Project Management and Leadership

             As I read through Pant & Baroudi’s (2008) paper, I am keen to reflect on how the discussion of soft and hard skills also relate to my own leadership. Their paper suggests that soft skills have the greatest impact on project management.  I would suggest that they are also vitally important in leadership at the K-12 level as well.  As I think about what I feel my soft skills are, I am reminded that these are important to the people I lead.  Communication, team building, flexibility, decision making, active listening and patience are among my strongest skills as a Principal.  I do feel that those too are the skills I look for in my team. As Pant & Baroudi (2008) suggest, soft skills are critical to the project success. 

            Currently in my own school, we have taken on a literacy improvement project. The literacy rates in Nunavut are very low.  There are many contributing factors.  Many of our students do not have English as a first language.  We have huge attendance issues in here and we keep socially promote until grade 10.  These factors have a huge impact on the success of our students. As a team, we are working together to make significant changes.  However, it is my job to empower them, set a clear vision based on the data and work collaboratively. 

            To echo the importance of soft skills in effective leaders, Naz Beheshti (2018) in her editorial in Forbes magazine also recommends that the soft skills of collaboration, time-management and communication are the most important in effective leadership.  Our soft skills as a leader are vitally important as they create a culture for our staff.  As a leader, I want to have a positive school climate and I recognize that it begins with me.  I can change the mood; I can change the atmosphere, and I can alter how people feel.  I know that a good leader models those soft skills.

            In Clarke’s (2010) article, he discusses the need to for the leader to have Emotional Intelligences (EI). He posits that because projects can be temporary in nature, trust and commitment needs to be established as well a development of strong interpersonal and communication skills.  “Through accurately identifying emotions in followers, leaders are able to respond more effectively to their needs (Clarke, 2010. p. 8). This is such an important attribute for leaders.  We need to be able to respond to the needs of our followers, especially if we want them to feel important and connected to the work. 

            Now, not all leaders who are looking to get change in education have EI. Unfortunately, they miss cues or as harsh as this sounds, do not actually care as long as the job and the outcomes get done.  If teamwork is a critical factor as I see it is in education, then leaders need to have a strong EI presence.  I asked two staff members to discuss my own EI and what they believed my strengths to be. My ability to recognize the emotions of my staff and students and be empathetic to their needs as well as helping them to be able to work through problems was seen as my greatest strengths.  The two complemented me on my ability to adapt emotions to the situation. I can be empathetic and disciplinary in the same moment.   They also called me authentic. I say what I mean, and I stick to my values and principles.

            I also asked what I could improve on and reminded them that I am good with constructive criticism.  One area I need to improve is to be more careful about my reactions.  I think to improve my ability in EI, I do need to recognize this in myself and how it can affect others.  I need to be trusted and I need staff and students to feel comfortable with me.

            I need to improve my EI, my soft skills and my overall commitment to leadership.  “Life long learning through further education should be seen as part of this development but such should endeavour to enhance an individual’s hard and soft skills” (Pant & Baroudi, 2008, p. 126). I am not sure where to get that professional development at this point; however, immersing myself in scholarly reading, engaging with other leaders and continuously working towards improvement would be beneficial in my own development.  I do believe that my first step was in asking my staff where I can improve and working from there and reach out to mentors for more support. I believe that good leaders want to be better and may not always recognize their own shortcomings.  I am not able to improve them if I do not realize what they are or how they may affect others.

Beheshti, N. (2018, December 05). Are Hard Skills Or Soft Skills More Important To Be An Effective Leader? Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nazbeheshti/2018/09/24/are-hard-skills-or-soft-skills-more-important-to-be-an-effective-leader/#c2618622eb3b

 Clarke, N. (2010).  Emotional intelligence and its relationship to transformational leadership and key project manager competences. Project Management Journal, 41(2), 5-20.

Pant, I., & Baroudi, B. (2008). Project management education: The human skills imperative. International journal of project management, 26(2), 124-128.