Diagnostico preliminar

According to Barrett (2006b: online) leadership communication consists of layers, expanding skills from core strategy development and effective writing and speaking to using these skills in more complex organisational situations. As a project develops, the project manager will need to improve the core communication skills to become more effective in communication.

Barrett (2006b: online) emphasises that as a manager progresses to higher levels in the organisation, the more complex communication demands become. Further, that the framework is not meant to suggest a hierarchy, which is why it is depicted as a spiral.

Barrett (2006b: online) explains leadership communication as follows (Figure 13): Core communication. All effective communication depends on the core skill at the centre of the spiral. These are the more individual skills. Leaders in any organisation must master the skills at the core.

Managerial communication. Managerial communication capabilities build on the core abilities. It is the capabilities more directly involved in managing others. It is the skills needed to interact with individuals and to manage groups. Corporate communication. Corporate communication involves expansion from the managerial skills to those abilities needed to lead an organisation and

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address a broader community. Communication becomes even more complex when managers move into a position where they need to think about the best way to communicate to all internal and external stakeholders.

Figure 13: Leadership communication framework (Barrett, 2006a: 5)

The core skills that project managers need in order to be able to communicate effectively might be for example the skills of writing and speaking. Managers need to be able to structure and write effective and complex correspondence and documents, from emails and memos to proposals and reports. Managers need to be able to write and speak in using a level of language expected of leaders. They need to be able to create and deliver oral presentations. These are the core skills needed in communication.

Managerial communication skills that project managers need to be able to communicate effectively, might be for example listening. To listen is an essential skill in any situation, but is applicable within the managerial ring because managing others effectively requires attention to hearing what others are saying. The

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managerial ring might also include leading meetings as well as team development and team building.

The corporate communication skills that project managers need to be able to communicate effectively might be for example to be a leader. Effective communication depends on a style of leading the team and the external stakeholders. Leaders will find that, as they move into higher levels of an organisation, they become the project‟s face to the public.

The empirical results (Chapter 10) are analysed to determine the placements of each communication skill reviewed in Chapter 6.

A leader might vary the leadership style when the situation warrants it, but the ability to select the most effective style for different situations requires emotional intelligence to be able to assess the situation correctly and assume the style appropriate for the context and audience (Barrett, 2006a: 205). Walker (2007: 221) also emphasises that a leader should change the leadership style according to the situation.

Steyn (2012: 264) states that the type of leadership style changes during the life cycle, due to the specific challenges of each stage of the life cycle. During the life cycle of a project, it is necessary to lead people to keep them focused on the project goals; to ensure that communication is sound; and that an environment is created where people are motivated and enthusiastic about delivering results within time.

An effective project leader acts as an entrepreneur during the initiation and preparation phase and as a communicator and team builder during the design phase. During the preparation phase good communication, motivation and high levels of trust are very important. The project manager is the performer during the pre-construction and construction phases and the administrator during the closure or use phases (Steyn, 2012: 286-287). This is equally true for construction project management.

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Figure 14 illustrates project life cycles and leadership styles that may be applied by a project manager. The project life cycle may be subdivided into five sequential phases: preparation, design, pre-construction, construction and use to achieve better control over the scope of the project. The archway starts at the preparation phase and is on the highest point at the end of the pre-construction and beginning of construction phases. It turns to its lowest point at the use phase. The leadership style starts with a task orientated approach at the preparation phase, where the team needs more support and guidance from the leader, and moves through the phases to the use phase using a people orientated approach, where the team needs less support and functions on their own.

Figure 14: Project life cycle leadership style (Adapted from Steyn, 2012: 262)

During the preparation phase a participative style is important, to ensure that the team members work together. The project manager needs to have a visionary style that motivates people towards a shared goal. Direction is also needed by holding frequent meetings and presenting statements that motivates and provides guidance. This is typical of the Path Goal style. The preparation phase is task orientated, because team members are not yet totally informed of what is expected from them.

The design phase is characterised by the Path Goal, Situational and Fiedler‟s style. This phase needs high quality results from motivated and competent team members

Preparation Design

Pre-

construction Construction Use

Participative Visionary Task orientation

Pacesetting Commanding

Coaching Affiliative Supporting Directive Pacesetting People orientation P roje c t l ife c y c le phas e s Leadership styles

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to be able to achieve goals. The Path Goal and Visionary styles give clear directions that seem to be appropriate, especially in a crisis or to kick-start a turnaround.

The pre-construction and construction phases are characterised by the Situational, Fiedler‟s, Behaviour and Action Centred styles. Typical to this phase is the necessity to create harmony by connecting people to enable them to achieve the goals of the project. Training and development to help team members to improve performance; motivating team members, probably by arranging frequent interactions; and meetings to encourage team members are typical of this phase.

The use or closure phase is characterised by the Theory X and Y, Behaviour and Life Cycle styles. The project needs to be controlled, to be finalised. Results are needed to be able to hand the project over to the client. This phase is more people orientated, because team members know what their duties entail and what is expected from them. They thus need less support from the leader and function independently.

The empirical results are analysed in Chapter 10 to determine the styles that can be used mostly as reviewed in Chapter 7.

8.4 Conclusion

In this chapter the proposed communication skills and leadership model for construction project managers to communicate effectively is reviewed.

The thirteen project management and construction project management knowledge areas are divided into core elements which determine the deliverable objectives of the project, namely cost, time, scope, and quality as the result of the interaction of time, scope and cost. The other knowledge areas provide the means to achieve the deliverable objectives, namely human resources, risk, procurement, integration, occupational health and safety management, environment management, financial management, claims management and communication as the foundation for success in terms of the project‟s outcome.

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Communication skills may be divided into core, managerial and corporate communication skills. Core communication skills that project managers need to be able to communicate effectively are the structuring and writing of complex correspondence and documents, from emails and memos to proposals and reports. Project managers need to be able to write and speak in the language expected of leaders. Managerial communication skills that project managers need to be able to communicate effectively are skills of listening and not only hearing, team development and team building, and leading meetings. The corporate communication skill that project managers need to be able to communicate effectively is a leadership style.

The project manager has to develop a style or combination of styles according to the situation, to communicate and lead the team effectively as the project moves through the phases from the preparation to the use phase.

Leadership is integrated in the professional activities, in other words in management, project management and the mature project leader.

The application of the proposed model is reviewed in part 4, alongside the empirical results in part 3 that determine the specific functioning of the model.

156 Part 3: Empirical review