Authentic Leadership

Article Summary: Authentic leadership for 21st century project delivery from the International Journal of Project Management APA citation: Lloyd-Walker, Beverley1 beverley. [email  protected] edu. au Walker, Derek(2). International Journal of Project Management; May2011, Vol. 29 Issue 4, p383-395. Retrieved from EBSCOhost, summarized by Rachell Bishop. Summary: The project managers of the 21st century will need to adopt new leadership models to sustain continuous improvement. There are three primary points that the article & study present.CMM (Capability maturity model), Authentic leadership and Alliance project management are at the forefront of the study. The importance of soft skills such as emotional intelligence, relationship building, trust and commitment are emphasized rather than the hard core technical skills held by project managers in general. The necessity to transition from transactional and transformational leadership styles to authentic leadership style is presented in detail. The authors noted the differences in leadership approaches and skill sets that will be necessary for project managers to be successful and remain relevant in the future. . Leadership styles: Transactional, Transformational and Authentic 2. CMM (Capability maturity model): Integration of transactional and transformational leadership styles resulting in authentic leadership paradigm 3. Alliancing: Demonstrated team building and cooperation among project management professionals to achieve optimal project delivery for all not just key stakeholders 4. Authentic leadership soft skills – overall emotional intelligence as demonstrated through ethical and moral actions, integrity and clarity in words and behavior, honesty, fairness and relational development 5.Generational shift: Baby Boomer, Gen X and Gen Y valuation of leadership skill sets must be addressed 6. Project managers and leaders: project-based versus project-oriented 7. Implementation: Communication and engage ment of all stakeholders is key The pilot study and preliminary research results concluded that there are major changes necessary for project management to evolve and remain relevant in the 21st century workplace. Authentic leadership, a CMM plan and soft skills are particularly relevant for the continuous improvement of the project management field.