Research shows that the qualities and skills of a leader include but are not limited to:  

  • * Being a visionary (e.g., help to describe the products, goals, and objectives of the project;

  • able to dream and translate those dreams for others);  

  • * Being optimistic and positive;  

  • * Being collaborative;  

  • Managing relationships and conflict by:  

  • * Building trust;  

  • * Satisfying concerns;  

  • * Seeking consensus;  

  • * Balancing competing and opposing goals;  

  • * Applying persuasion, negotiation, compromise, and conflict resolution skills;  

  • * Developing and nurturing personal and professional networks;  

  • * Taking a long-term view that relationships are just as important as the project; and  

  • *Continuously developing and applying political acumen.  

  • Communicating by:  

  • * Spending sufficient time communicating

  • (research shows that top project managers spend about 90% of their time on a project in communicating);  

  • * Managing expectations;  

  • * Accepting feedback graciously;  

  • * Giving feedback constructively; and  

  • * Asking and listening.  

  •              * Being respectful (helping others retain their autonomy), courteous, friendly, kind, honest, trustworthy, loyal, and ethical;  

  •              * Exhibiting integrity and being culturally sensitive, courageous, a problem solver, and decisive;  

  •              * Giving credit to others where due;  

  •              * Being a life-long learner who is results- and action-oriented;  

  •              * Focusing on the important things, including:  

  • * Continuously prioritizing work by reviewing and adjusting as necessary;  

  • * Finding and using a prioritization method that works for them and the project;  

  • *Differentiating high-level strategic priorities, especially those related to critical success factors for the project;  

  • * Maintaining vigilance on primary project constraints;  

  • * Remaining flexible on tactical priorities; and  

  • * Being able to sift through massive amounts of information to obtain the most important information.  

  •              * Having a holistic and systemic view of the project, taking into account internal and external factors equally;  

  •              * Being able to apply critical thinking (e.g., application of analytical methods to reach decisions)

  •               and identify him or herself as a change agent.  

  •              * Being able to build effective teams, be service-oriented, and have fun and share humor effectively with team members.