23rd Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction - Perth, Australia - 2015

Project Manager or Project Leader: What It Takes to Create a High Performing

Santor S. Nishizaki1 & William R. Seed2

1Show Design and Production Manager, Walt Disney Imagineering, Glendale, CA, [email protected]
2Executive Project Integration, Walt Disney Imagineeirng, Lake Buena Vista, FL [email protected]

Abstract

This case study compares two projects that achieved success with integrated lean project delivery (ILPD). The frameworks are William Seed’s new project manager theory, Bass’s transformational leadership model, and Kotter’s manager vs. leader. This study answered these RQs: 1.What are the personality traits, strengths, and leadership styles of the ILPD Project Managers? 2. Did the IPMs change their leadership style and behavior during the project lifecycle? 3. How does the behavior of the IPMs change over the life of a project? The desire for early team involvement in the design and development efforts and strong multidisciplinary collaboration demands a high performing team environment, which requires a new kind of leader. These teams delivered multi-million dollar hospital building projects under budget and ahead of schedule. Through interviewing the project managers and analyzing their StrengthFinder2.0 and DiSC Personality Assessments, this case study shows that the key to success in these particular teams was (a) team members’ understanding of communication skills, (b) a mix of leadership strengths and personality traits, and (c) technical knowledge of experienced project managers [PMs]. Limitations of the study and its findings are discussed at length.

Keywords

High performing team, integrated project delivery, project manager, leadership, DiSC

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Reference

Nishizaki, S. S. & Seed, W. R. 2015. Project Manager or Project Leader: What It Takes to Create a High Performing , 23rd Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction , 287-296. doi.org/

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Founded in 1993, the IGLC is an international network of researchers from practice and academia in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) who feel that the practice, education, and research of the AEC industry have to be radically renewed in order to respond to the global challenges ahead.

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