To Be, or Not to Be... A Project Manager

At the recent Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) conference in Dallas, I had the chance to talk with Adil Dalal, author of a new book called The 12 Pillars of Project Excellence: A Lean Approach to Improving Project Results. An important part of his book essentially provides the "5 Powers" needed to transform from a project manager to an advanced project leader. In addition, it provides groundbreaking techniques to achieve excellence in project leadership that can result in six sigma type results or failure-free projects.

I basically asked Adil what it means to be a project leader instead of a manager, and here is his response:

A project, by definition, is a "temporary" endeavor undertaken to create a "unique" product, service, or result. Thus, every project is like an expedition through the unknown terrain to reach the summit of success. When something "unique" is being created – how can we expect to manage it? Are we not required to lead the "unique" transformation effort? Today, most project managers fail because there is too much "management" and too little "leadership" during the journey. Only project managers who undergo a paradigm shift and transform themselves into project leaders by providing guidance and direction to their team can be truly successful in their expeditions every time. Attempting to manage a project is like trying to hang on to the tail of a wild tiger. The focus is always on countering the tiger’s every move to avoid the fatal jaws. Thus, a project manager is constantly in a reactive mode and there is no time for creativity. On the other hand, leading a project is like riding a tame tiger. Although there is a healthy level of anxiety and adventure, the focus is on guiding it in the right direction. Thus, a project leader is always proactive.

What do you think of Adil's ideas? What characteristics do you see lacking in most project managers? Does your organization have more project managers or project leaders?