Project Management for It Infrastructure

People-Side of Project Management

Personal Reflection

My style as Project manager is still evolving with great potential for growth. I have only been a Project Manager for a little over a year and so far I have adapted my style according to the needs of my team and the projects we are working on. I have had several leadership roles in my growing career. My experiences in these roles has equipped me with the necessary skills to lead my current team commendably.

I am an optimist, irrespective of the situation, and my team has come to realize that no matter how demanding or dismal a situation might appear, they can always rely on me to encourage them. While I am compassionate, I am firm and consistent when it comes to our focus on the task at hand. Respecting my team has earned their respect in return and this is key to effective communication.

This has not only strengthened the support of my team, but has helped me significantly with communicating with our stakeholders. Having a good relationship with your team and stakeholders is a vital part in the lifecycle of a project.

Reflecting back on the Situational Leadership Styles Questionnaire, my results were High Task – High Relationship. Having this style fashions the opportunity for me to have a more innovative and individualized approach when it comes to dealing with a comprehensive assortment of individuals and circumstances.

I am very adaptable when it comes to both task and relationship. I can adjust my style according to the team I work with, to determine the type of skills the team possesses, their competencies and what level of motivation will be required when working with the team on specific projects. It is not self-serving but rather focuses on the efficiency of my team and aids with their development as a whole.

Certain strengths come with this style and it permits me to look at the bigger picture, identify tasks and break it down to achievable goals for my team. It also aids me in determining the maturity and level of skill in my individual team members and the group in entirety. When it comes to accomplishing set tasks and effectively managing the readiness of my individual team members, I believe that my unique skills and attributes as project team manager allows me to actively participate and engage my team on all levels.

In the group activity where we had to build a support structure out of straws, I was caught off guard to be elected as leader of the group. I did not take the time to analyze the team and determine each individual member’s strengths and weaknesses. I lost focus and assigned tasks to the team members according to what they wanted to do, instead of according to their individual strengths. As a result of this, I do believe that this is the main reason our group failed to produce a strong support structure. Learning from this, I collected myself and I improved my style in the next group activity, we were successful in completing our task.