Assignment 2

Project Implementation Reflection Essay

Hafiz Ali Hamza

1. Introduction
Leadership is crucial for a project’s success hence; it needs to be exhibited in all phases of a
project. The present reflective essay attempts to identify the significance of leadership roles in a
project’s success. The essay has several sections, including the role of leadership in project
management, different skills which a project manager must possess for undertaking a successful
project, the desired project work adopted for the current study, a self-reflection on my personal
experience while involved in a project, my preferred leadership style and finally a conclusion of
the essay. My reflection on the project experience includes my leadership style, experience with
team members, my leadership skills, and all about the project inception to project
implementation.

2. Role of Leadership in Project Management

The primary emphasis of project management literature over the last several decades has been on
ensuring project success (Ika et al., 2012). The leadership style of the project manager is one of
the most important aspects in determining the project's success (Hassan et al., 2017; Podg orska
and Pichlak, 2019). The importance of all dimensions of leadership in project success has been
suggested by researchers (Yu et al., 2018), however, there are still many styles of leadership that
have not been investigated. Although it is generally acknowledged that a functional manager's
leadership style does contribute to the success of the organization or organizational unit he or she
manages, when identifying project success factors, the contribution of the project manager's
leadership style is often overlooked, as reviewed by Turner and Muller (2005). Modern studies
have provided a clear picture of the connection between transformational leadership (TL) and
project success (PS). Existing research has shown that transformative leaders improve PS by
facilitating the efficient and effective completion of assigned tasks (Lindgren and Packendorff,
2009; Anantatmula, 2010; Ayub, 2015). Underlying this statement is the idea that TL is
instrumental in locating and eliminating project bottlenecks by identifying critical success factors
(Besteiro et al, 2015). Organizational performance is enhanced when transformational leaders
emerge, argue Bass and Avolio (1995). He introduced the TL hypothesis, which contends that
such leaders have a net positive effect on followers, teams, and organizations. Despite the
predicted beneficial impact of TL on PS, failure rates for projects continue to outpace success
rates in project management (Zwikael and Smyrk, 2012). In addition, other studies find no proof
that TL correlates directly with PS (Nixon, Harrington, & Parker, 2012). The research also shows
that although TL does not have an immediate effect on PS, it does help to foster the development
of skills that ultimately contribute to it (Aga et al., 2016).
There is evidence that different leadership styles are considered a determinantal factor for a
project. Jung et al (2014) viewed that a single leadership style is not sufficient for project success
rather a combination of different project styles is imperative for ensuring successful project
implementation. Similarly, Imran et al (2019) consider the transformational leadership style is
desired for achieving project success. Although other leadership styles, such as entrepreneurial,
servant, authentic, humble leadership and empowering leadership styles are also identified by
researchers (Ali et al., 2021; Latif et la. 2020; Bilal et al., 2021; Thompson, 2010).
3. Skills needed for a project manager
Competence in project management is defined as the intersection of knowledge (qualification),
skills (ability to accomplish a job), and fundamental personality characteristics (motives,
qualities, and self-concepts) that yield excellent outcomes (Crawford and Turner, 2007). They
imply that project success and the capabilities of project managers are intertwined, with the latter
playing a role in the former. While leadership is consistently ranked as the most important factor
in project manager competency, it is not the most important factor in project success, as pointed
out by Crawford and Turner. Meredith et al. (1995) identified six types of expertise essential to
the role of a project manager: communication, organization, teamwork, leadership, resilience,
and technology. According to Katz (2009), there are three key talents that may be honed to
improve administrative performance. There are three types of expertise: human, intellectual, and
mechanical. Despite their interconnected nature, each of these abilities may be honed separately.
The skills identified by the above researchers are mentioned below;
Communication skills
Competencies and behaviors that define a good manager of people (Peters and Waterman, 1982;
Fisher, 2011). They argue that a good people manager has to be empathetic, have strong
communication skills, be able to motivate others and be a strong leader. A successful people
manager requires more than just management skills, and this idea seems to have gained ground
in recent years.
Organisational skills
A successful project manager will have both the knowledge to carry out their duties (job-task
competencies) and the skills and attitudes (behavioral competencies) to do so. The project
manager has to have the skills necessary to coordinate the team's efforts and keep things running
smoothly (Cheng et al., 2005).
Team building
It is another significant skill that a project manager must possess for effective project
management. A project manager should have eth ability to develop and manage teams. This skill
plays a pivotal role in project success hence, is required for a project manager (Walker, 1998)
Problem-solving skills
A leader's problem-solving skills should include recognising the root cause of an issue,
brainstorming viable solutions, and then putting those plans into action. Both the issues
themselves and the choices that must be taken in order to address them include features
important to problem resolution (Odusami, 2002).
Conflict Resolution skills
The project manager or leader is generally the one who has to deal with the dispute while
working on a project. It's crucial for a project manager to be able to handle issues in order to
keep things running smoothly. According to Yui and Cheung (2006), this chapter's focus is on
"trust" conflicts, "ideas conflicts," and "interest conflicts" in project management.
Goal setting skills
As a project manager, you need to be astute and strategic in developing your plans as possible, as
this will ensure that your projects run smoothly and efficiently. To ensure that the project's goals
are met, it is the manager's responsibility to map out a path to get there (Farooqui et al., 2008).
Time Management Skills
According to Ramo's (2002) research, time is a crucial factor in the project's success. Delays in a
project's completion may be attributable to poor time management on the part of the manager in
charge of the endeavour. Delays in a project's completion might increase the provision in the
project's cost.
Leadership skills
Leadership skills are of utmost important for a project manager. A project manager should
motivative their followers/ subordinates/team members for leading towards achieving a goal.
Hence, it is crucial for project success (Tyssen et al., 2014)

