highway, power plant, repair and maintenance of an oil refinery just to mention a
few. It can be noted that in Zimbabwe, such projects are either never completed or they take
forever to complete for instance the construction of the Gweru –Masvingo highway has been
ongoing for almost two years. This can be attributed to poor leadership in the management of the
projects.

As alluded above, a project manager has to be able to build an effective team comprised of
qualified personnel for the particular project. However, in developing countries such as
Zimbabwe that proves to be a challenge due to two main factors. Firstly the absence of resources
and economic strengths results in project managers failing to set up an effective team in the sense
that qualified personnel need standard payments which the organisations may fail to provide
hence they end up selecting less qualified people who will be willing to settle for less. The other
reason is that of nepotism. The scarcity of employment opportunities in the country results in to
project managers taking the opportunity to employ their family members and friends in projects
using their position of power. In most cases these groups of people will not be qualified for the
posts hence leading to project failure. Thus, project managers in developing countries lack
proper team building skills. Still paying attention to the issue of nepotism, it can be noted that
some of the project managers themselves will not be qualified for their positions and this has
great negative impacts on the implementation of projects. Lack of knowledge on decision
making and good leadership skills results in project failures in most developing countries.

Another characteristic that is seldom found in project managers from developing countries is that
of lack of integrity, (Alexander 2019). In the bid to amass wealth and their great desire for
affluence, project managers indulge in corrupt activities to fulfill their desires. As a result they
lack that transparency and honesty as they implement projects in their respective organisations.
Their lack of integrity results into constant complaints from team members leading to various
glitches in the implementation of the projects. This is compounded by (Boumphrey and Bevis,
2013) who state that project management in developing countries can be fraught with challenges
such as a unpredictable business environment that is regulations, corruption and general
difficulties, culture as well as language issues. In light of this, it can be noted that project
managers in developing countries lack integrity mostly due to economic hardships and the desire
for affluence. Moreover, project managers in developing countries lack adequate communication
skills. This can be contributed by the above mentioned aspect of economic hardships and the
desire for affluence which results into them having divided attention or divided focus towards the
project. Communication is essential not only between the manager and the team members but
with other external parties such as stake holders. However, oftentimes, project managers in
developing countries will be chasing their own agendas using the resources of the organization
(corruption) thereby leaving them with little or no time to communicate issues that contribute to
project success.

Nevertheless, there are other organisations that insist on ensuring that their employees are well
trained and well qualified for their respective positions for instance multinational companies
such as Universal Leaf Tobbacco. Such organisations ensure that their project managers possess
all the important qualities necessary for project success and their standards are the same globally.
Based on the above mentioned, it can be noted that project managers in developing countries
such as Zimbabwe lack a number of skills necessary for commendable project management. This
is greatly attributed to the economic problems that exist in such countries which results into them
focusing more on survival and creating sustainable livelihoods form them and their families
more than the success of projects which could in turn benefit a larger number of people.
Henceforth, in conclusion, project managers in a developing country like Zimbabwe meet the
characteristics of a project manager to a lesser extent.

References

Adams, A. B. (2013) Project management for developing countries: Back to basics, Institute of
project management professionals

Alexander, M. (2019) What is a project manager? The lead role for project success, CIO Africa

Barry, T. (2018) Top 10 qualities of a project manager, ESI international project management
solutions

Bennis, W. (1997). Learning to Lead, Addison-Wesley, MA.

Boumphrey, S. and Bevis, E. (2013), Reaching the Emerging Middle Classes beyond BRIC.

Dainty, A.R. et al (2003). Redefining Performance Measures for Construction Project

Fapohunda, T. (2013) Towards effective team building in the workplace, International journal of
education and research, vol 1(4), Lagos State University

Fredrickson, B.L. (2001) The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden and
build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, Vol. 56 No. 3, pp. 218-56.

Grünig, R. and Kühn, R. 2009. Successful Decision-making: A Systematic Approach to Complex

Kantabutra, S. (2009). Toward a behavioral theory of vision in organizational settings.

Kouzes, J. M. & Posner, B. Z., (2017). The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary
Things Happen in Organizations (6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

LaFasto, F. et al (2001). When Teams Work Best. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Mantel, S. et al (2011) Project management in practice, John Wiley and sons

Nixon, P. et al (2012). Leadership Performance Is Significant to Project Success or Failure: A

Shenhar, A. (2004) Strategic project leadership: Towards a strategic approach to project