Müller and Turner have compiled a terrific “ready‐reckoner” that all project managers would benefit from reading and reflecting upon to challenge their performance. The authors have condensed considerable experience and research from a wide variety of professional disciplines, to provide a robust digest that highlights the significance of leadership capabilities for effective delivery of project outcomes.
One of the big advantages of this book is the richness of the content and the natural flow of their argument throughout such a short book (99 pages with 93 well‐selected references). Delving into the best understandings of leadership theory from 1958 through to current times, this book explores how to best apply the most relevant insights to the context of projects. They construct a compelling argument of why and how the project leader's behaviour is as critical (ore more so) to success as their technical skills. Starting with style, temperament and behaviour, they show how aspects of both management and leadership are essential for optimal performance and how a project leader needs to apply these in different situations to align actions with project status and context.
Models of leadership are eloquently covered forming a solid foundation for the subsequent dialogue around their proposed dimensions of leadership competence. Their three clusters of attributes, Management (MQ), Intelligence (IQ) and Emotional (EQ) provide a useful framework to highlight how a project leader can adjust the balance of these to better match the context they are operating in. The addition of the five MQ attributes to the three IQ and seven EQ elements adds a more specific project emphasis and enables constructive dialogue around appropriateness of style. Assessing profiles to understand strengths and weaknesses across all the three clusters for themselves and their team members, enables the project leader to leverage not just the technical skills, but all capabilities of all team members and thereby creating a more effective team. This book provides quality insights on why this is important and how those involved in projects can develop themselves and peers in these aspects of performance.
The concepts presented in the book are very well supported with a number of models, images and tables which reinforce the key points. This makes reading flow better and the concepts easier to digest (and helps in explaining to others). The authors propose an emerging model showing how project performance is an outcome of the interdependence between leadership competencies displayed, project type, situational requirements and how well the project success criteria match their cultural values. If a project leader is to be successful, they need to be able to adjust which leadership competencies they draw upon to suit the project context in which they need to operate. Good advice, well explained and backed up with a body of evidence.
The final chapter pulls all the concepts together to synthesise how a project leader can continue to develop their diversity of capabilities and balance how they implement them. Looking towards the future with “The Way Forward”, Müller and Turner recommend project leaders (and researchers) attain greater awareness and more effective application of “soft skills” (primarily EQ‐based attributes) in balance with the more traditionally emphasised and practiced harder skills. There is little doubt in my mind that this will enhance project performance, better mitigate risks, increase quality and reduce failure rates.
I would add that the ability to engage in sense making to better “read” the context is also an important component for future success. Without the ability to understand the situation at a deep level, the project leader cannot know which dimensions of leadership are best to draw upon. Furthermore, there was little discussion of using projects specifically as a mechanism for mentoring and experiential learning to develop well‐rounded project leaders. That is, projects should not be for delivery of outputs, but deliberately managed as learning processes. They can provide a real blend of theory and practice across both soft and hard skills providing for comprehensive development and deep learning. Too often, projects are “done” with just the tangibles in mind rather than considering the intangible benefits of developing human capital, social capital and trusted relationships between team members. Alignment of these ideas with the other aspects described in this book will accelerate the development of the well‐balanced project leaders we need in our increasingly complex project environments.
I am pleased to have read this book and to retain a copy in my personal library for the occasional reflective review. I will be recommending the book to colleagues who are in project leader and manager roles and to students who are considering these as part of their development or career path.