4. Agile with Scrum framework

In the current assignment, I am using the Agile framework with Scrum. Crystal, Dynamic
Software Development Method, feature-driven development, Lean software development,
Scrum, Extreme programming (XP, XP2), and variations like "Scrumban" (Dyb and Dingsyr,
2008; Stettina and Hörz, 2015) are all examples of popular Agile frameworks in the software
development industry. Since its declaration in 2001 by software engineers, the Manifesto's
guiding principles have been adopted by professionals in fields as diverse as service provision,
general business operations, and business intelligence (Larson and Chang, 2016).
The agile scrum methodology has been used successfully by businesses of varying sizes due to
its effectiveness in fostering collaboration and increasing output. Scrum and Agile are each
beneficial in their own right, but the benefits of combining them have made the agile scrum
methodology the most popular use of agile
What is the process of agile scrum?
Agile and the scrum process management system come together in the agile scrum strategy.
Agile, derived from the term "incremental," allows teams to work on their projects in bite-sized
portions. The Scrum framework is an agile method for breaking down huge projects into smaller
"sprints." When a company is under pressure to meet a tight deadline, the agile scrum method
might be a lifesaver (Schwaber, 2004).
According to Peek (2023), the agile scrum methodology is a project management approach
focused on incremental development. Each "sprint" in an iteration lasts between two and four
weeks, and its goal is to advance the most important features and get the product closer to being
shippable. Subsequent sprints add more functionality to the product, with adjustments made in
between sprints based on stakeholder and customer feedback.
In contrast to the monolithic approach taken by traditional project management approaches, the
agile scrum methodology places an emphasis on developing several versions of a product to
provide stakeholders with the highest commercial value in the least amount of time.
The benefits of adopting an agile scrum approach are many. For starters, it encourages more
rapid product development by making it such that sprint goals must be accomplished in that time
frame. The scrum team is able to focus on the work at hand and do more during the sprint since
frequent goal-setting and planning are required.
Scrum, what is it?
SCRUM is a methodology that facilitates efficient teamwork while creating complex goods.
Scrum is an agile method that aims to enhance communication and productivity on large-scale
projects via the use of frequent meetings, well-defined roles, and specialised tools. Scrum is a
method for achieving team goals that have been used most often by software development
groups.
For whom is scrum most useful?
While scrum's benefits can be applied to a wide range of businesses and projects, the following
stand to gain the most:
Complicated Project
The Scrum approach is appropriate for complex projects requiring teams to finish a backlog.
Scrum may help simplify a complex project by breaking it down into manageable phases.
Companies that value results:
Scrum is useful for organizations of any size that put an emphasis on getting things done instead
of keeping detailed records of their process. This is because, rather than a thorough, strict
method, scrum prioritizes Companies that cater to customers:
Scrum may be useful for businesses focusing on satisfying their consumers by tailoring product
development to their needs. Scrum's flexibility makes it an invaluable tool for meeting the needs
of fluctuating client requirements (Peek, 2023).
What are the advantages of using an agile scrum approach?
Some of the many advantages of the agile scrum technique are as follows:
 Capacity for change and improvisation
 Invention and originality
 Reduced expenses
 Enhanced quality
 Organizational cohesion,
 Satisfaction of employees
 Customer satisfaction
Adaptability is a key element of the agile scrum framework. In the sprint-based paradigm,
stakeholders give feedback to the scrum team after each sprint. The scrum team may rapidly and
