1st Edition

Leadership Principles for Project Success

By Thomas Juli Copyright 2010
    284 Pages 12 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    This book is about project success and the secret to achieving this success, effective project leadership. Filled with samples, templates, and guidelines, it covers the five principles of effective project leadership: building vision, nurturing collaboration, promoting performance, cultivating learning, and ensuring results. Using nontechnical language, this practical guide explains how to integrate these principles into daily work to help you effectively set up, manage, and align your projects for success.

    Praise for: 

    … a great leadership book with five sound leadership principles. … any project manager or leader would benefit from this book. ... filled with common sense suggestions on how to start new projects using the five principles and what to do to bring troubled projects back into alignment.
    —Patrick S. Durkin, Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel in PM World Today, December 2010, Vol. XII, Issue XII

    I love this book. … fun and interesting to read …on my short list of recommended readings and references for an effective leader’s toolbox.
    —Neal Whitten, PMP, Best Selling Project Management Author

    … a great resource for not only projects, but for success in life in general.
    —Lee Cockerell, Former Executive V.P., Walt Disney World Resort

    … an essential step-by-step reference for the professional project manager.
    —Robert Urwiler, CIO, Vail Resorts Inc.

    Thomas Juli has drawn on his substantial experience in project management to show the way to success.
    —Murray Weidenbaum, Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Ronald Reagan

     ... contains many helpful suggestions for creating ‘Wow Projects’: i.e. projects that surprise and delight their clients.
    —Stephen Denning, Author of The Leader's Guide to Radical Management and The Secret Language of Leadership

    … provides an excellent range of tools and advice to elevate your project role from manager to leader.

    —Peter Taylor, Accomplished Leader, Professional Speaker, and Author of The Lazy Project Manager

    … provides the reader with solid leadership concepts that are supported with a clear understanding of how to apply them specifically in the project environment.
    —Michael O'Brochta, PMP, President, Zozer, Inc., Former Senior Project Manager at the CIA, Thought Leader, Author, Lecturer, and Trainer

     … practical examples and templates enhance the quality of this exceptional book.
    —Ginger Levin, Ph.D., PMP, PgMP, Project Management Consultant, and Lecturer, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

    The World of Projects
    The Nature of Projects
    Project Management as a Cornerstone of Project Success
    A Common Theme: Projects in Trouble
    Leadership and Project Success
    Application Suggestions

    THE PROJECT LEADERSHIP PYRAMID

    Introducing the Project Leadership Pyramid
    The Difference Between Management and Leadership
    The Power of Simplicity
    Common Themes of Leadership
    The Five Principles of Effective Project Leadership
    The Metaphor of the Pyramid
    Structure of Part I
    Application Suggestions

    Principle 1: Build Vision
    Vision
    Project Objectives
    Vision vs. Project Objectives
    Building Vision: First Steps
    The Person Who Builds Vision
    Characteristics of Vision Builder
    It Takes a Project Leader — and a Team
    Timing of Building Vision
    Value of Building Vision
    Application Suggestions

    Principle 2: Nurture Collaboration
    The Heart and Soul of a Project
    Team Building
    The Juice of Teamwork
    The Project Leader and the Team
    Self-Organizing Teams
    The Project Team as the Power Base of the Project Leader
    Collaboration Beyond Team Boundaries
    Nurturing Collaboration — First Steps
    The Value of Collaboration
    Application Suggestions

    Principle 3: Promote Performance
    The Performing Project Team
         Rule 1: Be a Role Model
         Rule 2: Create the Right Environment
         Rule 3: Empower Your Team
         Rule 4: Develop a Solution-and-Results Orientation
    Toward Problems and Risks
         Rule 5: Invite Productive Competition
         Rule 6: Let It Happen
         Rule 7: Celebrate Performance
    The Extended Project Team
    The Right Timing
    Value of Performance
    Application Suggestions

    Principle 4: Cultivate Learning
    Certainty in an Uncertain World: Change and Mistakes
    The Status Report
    Review Sessions
         Regularity
         Focused Lessons Learned
         Rotate Positions
         Vary Locations
    Training
    Timing: It Is Never Too Late to Learn, Unless
    Banning Learning
    Invite External Project Reviews
    Extended Team Learning
    Learning and Innovation
    The Value of Learning
    Application Suggestions

    Principle 5: Ensure Results
    Project Success Is Not Measured Solely by Results
    Responsibility for Results: Project Leader and Team
    Critical Success Factors of Results
    Interim Results
    Timing of Results
    The Value of Ensuring Results
    Application Suggestions

    The Dynamic Pyramid
    Five Principles, One Project Leadership Pyramid
    The Resulting 5×5 Pyramid
    8.2.1 Principle 1: Building Vision
    8.2.2 Principle 2: Nurturing Collaboration
    8.2.3 Principle 3: Promoting Performance
    8.2.4 Principle 4: Cultivating Learning
    8.2.5 Principle 5: Ensuring Results
    A New Definition of Project Success
    Simple and Yet Complex: The Five Principles of Effective Leadership
    Application Suggestions

