Project Managers' Competencies and Leadership Styles from the Perspective of Organizations Functioning in Poland.

• Author: Grzesik, Katarzyna
• Position: Report - Abstract

INTRODUCTION

A thesis can be put forward that nowadays the attention of practitioners and management theorists is focused on the increasing dynamics of organizations' functioning. In the tactics of "market players" repetitive and routine activities gradually lose importance in favor of unique and complex ventures - i.e., projects. A project is "an endeavour in which human, financial, and material resources are organized in a novel way to undertake a unique scope of work, of a given specification, within the constraints of cost and time, so as to achieve beneficial change defined by the quantitative and qualitative objectives" (Turner, 1993).

There is a growing interest in problems related to project management, also in the developing Polish economy. After systemic changes (the transition from socialism to a free market economy) the activities of organizations ceased to be predictable. Polish entrepreneurs started to take advantage of project management to accomplish various business goals. It is not surprising that the organization of work, in the form of projects, allows for the introduction of objective, transparent and standardized rules. These rules are, in turn, the source of structured and consistent information, fundamental for making proper business decisions. It is believed that predominantly classical project management methods are used in Poland, i.e., the ones based on the waterfall approach (Janasz & Wisniewska, 2014). Furthermore, research on project maturity of Polish companies indicates a lower degree of maturity than in the case of foreign companies (Spatek & Karbownik, 2014).

Project management is the domain of project managers. They are responsible for the final result of the carried out project and have to be active in the course of all stages of the project. The job of a project manager has been included in the list of professions and specialties developed by the Polish Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy since 2014.

The theoretical concepts and research results on the competences of project managers can be found in the subject literature. The authors, discussing the analyzed problems, focus primarily on the specific types of projects or industries (Dvir et al., 2006; Muller & Turner, 2010; Dias et al., 2014). Project managers can manage various types of projects (construction, IT, organizational, etc.), which can influence the requirements regarding their knowledge and skills. They can also work in the strictly project-oriented organizations, i.e., those who implement projects ordered by an external customer (projects represent their core business) or organizations focused on repetitive activities, which manage projects for internal purposes. Based on literature studies, it was found that the problem of differences in the competencies of project managers, working in the aforementioned types of organizations, has not been studied as yet.

The publications on project management also analyze the impact of leadership style on project implementation, as well as offering tips on how to choose the right style for project team management (Muller & Turner, 2007). However, previous studies on project leadership styles have been conducted abroad. It was considered interesting to recognize and compare with the output of the management sciences, which styles of project team management are considered desirable in enterprises based in Poland.

On this basis, the purpose of the article was defined as the presentation of project manager competencies and project leadership styles which occur in different types of project-oriented organizations, i.e., the strictly project-oriented organizations (implementing projects for external clients) and organizations that manage projects for internal purposes. The following research questions have been posed:

Q1: What competency discrepancies occur between project managers working in the strictly project-oriented organizations (implementing projects for external clients) and organizations that manage projects for internal purposes?

Q2: What are the differences in the types of studied organizations in relation to the assessment of competencies regarding impacts on project manager effectiveness?

Q3: Do the applied and desired styles of project team management in the particular project phases meet the concept of Turner and Muller?

Subject-matter literature studies and empirical research results, carried out in the years 2014-2015 in 100 project-oriented organizations, were used to accomplish the above-defined goal. The intermediate stages along the set goal realization consisted of discussing the specific nature of project-oriented work and the specificity of project team management. A literature review on project manager competencies and project leadership styles was also conducted. Next, the methodology of empirical studies (in the context of a holistic research project and the content of this article) and their effects were discussed along with the resulting conclusions.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The specificity of work in a project and project team management

Project implementation involves three types of activities: operational (basic) activities, supporting (auxiliary) activities and managerial (directing) activities. The first type of activities, i.e., operational ones consist of transforming project input data into an expected result. These activities are directly related to the development of the project subject. They involve operational project-oriented activities consisting of preparing the description of the project subject (usually in the form of project documentation) and executive activities focused on material realization of the project subject.

The second type of activities, i.e., the supportive ones serve as a backup for operational and managerial actions by creating adequate conditions for their efficient and effective implementation. They cover, e.g., the legal type of project execution support. The third type of activities refers to managerial tasks consisting of harmonizing operational and supporting activities. The latter is strictly connected with project team management. This team type is characterized by the following main features:

* it functions in a periodic mode;

* it can have a simple or a complex hierarchical structure;

* it is a sub-structure developed and based on the framework organizational structure of an enterprise.

It is worth mentioning that there are two dimensions of each project team functioning: the task dimension and the social dimension. The first one is related to the activities performed by the project team consisting of carrying out the project through its life cycle. The second one, in turn, involves developing substantive, interpersonal psychological and social relationships in a team. The task and social dimensions of a project team are interrelated. A change in one produces a change in the other. As Fujishin (2007) says, we do not really understand the subtle relationships between these dimensions, but we can be certain they do influence each other.

Even though projects can be implemented in a line unit by specialists representing one field of knowledge (e.g., the organization of an advertising campaign by a marketing team, where the department head is also the project manager), however, the interdisciplinarity requirement of contractors is more frequent in the definition of a project team or a project itself. In the functional structure, projects can be implemented by setting up a dedicated interdisciplinary project team. Such a team consists of line unit workers, delegated to work in the project on a temporary basis, or for the entire period of its implementation (full-time or part-time). The project manager is usually the line manager of this unit which takes the largest part in the project execution. In turn, the dominant type of organizational structure -according to Ansell (1993) - is the matrix structure.

Given the above, Table 1 shows the differences between work in interdisciplinary project teams and work in fixed enterprise structures (line unit). The information presented in the table identifies challenges faced by the project manager.

A project team is primarily a much more diverse team in terms of employees' characteristics (specialization, terminology, work culture). This requires developing, for each individual project, the rules regarding the way of team work, the decision-making process, resolving conflicts, reporting on work progress and methods for making current administrative decisions (Wysocki, 2014).

Depending on the complexity of the expected project outcomes the adequate project teams will vary in sizes. Both long-term, the so-called permanent enterprise staff, and the temporarily involved employees (e.g., within the framework of employee leasing) can take part in a project. The larger the team and the more diversified employment forms, the more difficult it is to find out about and to reconcile the expectations of its individual members.

In the project-oriented organization, an employee often plays a dual role: a line unit specialist and a project team member. He/she can also participate in several projects in parallel. Thus the problem of multiple subordination of a project team member occurs, as well as the related difference of interests between superiors (competing for employee's competencies and time). This may result in difficulties with an employee's work time organization and his/her efficiency in projects and in regular daily duties.

In the case of projects, it is difficult to develop a permanent list of activities and competencies required of team members. Projects represent a unique and one-off activity, which also makes it difficult to manage knowledge in such circumstances (accumulate it, apply it in subsequent projects - with different staff composition).

According to the opinion expressed by Melcher and Kayser (1970), leadership of a project group is difficult. A...