New APM book highlights the importance of leadership in project controls

Understanding leadership in project controls and adapting leadership style to a given situation is crucial to ensuring projects are delivered as well as possible, a new book published by Association for Project Management (APM) asserts.

Project Controls in the 21^st Century, written by Paul Kidston and Carolyn Browning, offers a guide to effective project control and management. Its central theme is that teams need to understand and practise sound techniques – to be leaders, effective communicators and problem solvers – in order to deliver great projects.

Leadership by project controls

The book explains how those in project controls need to be leaders, and what constitutes effective leadership in the context of project controls. The book outlines how project controls are integral to several leadership roles, including:

Planning to identify the best methods to deliver the project’s scope (the execution strategy) and the best methods to estimate the schedule and control the project.
Risk management to identify the threats to the safe, timely and economical delivery of the project, and to identify opportunities to enhance the benefits, minimise costs, maximise profits and deliver the project safely.
Scheduling which optimises the execution strategy, coordinate workflows, assists in decision making and resolves challenges, including interfaces and dependencies.
Change control and management forces discipline on decision making, helping to reduce the impact on risk, time and the environment, and ensuring safe working practices.
Project controls are integral to knowledge management, from running projects to informing future project planning and governance.

Leadership and communication styles in project controls

The book explains how a good leader should be able to adjust their communication style to a particular situation. There are many different leadership and communication styles and approaches. Some of the main styles of leadership and communication listed in the book are:

Autocratic - This approach is results focused, has fast decision making and is often used in response to an emergency when control and command are best placed to deliver rapid change.
Authoritative - Thinking is explained to others, rather than issued through orders, giving a team choice and autonomy on how to achieve the project goals. More pressure is on the leader, who must lead by example.
Participative - This style involves the team in the decision-making process. Creativity is encouraged and consensus is reached in decision making. Solutions are likely to be well considered and robust.
Laissez-faire - The opposite of autocratic, this leader trusts people to know what to do and works well when leading highly skilled, experienced teams who are motivated self-starters.
Pacesetting - This focuses on achieving goals, setting expectations and pushing the team hard to achieve. It is an effective style for getting things done quickly, but it causes stress for all concerned.
Coaching - Teams receive advice and guidance to achieve their goals. This approach requires a lot of mentoring from the leader, so it may not lead to the fastest results in the short term.

Different leadership styles will suit certain project types more than others; this also applies to the various stages of a project’s life.

Other topics covered in Project Controls in the 21^st Century include developing competencies, project sponsorship, requirements management, scope management, stakeholder management, and much more.

Scott Walkinshaw, APM’s Head of Knowledge, said: “Project controls are critical in understanding where you've been, where you are and where you're going in a project. Effective controls aim to create an accurate and vivid picture of your project to help ensure it's on track for success. Project Controls in the 21st Century provides comprehensive coverage of the planning, monitoring, controlling and reporting of projects in an increasingly complex and dynamic world.”

Project Controls in the 21st Century is available to pre-order now.