    THE PROJECT LEADERSHIP PYRAMID IN PRACTICE

    Practicing the Principles
    Purpose and Objective of Part II
    Returning "Power" Exercises
    9.2.1 Guided Brainstorming
    9.2.2 Power Workshop: Breakouts and Plenum
    9.2.3 Questionnaires

    Project Initiation and Set-Up
    Identifying and Defining Your Playing Field
    10.1.1 Your Own Role
    10.1.2 Organizational Project Environment
    10.1.3 Stakeholders
    10.1.4 Project Charter: Summarizing Your Understanding of the Project
    Vision-Building Workshop
    10.2.1 Presentation of Official Project Charter
    10.2.2 Project Motivation Statement
    10.2.3 Project Vision Statement
    10.2.4 SMART Project Objectives Statement
    10.2.5 Critical Success Factors
    10.2.6 Next Steps
    10.2.7 Practical Tips for a Vision-Building Workshop
    Team Norming Workshop
    10.3.1 Project Motivation, Vision, Objectives, and Scope
    10.3.2 Roles, Responsibilities, Expectations, and Motivations
    10.3.3 Engagement Rules on Individual and Team Level)
    10.3.4 Next Steps
    10.3.5 The Value of a Team Norming Workshop
    Scoping
    10.4.1 Part 1: Gathering Requirements
    10.4.2 Part 2: Prioritizing Requirements
    10.4.3 Part 3: Building the Plan
    10.4.4 A Word on Documentation
    10.4.5 Timing

    Project Execution
    Empower Your Team and Let It Deliver
    Involve and Add Value to the Extended Team
    Project Reviews
    Status Reporting
    Project Pyramid Assessment Guidelines
    Secure Ongoing Learning and Promote Innovation
    Coping with Challenges to the Project Leadership Pyramid
    11.7.1 Challenges to Principle 1: Build Vision
    11.7.2 Challenges to Principle 2: Nurture Collaboration
    11.7.3 Challenges to Principle 3: Promote Performance
    11.7.4 Challenges to Principle 4: Cultivate Learning
    11.7.5 Challenges to Principle 5: Ensure Results

    Projects in Trouble
    Expect the Unexpected
    Realigning Project Objectives and Stakeholders’ Expectations in a Project Behind Schedule and Over Budget
    12.2.1 Workshop Set-Up
    12.2.2 Breakouts
    12.2.3 Prioritization
    12.2.4 Workshop Benefits
    12.2.5 Practical Tips
    Realignment with Team Involvement
    12.3.1 Workshop Set-Up
    12.3.2 Workshop Step 1: Revisiting the Past
    12.3.3 Workshop Step 2: Assessing the Present
    12.3.4 Workshop Step 3: Building the Future
    12.3.5 Lessons Learned from Project Realignments
    External Project Rescue
    Canceling a Project
    Working on a Troubled Project — Without Being in Control

    Closing a Project
    Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Project Success and Closure
    Delivering Results and Making Sure They Arrive at Their Right Destination
    Conducting and Sharing Sunset Reviews
    Celebrating and Giving Out Rewards

    Summary

    Key Exercises of the Project Leadership Pyramid
    14.1.1 Key Exercise of Principle 1 (Building Vision): Vision-Building Workshops
    14.1.2 Key Exercises of Principle 2 (Nurturing Collaboration): Team Norming Workshops and Team-Building Activities
    14.1.3 Key Exercise of Principle 3 (Promoting Performance): Team Empowerment
    14.1.4 Key Exercise of Principle 4 (Cultivating Learning): Regular Project Reviews and Continuous Learning and Self-Improvement
    14.1.5 Key Exercise of Principle 5 (Ensuring Results): Regular, Interim Results
    A Call for Action and Creativity

    THE PERSONAL LEADERSHIP PYRAMID

    How to Become an Effective Project Leader
    Leadership Perspectives
    Top-Down Leadership
    Bottom-Up Leadership
    The Lonely Warrior Leadership
    Follow the Principles of the Project Leadership Pyramid

    Appendices
    Bibliography
    Index

    Biography

    Thomas Juli is an experienced, enthusiastic, and results-driven manager. He provides leading-edge program and operational management, offering more than 12 years of progressive leadership and management experience in various functions including project and program management, management consulting, business analysis, professional training, and academic teaching. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP©) by the Project Management Institute and a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) by the Scrum Alliance.

    He is managing director of Thomas Juli Empowerment Partners, a professional service organization for innovative empowerment, consulting, and interim management. Prior to starting his own consulting business, Juli worked for SAP and two leading management and IT consultancies, Sapient and Cambridge Technology Partners. He consulted for various companies in telecommunications, energy, manufacturing banking and the public sector. He has spoken at conferences on project management and customer relationship management and has written articles on project management for professional journals.

