OGL 321

Paper 7

By: Allison Phillips

Arizona State University

February 21, 2020

 Abstract

Over the course of seven weeks, I had the opportunity to learn about project leadership. I

have had the pleasure of understanding what project leadership is, what the work may entail, and

how hard the job may be. I was able to learn of the tensions that might come up, how to

overcome such issues, and what tradeoffs may be needed to make a project see its completion.

Over the course of the seven weeks I was able to work through a simulation that gained

me the knowledge of handling the stress and workload of a team hard at work to obtain a project

completion in the time allotted, and with a given budget.

Part 1:

Starting the journey to grasp the knowledge of what is project leadership had me unsure

and questioning whether or not I really knew the job. First, the quiz I took, in OGL 320:

Foundations of Project Management, was insightful and nerve wracking. It made me really think

about how much I knew and made me question if I was going to be good enough at leading a

team. It may seem odd to be so overwhelmed by a little quiz that I should not let define me, but

in the end, I still felt that it was questioning my mind and leadership qualities. I decided to take

the quiz again. It was stated that we were not required to, but I wanted to know if I could get a

better score than the first time. This second time around I focused on more myself, instead of my

supervisor, and what I believe I would do in a given project situation, but I did not gain any

higher score. I still found that if I were to manage projects I would be sitting at an OK level, and

I have much work to do to gain that expertise leadership.

Within this project leadership course, we learn about what steps go into a project. The

five processes include initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing

(Bringing the PMBOK Guide to Life). Understanding the steps to take will help to build a good
foundation for your project, give you guidance throughout, and let you take on all obstacles

knowing that you have a plan. “Relating the five process groups to each phase of the project as

well as at the project life cycle level provides a greater foundation for more effective planning

and overall project control” (Bringing the PMBOK Guide to Life, pg. 29). Being able to stop and

take a second to analyze what is being asked by the stakeholders, what requirements there are,

and having a plan of action will be the best step as a leader.

Another fine piece of information we discussed within this course was the top down

tension versus the bottom up tension. PMI.org explains this concept as “…a top-down plan that

says this is what must be done to meet the stakeholder's requirements…often this top-down plan

is not connected at the bottom of the project hierarchy where the actual work of the project is

performed.” Apm.org.uk also explains that “In a bottom-up approach to estimating, the project

team breaks the client’s requirement down, identifying the lowest level appropriate to create a

range of estimates, covering the project scope based on the task definition available.” The

tensions that happen within a project could be due to the managers telling team members what to

do, but not taking into consideration where the team is at and how the workload is affecting

them. Team members then take it on their own to create their work in accordance to the available

resources, time allotted, and how many tasks each individual is needing to complete per day,

week, and overall project. When this type of tension becomes a part of the organization the

productivity levels diminishes, and projects become sloppy. Motivation, as we have learned, is

one of the processes, and without the motivated members in an organization we do not get things

accomplished.

After the learnings from this class, I did find that I can now recognize when struggles

happen and keep my mind open to working through such issues. Currently at my work we have
an issue on workload per one person versus how many people we have working front desk in our

department. There has been an issue with this for months now, and recently got a bit worse due

to an individual no longer with the company. We had five people working, but needing six, we

lost one person, and were still required to do the huge workload. The physical therapy

department was a month behind on scheduling new patients, and we, as a department of four,

were getting in trouble from our department managers. Finally, after two weeks of being a

department with four workers we were able to obtain two replacements making us a department

of six workers, one of whom is only temporary. This has helped us immensely to catch back up,

and what we have been asking for all along. We receive very little communication with the

managers of the department, and when us ladies come together to talk, we try to find ways that

work best for us to help minimize the stress we each endure. We have a top-down approach with

no regards to the bottom-up guidance.

Without any communication from our higher up managers our department is tired and

sluggish. I find myself often not wanting to be there, not liking my job, and getting continuously

getting overwhelmed with how much work is being put on me. We have great communication

amongst the team within our office and work well together. I find that it just gets hard having the

management requesting these same requirements without considering how it affects us. “The

broad definition of bottom up management is it’s a structure where the whole organization

participates in the process of leading the organization.” (projectmanagement.com). This in fact is

not what is happening and does not seem like the structure will change any time soon.

Communication is always going to be one of the most significant aspects of leading, or

even within any part of any organization. Without such communication a company won’t know

what is going on, how to go about handling obstacles, and there will not be a clear path as to
goals. Being able to communicate to everyone around you is going to be a wise move to making

sure work is moving along smoothly. No matter what environment you may find yourself in you

will need to talk to those around you and discuss plans, opportunities, and ideas.

