Project leadership, the art of what not to do

In his project leadership workshop, Wilhelm Claussen aims to empower participants to reflect on their role as project leaders and support them in creating moments in which they align their teams and stakeholders with the project goal. All with a focus on making projects successful and turning work as a project manager into a rewarding personal development path.

At some point in his career, Wilhelm Claussen experienced a pivotal moment while working on a project in America for a German company. Although he adhered to the guidelines set out by the company’s headquarters, he encountered unanticipated challenges in managing his people due to local particularities that were more insurmountable than the technical task itself. This ultimately led to an epic failure of the project but provided him with a profound learning experience.

This setback was the spark for what he now considers his project management style, which he now successfully teaches in his courses at the High Tech Institute. Based on his 26 years of experience in project leadership, he believes that beyond the various schools of project management, there are some universal principles and methods that good project leaders should master. He observed that such individuals are invaluable to organizations, as they can navigate a rapidly changing and dispersed environment.

“Many project managers today have to work internationally and in a multi-polar environment where the rules of the game change quickly. Dealing with this proactively is the key to success. Otherwise, even good technical ideas will never become a successful product due to poor leadership.”

You make a clear distinction between project management and project leadership, why is that?

“This distinction has crystallized for me over time:

For me, project leadership is about how you guide project members and stakeholders to do the important things with the right timing. And it’s about the person who acts as a beacon in the project and provides direction and guidance. That makes project leadership something very personal.

“Project management, in contrast, is the sequence of actions that create the plan for execution. It is covered by a manageable set of tools for a given project environment and is effectively the project manager’s tools of the trade.

“I want to pass on the experience I have gained as a project leader. This means that I want people to become self-aware, to understand where they are in their project and to help them understand how they can influence their environment. That’s what leadership is all about, creating impactful moments and capitalizing on them.”

Does this mean that your project management workshop is not a project management course?

“Yes – and no!

First of all, many many institutions offer project management courses. They explain step by step  following their chosen model  ( e.g. Agile, Waterfall, V-Model…you name it) what to do and how for different types of projects. And of course, we will also look at the basic elements of project management, as this shapes our working environment through and through.

So far -Yes, you get to know the most important project management elements.

However, beyond this we will also look at the leadership aspect and how to deal with uncertainty and volatile environments. In other words, the question of how to plan for the unknown.

For example, how do I structure a technological development project where I CAN’T know what the right path to the result is? How do I avoid all the other sub-projects being swept away by one chaotic sub-project?

In volatile environments, how do you understand which part needs to be done next and drive it forward?

My passion is to teach people how to master this challenge in a highly technical integration driven environment. So, in deliveries where the final purpose of the project only can be gained when ALL  sub deliveries are functioning together like in Automotive, Semiconductor or Special Machine Construction.

For me, that means it’s fun to ride the white waves instead of constantly drowning and swallowing water.

In this respect – no, it’s not a normal project management course!

What was the most important experience that made you promote the relevance of leadership in your own career?

“In my first projects, I often felt like a victim in my role as project manager, trapped in the tasks and schedules set by others without being able to find clear solutions myself. So I joined other project managers complaining about scarce resources, insufficient budgets and a lack of tools. A sad path leading to a dead end.

One day, I understood that I had to accept risks and uncertainties on my path. Part of my leadership philosophy became to manage these risks, accept them and deal with uncertainty. Essentially, this required a willingness to proactively transform “unknown unknowns” into identifiable risks that I could manage and control. That’s how I would put it today.”

The term “leadership” has become a buzzword, why do you use it?

“I agree with this observation, but I use it because I don’t have a better term.

To expand on this a little: project leadership goes beyond mere methods or manipulative tactics. It is rooted in the persuasive power of a consistent and holistic character. My aim here is to encourage the individual to reflect and grasp the essence of a leader by looking inwards rather than outwards.

Not only do you have to manage your own team, you also have to meet customer expectations!

“Above all, leadership means managing the stakeholders that are everywhere. I will guide participants in identifying these stakeholders and understanding their often-unspoken expectations. This insight is crucial for the effective management of all these stakeholders: customers, suppliers, technical experts and project members. The goal is to constructively engage with them and bring them along on the journey towards a common goal.

So it’s just all about communication again?

That’s not quite it. It starts with a solid foundation of project management tools and experience. However, what really sets a project leader apart is their ability to overcome cultural, linguistic and organizational barriers to achieve successful project outcomes. This requires the development of a unique personal style.

Project management means having everything on the radar. Project management is the art of setting priorities. It is the art of leaving out “what you don’t have to do”.

What impact do these cultural differences have?

“I have worked for a long time in Asia, Germany, the USA, Eastern Europe and the Netherlands. People in the different cultures carry their concerns, their conflicts, but also their disbelief and their differences of opinion in many different ways through the different levels of the organizations. This is normal and can be useful for the progress of the project.

A good project manager can deal with this by recognizing these challenges before they become a problem. And you have to be able to listen to these signs and adapt your management style to these different cultural aspects.

Just a reminder: in most cultures other than Dutch or German, disagreement and non-commitment are silent.

What are other typical hurdles?

“Different levels of experience and personalities play a crucial role. You have to adapt and understand what kind of people you are dealing with. Because all people prefer communication that speaks their own language. It’s not just about vocabulary and words, but also about feelings, metaphors and cultural or personal beliefs. So a project leader shall translate his message into the different languages of his recipients in the project.

“Responding optimally to colleagues without losing your own personality, without becoming completely opportunistic, that is the task of a good project leader.

Of course, this will develop over time. But the good news is that there are certain questions, certain ideas, and concepts that you can practice. They will help you a lot to take the next step.

What does the future hold for project management if you look to the new options of AI?

I would like to deal with this question in three parts.

Firstly, for repeated deliveries, that we call “projects” the current project management systems already offer a high degree of automation for routine tasks. This trend is likely to continue in the coming years and facilitate the replication of complex projects, as Snowden notes. Project managers must adapt their strategies and project designs to fit these systems programming logic.

Secondly, original projects –  unique and unpredictable projects will still require human leadership due to the uncertain impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on project management. While AI will increasingly handle routine tasks, human oversight is crucial for original projects.

The third aspect is the most fascinating: when we talk about leadership, it is fundamentally about human-to-human interaction. With the advent of true artificial intelligence, we are faced with the challenge of integrating it into leadership roles within projects. This means that tasks, project structures and priorities are defined by intelligent machines and executed jointly within the project team.

However, as artificial intelligence works on rule-based models, the human leadership function will shift from direct task instruction to the definition of fair and effective rules. This means that the responsibility for collaborative and efficient project teamwork remains with the project manager, even if the tools and methods change.

What is essential in leadership today?

Leadership, as I define it, is ubiquitous in our daily lives because it requires the leader to understand the purpose and how to communicate in order to motivate others to contribute. We work in highly specialized organizations, so it doesn’t matter if you are a technician, engineer or group leader. I would expect that each subject matter expert is able and prepared to lead the organization in those aspects that belong to their field of expertise.

Leadership in our working current environment is always about asserting individual goals that are necessary to achieve the overall result. This includes influencing others to understand what we want and vice versa, so that we understand what they want. That’s what leadership is about at all levels, around the clock.”

This article is written by René Raaijmakers, tech editor of High-Tech Systems.