    Before entering business, Juli was engaged in research in the fields of economics and U.S. foreign policy. He holds a doctorate with distinction in international studies from the University of Miami, and a masters degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis.

    ... a timely and welcome guide for business leaders who are under increased pressure to do more with less. Juli points out that traditional project management tools are insufficient to handle today’s new business challenges. Leadership Principles for Project Success contains numerous practical examples of how project leaders can use tools, such as Guided Brainstorming, Vision-Building Workshops, and Team-Norming Workshops to create predictable project success within their organizations. If you want to improve the odds that your projects will deliver results on time and on budget, this book is your pathway to project success.
    —Rod Collins, wiki-management.com, July 11, 2011

    Project leadership is a hot topic at the moment and this book is part of the cultural evolution about what a project manger does. It's peppered with examples and Juli's personal experiences. Everyone loves a good story. And there are plenty in here. … Being a lover of all things practical. I found the appendices to be the best bit. There are sample documents and templates for you to use. all in the name of clear communication and setting a common level of understanding amongst the project stakeholders.
    —Book review in árras People, March 2011

    ... a great resource for not only projects, but for success in life in general. Start everything of importance with a clear vision and you will end with success.
    Lee Cockerell, Former Executive V.P., Walt Disney World Resort

    The book’s appendices include numerous project templates. … a great leadership book with five sound leadership principles. … provides practical advice and techniques for initiation, execution, and closing phases. … establishes a thought provoking two-way conversation with the reader with application suggestions. One reoccurring application suggestion asks the reader to consider how the leadership principles presence or absence impact on reader’s projects. …any project manager or leader would benefit from this book. … an enjoyable book to read. … filled with common sense suggestions on how to start new projects using the five principles and what to do to bring troubled projects back into alignment. Personally, I would love to work for a person like the author.
    Patrick S. Durkin, Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel in PM World Today, December 2010, Vol. XII, Issue XII

    I love this book. ... takes what could be a tedious and laborious subject and makes it fun and interesting to read ... full of anecdotal examples. ... a real-world book for practitioners. ... on my short list of recommended readings and references for an effective leader’s toolbox.
    —Neal Whitten, PMP, Bestselling Author

    ... a superb job bringing together a practical guide to project management. ... an essential step-by-step reference for the professional project manager. ... a valuable addition to any project manager's toolkit.
    Robert Urwiler, CIO, Vail Resorts Inc.

    It is refreshing that, rather than emphasizing the role of any single project member, Juli shows the importance of developing an effectively working team.
    Murray Weidenbaum, Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Ronald Reagan 

    ... a simple yet powerful model, along with personal stories, that motivate and guide people along a path to greater project success.
    Randall L. Englund, co-author of Creating an Environment for Successful Projects, Creating the Project Office, and Project Sponsorship

    I especially like the five principles and their graphic presentation as a pyramid. This makes them much easier to internalize and apply. A very practical book.
    Dr. Gregory T Haugan, PMP, Bestselling Author

    ... provides the reader with an excellent range of tools and advice to elevate your project role from manager to leader.
    Peter Taylor, accomplished leader, professional speaker, and author of The Lazy Project Manager 

    ... contains many helpful suggestions for creating ‘Wow Projects’.
    —Stephen Denning. Author of The Leader's Guide to Radical Management & The Secret Language of Leadership

    The leadership concepts struck me as solid and quite applicable; the pyramid should be a useful way to communicate these concepts. Well done. ... provides the reader with solid leadership concepts that are supported with a clear understanding of how to apply them specifically in the project environment.
    —Mike O'Brochta, PMP, President, Zozer, Inc.

    ... practical examples and templates enhance the quality of this exceptional book.
    —Dr. Ginger Levin, PMP, PgMP. Project Management Consultant, Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, & Bestselling Author

    ... an interesting and pragmatic perspective on project leadership.
    —Dr. Marco Sampietro, Professor at SDA Bocconi, Italy

    The reader benefits from the author's holistic view on the topic and many hands-on suggestions that professionals can easily put into practice throughout the entire project lifecycle.
    —Peter Miez-Mangold, PMP, President PMI Frankfurt Chapter, Managing Director STS Deutschland

    ... very useful and practical.
    —Alfonso Bucero, founder and managing partner of BUCERO PM Consulting, President of PMI Madrid Spain Chapter

     ... offers a practical framework to project leadership ... a valuable guide that covers all important areas and factors necessary to successfully lead projects. ... bridges the gap between traditional project management practices and modern concepts like agile and virtual teams.
    —Stanislav Yanakiev, PMP, Founder of Semanit

    ...  takes the reader along a journey of easy-to-apply but effective leadership and team working principles. Leadership and working teams are now given the level of attention they deserve, independent from a particular approach to project management.
    —Robert Misch, ScrumMaster