Part 2:

Three things that I recommend for individuals setting up for the Harvard Project

Management Simulations would be to go slow and stay calm, listen to what your team members

are asking for, and write down all of your attempts including those attempts that did not work out

well. Taking into consideration these three items will help to expand one’s learning and gain a

better understanding of the scope, resources, and schedule of a project.

 Staying calm in every situation is going to be a big part of project leadership within any

situation.

o Issues arise and being able to calmly handle each scenario is going to give you

better guidance throughout.

o It helps to keep your mind open and thoughts flowing.

o Take your time with each week, slowly work through the project, and really read

everything that is being asked.

 Paying attention to your team.

o Listening to what the team has to say.

o Being mindful of the workload will help project success.

o Always being aware of how your team is doing within a project is going to help

productivity levels increase.

o Stressed out team members will lower work achievement

o Low morals will only lessen trust and push out the project deadline.
 o Nothing gets accomplished if the people’s hearts and minds are not in it.

 Write down everything you do with each scenario.

o Keeping track of what steps are taken helps build your data.

o This will help you see what mistakes you are making, as well as what choices are

good.

o Utilize an organizational assessment. Assessing each project periodically will help

give a better outcome overall.

o Knowing what works and what does not work helps to keep the project up-to-date

and on top of things.

o As a leader, staying on top of the work is a big part of knowing what is happening

around you.

 Tradeoffs were another part of the scenarios that we got to better understand.

o Giving up one thing to better support another part of the project.

o The Scope Triangle includes Time, Cost, Quality.

 You give up one of these to better fulfill the other portions.

o Time represents to time allotted to project completion date (projectsmart.co.uk).

o Cost measures the money/resources available (projectsmart.co.uk).

o Quality is the requirements a project must meet to be successful

(projectsmart.co.uk).

o Within the simulations you will learn that you may have to give up the 12-week

deadline to be more successful with your budget and the team members’ morale.

o Or give up the team members stress levels to fulfill the aspects within Cost and

Quality.
 o I almost always gave up the budget because I was more worried about what my

team members had to say; if they were not happy then I was not happy.

Conclusion:

Everything comes together in the end. One item affects another, which in turn affects that

first item. It’s a circular movement. If things are not working properly, planned out, and prepared

people become overwhelmed, stakeholders start questioning and becoming unhappy, and then

projects overall fail.

We may not always get the luxury of playing around with project ideas to see how trade-

offs may or may not work. With that being said, take your time with the simulations and play

around with what trade-offs you may encounter. Communicate often, and communicate

effectively, understand what those around you are trying to say; what messages are they trying to

convey. Listen to your stakeholders; what do they want? What do those involved in the project(s)

want to see?

Learning how to be a good leader and learning how to lead well is what this course has

helped me to better understand. I find myself being more aware and excited about what the

future holds for me, and where I want to see myself. I have recently had the opportunity to apply

for some management positions just to get more practice with interviewing and feel more

comfortable with the processes. It has given me a more, clear vision, creating cover letters and

updating my resume, that I know I want to be the leader that helps guide those around me to

success. I know I want to be a part of a moving group that gives to those stakeholders what they

are asking and provide them with exceptional service in timely manners.

This class, as well as previous classes I have taken in my time here at Arizona State

University, have helped to guide me down the path of knowing that I want a career that is
motivating and has a plan of action. I have had the opportunity recently to watch a Ted Talk with

Simon Sinek. He discusses the qualities it takes to lead and lead well. He shares that “There are

leaders, and then there are those who lead. Leaders hold a position of authority…those who lead

inspire us…not because we have to but because we want to…not for them, but for ourselves.

And it’s those who start with WHY…” (Sinek).

References:

Black, F. W. (2002). Top down-bottom up project management. Paper presented at Project

Management Institute Annual Seminars & Symposium, San Antonio, TX. Newtown

Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Jenkins, N. (n.d.). A project management primer – basic principles – scope triangle. Retrieved

from: https:// www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-scope-triangle.php

Malsam, W. (2019, November 12). Top Down vs. Bottom Up Management: What's the

Difference? Retrieved from https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/top-down-vs-bottom-

up-management

Rowland, M. (2019, July 16). Three Ways to Approach Cost Estimation. Retrieved from

https://www.apm.org.uk/blog/three-ways-to-approach-cost-estimation/

Sinek, S. (2010, May). How great leaders inspire action. Retrieved from

https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action/up-next