Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts · Topic 4 of 6
Project Roles, Leadership and Emotional Intelligence
CAPM roles: project manager versus sponsor and team, the many roles a project manager plays, leadership versus management, and emotional intelligence.
- 4 min
- Sponsor: funds, champions, authorizes the charter, accountable for benefits.
- Project manager: leads the team to achieve the objectives.
- Team: does the work and helps plan it.
What it is
Projects succeed through people. CAPM tests who is responsible for what, especially the difference between the project sponsor, the project manager and the project team, and the soft skills a project manager needs: leadership and emotional intelligence.
How it works
Sponsor, project manager and team
| Role | Main responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Project sponsor | Provides resources and support; champions the project; usually authorizes the project charter; makes decisions above the project manager's authority; helps resolve escalated issues; accountable for the business case and benefits |
| Project manager | Assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that achieves the project objectives; plans, coordinates, communicates, manages risks and issues; balances constraints |
| Project team | Performs the project work; contributes expertise to planning and estimating; delivers the work to agreed quality |
The sponsor sits above the project manager in authority. When an issue goes beyond the project manager's authority, such as needing more budget, it is escalated to the sponsor.
Other stakeholders and structures
- Functional managers manage staff in a department and often supply team members.
- A project management office (PMO) standardizes project governance and shares resources, methods and tools.
- The organizational structure affects the project manager's authority:
| Structure | Project manager authority |
|---|---|
| Functional | Little or none; functional manager controls resources |
| Weak matrix | Low |
| Balanced matrix | Low to moderate, shared |
| Strong matrix | Moderate to high |
| Projectized | High to almost total |
The roles a project manager plays
The CAPM outline lists several roles a project manager plays:
| Role | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Initiator | Starts actions, meetings and conversations that move work forward |
| Negotiator | Agrees resources, scope and priorities with others |
| Listener | Understands team and stakeholder concerns before acting |
| Coach | Helps team members grow and solve problems |
| Working member | Contributes to the work where needed, especially on small teams |
| Facilitator | Runs meetings and workshops so groups reach decisions |
Leadership versus management
| Management | Leadership |
|---|---|
| Uses positional power | Uses relational power and influence |
| Focuses on tasks, systems and control | Focuses on people, vision and motivation |
| Asks how and when | Asks what and why |
| Maintains and administers | Develops and inspires |
A good project manager uses both. Servant leadership, common in agile teams, means the leader serves the team first: removing obstacles, supporting growth and enabling the team to perform.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) is the ability to recognize and manage your own emotions and those of others. Common models describe four parts:
| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Self-awareness | Knowing your own emotions and their effect |
| Self-management | Controlling your reactions and staying calm |
| Social awareness | Reading others' emotions; empathy |
| Relationship management | Using that awareness to build trust, influence and resolve conflict |
High EQ helps a project manager handle conflict, motivate the team and work with difficult stakeholders.
When a question says a decision is beyond the project manager's authority, the answer is usually to escalate to the sponsor, not to decide alone or ignore it.
How the exam asks about this
- "Who usually authorizes the project charter?" The sponsor.
- "In which structure does the project manager have the most authority?" Projectized.
- "A project manager notices team tension and stays calm before responding. Which EQ part is this?" Self-management.
What to remember for the exam
- Sponsor: funds, champions, authorizes the charter, accountable for benefits.
- Project manager: leads the team to achieve the objectives.
- Team: does the work and helps plan it.
- Project manager authority grows from functional to matrix to projectized.
- Leadership inspires; management administers; both are needed.
- EQ: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management.
The sponsor is not a team member who does the work. Answers that have the sponsor managing daily tasks are distractors.
Common mistakes
Mixing up sponsor and project manager. The sponsor provides support and authority; the project manager runs the project.
Thinking leadership needs a title. Leadership relies on influence, not position.
Ignoring emotions in conflict. EQ is a core skill for project managers.
Check yourself
What does the project sponsor do?
Provides resources and support, champions the project, usually authorizes the charter and handles decisions above the project manager's authority.
How does leadership differ from management?
Leadership inspires and influences people toward a vision; management uses position to plan, organize and control.
Name the four parts of emotional intelligence.
Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management.
Topic 4 of 6 in Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts
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