What Every Project Manager Needs To Know About Project Leadership Guest Post by Rick Valerga. It was an honor to be invited to write a guest post for The PM Student. I have enjoyed reading his work. Josh reminded me to make my content more accessible to a beginner audience. Psst…here’s the secret What Every Project Manager Needs to Know is exactly the same thing that Every Expert Project Manager must know about project management! It?s simple. It can be summarized in one word: integrity. Integrity Defined I didn’t know that it would strike such an emotional chord, but my book’s definition of integrity was quoted by a few people. In my book, Integrity Defined I wrote that integrity means being truthful at all time, avoiding deception, acting ethically in all situations, especially when no one is looking. When you have to face consequences, integrity is most important. If there is one thing the project world is full with, it is consequences. Integrity in the World of Projects. Integrity is the foundation for a virtuous circle in projects. Integrity is a product that is built upon trust and transparency. Trust builds credibility over time. A project’s success is dependent on its credibility. It can speed up decisions and sponsorship. This is something that even experienced PMs forget from time to time. As a project manager, you must ensure the success and well-being of three key constituencies.

• Your customers (who benefit from the project)
• Your team members (who do the designing, prototyping and producing)
• Your sponsor (who will invest the resources)

You will be able to make all three successful if you align their interests. Integrity is what will allow you to best align them. Let’s say your project is high-risk and overtime is the only contingency. This plan is likely to prove unsustainable for your team members as well as their families. Or you might find out mid-project that your product is not going to sell in the marketplace. This is a time bomb for your sponsor’s finances. These are the types of situations where you need to be courageous and honest to bring the issues up for the benefit of your project. It may seem simple now. It may sound simple now, but telling your sponsor you need to increase funding or extend the schedule with a deadline for customer proposals or flagging that the product is not worth another day of investment can be terrifying. What should I do? 1. ?Plan. Your project plan should include integrity. One that provides undeniable value for customers, delivers the required Return on Investment (ROI), and creates a healthy, sustainable work environment for project team members. 2. ?Never let your project live a lie. Your sponsor and customers should know if your project is late or has little chance of recovery. 3. ?Behave. Projects can be stressful. They will test people’s integrity. Things will go wrong. It is our behavior as project managers that can lead to the most trouble. ?The issue avoidance, innuendo and drama, the martyrdom, victimhood, and the us-vs.-them mentality. These tactics are passed from project manager to project manager. Please don’t pick them up! The Five Core Themes of Project Leadership Negative behavior can undermine project management. High-integrity behavior will enhance it. These Five Core Themes of Project Leadership can be used daily to instill integrity into everything you do in the project environment. They are the foundation of every day leadership.