14 May, 2020

Leadership Models Project Managers Need to Know | Video


You aren’t just a Project Manager. You are also a Project Leader. But what have you learned about theories and models of leadership? In this video, I’ll give you a primer of the Leadership Models that Project Managers Need to Know.

PMI Talent Triangle - Leadership

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Three Types of Leadership Model

There are three types of leadership model:

  1. Traits models
  2. Styles models
  3. Roles models

1. Traits Models of Leadership

Kouzes and Posner documented a whole load of traits that people look for in our leaders:

  • Determined
  • Self-controlled
  • Imaginative
  • Intelligent
  • Supportive
  • Loyal
  • Straightforward
  • Honest
  • Dependable
  • Forward-looking
  • Cooperative
  • Caring
  • Ambitious
  • Courageous
  • Inspiring
  • Broad-minded
  • Competent
  • Mature
  • Fair-minded
  • Independent

2. Styles Models of Leadership

There are many Contingency theories and models of Situational Leadership

What is Situational Leadership?

These models were developed by (among others):

  • Fiedler
  • Tannenbaum & Schmidt
  • Hersey & Blanchard

In his book, The New Leaders, Daniel Goleman sets out six styles of leadership:

  1. Visionary
  2. Coaching
  3. Affiliative
  4. Democratic
  5. Pace-setting
  6. Commanding

3. Roles models of leadership

Roles models tend to be of two kinds:

  1. Transactional Leadership
  2. Transformational Leadership

Transactional Leadership

John Adair’s Three Circles model is a good example of a transactional leadership model. The three roles are to look after:

  • Individual
  • Team
  • Task

In addition, to these, I would add Communication.

Transformational Leadership

James McGregor Burns did the early work on Transformational Leadership. But the best model was developed by Bernard Bass. This sets out four roles for the transformational leader.

  • Inspirational Motivation
  • Individualized Attention
  • Intellectual Stimulation
  • Idealized Influence

What is Transformational Leadership?

Servant Leadership

Finally, for me, the prime leadership model recognizes our role as a servant to the team we lead. You can view Servant Leadership as a

  • role (to serve)
  • style (service)
  • trait (serving)

What is Servant Leadership?

Other Leadership Resources

My best-selling book, Brilliant Project Leader

Our course: Day-to-Day Project Leadership that Gets Results


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Mike Clayton

About the Author...

Dr Mike Clayton is one of the most successful and in-demand project management trainers in the UK. He is author of 14 best-selling books, including four about project management. He is also a prolific blogger and contributor to ProjectManager.com and Project, the journal of the Association for Project Management. Between 1990 and 2002, Mike was a successful project manager, leading large project teams and delivering complex projects. In 2016, Mike launched OnlinePMCourses.
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