simply adjust product objectives over following sprints in reaction to difficulties or changes,
leading to better iterations. All parties involved are content because their demands have been
met, and their ideas have been considered throughout the process.
Compared with traditional project management systems, such as starting from scratch after the
product has already been built, this approach to stakeholder feedback and product iteration saves
time and money.
5. Personal Reflection on Leadership Experience
As IT project manager at DAISY Inc, I had a wonderful learning experience. Although, my job
description as a project manager was assessing the existing IT system in the company. However,
other connected activities due to my role make my experience rich. In the following lines, my
self-reflection about my leadership experience at DAISY Inc is given.
Description of my experience
As a project manager, I had to look after the company’s IT system. Besides, I was involved in a
strategic planning process for offering new processes and products. Moreover, troubleshooting
and maintenance were also my responsibilities. Above all, managing teams and offering the best
services to the customers for their IT-related solutions were also included in my domain. During
my relationship with customers for providing IT solutions to their problems, I was closely in
communication and coordination with my team members. I developed my team comprising
efficient team members. The projects were complicated due to their IT-related nature, and our
company sought to provide the bests quality services to our valuable customers hence, it made
me harness my team members. Moreover, I provided them with continuous support, physical and
emotional, whenever they required it.
6. Personal reflection on my leadership style
During my stay at the company as a project manager/In-charge, I preferred to follow the
combination of transformational leadership and humble leadership styles. I opted for these
models due to two reasons first, my team members were professionals, skilled and
knowledgeable. However, they at times, lost motivation due to the nature of the tasks. Hence, to
keep them on track, I used to provide them with continuous motivation. Besides, to ensure
innovation and creativity, I encouraged my team members to bring new ideas to the products and
processes. I also gave preference to their ideas and valued them. All these measures made them
motivated to develop innovative solutions for the customers; resultantly, customers received the
best value, made them loyal to the company.
7. Self-Reflection on my Project Management Skills
As I described earlier the humanistic aspect of project management implantation suits my
leadership skills. I believe that for ensuring better performance in a highly competitive
environment, creativity and innovation are of utmost importance. Besides, providing in-time
service delivery is also desired in such circumstances. Hence, these can only be ensured if
project managers motivate their team members to achieve their goals by ensuring innovation.
8. Skills needed for me as a Project Leader
The comprehensive self-analysis of my skills and competencies as a project leader reveals that
time management is a skill that I need to improve. Although I had delivered quality services to
the customers, however lack of time management skills sometimes made our target delayed.
Hence, I believe time management skills should be improved for future projects. For that, I have
planned to undertake short courses on time management, which will enable me to utilize my time
efficiently.
9. Conclusion
The current reflection essay is based on the role and significance of leadership in project
management implementation. Agile framework with Scrum has been used in the project. While a
blend of transformational and humble leadership styles has been adopted during my stay in the
company as project manager. Moreover, my project and leadership experiences were satisfactory
in terms of delivering quality service value to my customers through motiving team members.
Besides encouraging them to participate in developing new ideas and innovation.

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