The Strategic Project Leader: Mastering Service-Based Project Leadership (Center for Business Practices) (Hardcover)

by Jack Ferraro (Author)
Key Phrases: medical missionaries, team effectiveness, competency pyramid, The Strategic Project Leader, New York, Active Leadership Experience (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
... a truly uplifting book with a self-directed plan to build leadership competencies and recommended tools for establishing compatibility and trust that allows project leaders to truly change the world by connecting their values with their work.
Dr. Tony Alessandra, author of The Platinum Rule and Charisma

By emphasizing the leading of people and providing a roadmap for personal development, Ferraro has created an interesting and practical book.
– SciTech Book News, May 2008

Jack has taken the vast body of research in project management and leadership and boiled it down to its essential elements.  He provides clear direction on HOW to implement leadership practices.
Carl Pritchard, President, Pritchard Management Associates and author of Risk Management: Concepts & Guidance

Jack writes in an engaging way and his concern for the trade is infectious. Being a practitioner myself, I can only say: run and read!"
Merete Munch Lange, Project Manager

[this] book walks us through what it takes to be more than just a project leader, but to be a service-based project leader ... the crème de la crème ... the enablers of the organization. It is a must-read for project managers who want to transform the way they lead.
Sandy Weiner, Master Certified Coach, Managing Partner, 1-Focus International

…demonstrates that project managers are strategic leaders for their respective organizations as project management is a strategic advantage for the organization.  I highly recommend this interesting and easy-to-read book.
Ginger Levin, DPA, PMP, Project Management Consultant and co-author of The Advanced Project Management Office

Product Description
In addition to overseeing projects, today’s managers are expected to provide creative input and use their leadership to foster an environment that can respond rather than react to changing parameters and fluctuating objectives. This volume enables managers to develop the competencies and skills essential to creative leadership. It offers a practical framework that enables them to take charge of their own career development, while embracing and mastering the role of strategy leader. This book explores the attitudes and behaviors that define successful leaders so as to provide project managers with actionable advice on how to grow their own leadership skills.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Auerbach Publications; 1 edition (October 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849387949
• ISBN-13: 978-0849387944
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #691,294 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Book - Leadership is needed in Project Management, May 29, 2008

By	Eric D. Brown "Technology, Strategy & Executi... (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In section two of his book, Mr. Ferraro writes:

"In project management, leadership is desperately needed; leadership that is adaptable, perceptive, timely, meaningful, authentic, and unselfish."

This one sentence sums up the core of The Strategic Project Leader's message: Project leaders, not project processes, are the future for project management. As the first section carefully lays out, the codification and standardization of project management knowledge has created a commoditized service that can be bought and sold like any other product. However, project managers can resist the force of commoditization by adding personal value to their organizations through leadership.

Ferraro defines a new role for the project manager seeking to be the spearhead of change - the service-based project leader. As the book points out, this role of 'Project Leader' is an area of untapped potential in project management. This kind of leadership requires a project manager to provide service not only to a sponsor but to all the project's stakeholders. By truly serving the needs of organizations and individuals, project leaders find themselves doing meaningful work, a factor that is linked to personal growth and great job satisfaction. Due to the highly personal and individual nature of leadership, it cannot be codified and standardized into a 'methodology.'

The first section of the book is devoted to this idea of leadership in project management and provides guidance as to how to step up into a leadership role. However, Ferraro also introduces several critical topics not usually found in project management books. He discusses the importance of establishing trust-based relationships with clients, and putting the needs of the client first, ideas that are central to high-level project leadership.

The second section of the book provides more concrete information in the form of a `leadership competency framework' that is comprised of five `core competencies'. This competency framework is presented in the form of a pyramid:

* Project & Program Management Knowledge, Skill & Experience
* Subject Matter Expertise
* Trust-based Relationships
* Consultative Leadership
* Courage

While knowledge of project management processes is necessary as the base of this pyramid, project leaders must move beyond this to become true consultative leaders.

The third section helps the reader create practical self-development plans - a step-by-step guide to improving leadership skills. The final section, written by Roberta Hill, provides a detailed overview of a variety of assessment methods.

Smoothly written and easy to read, The Strategic Project Leader is an indispensable guide to anyone looking to be a leader among project managers.

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent addition to a PM library, November 17, 2008

By	D. Lochner - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having worked with Jack in the past, I know that he actually practices what he preaches and with tremendous success. His knowledge of project management shines through in this book in a way that is easy to grasp for the reader. I am certain that anyone who reads this book will be a better, more strategic leader because of it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Buy, June 23, 2008

By	Seema Verma - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was very impressed with his book. As a new project manager this book was very helpful and motivating. I especially learned a lot about trusting my staff and as I applied the techniques, I could see a real improvement in my team's outcomes. I would strongly recommend this to any leader.