Balanced Leadership : Making the Best Use of Personal and Team Leadership in Projects

Balanced leadership in projects, which is the dynamic shift of authority between project manager and team members, depends on the context of the project. The book presents the building blocks for balanced leadership, the coordination mechanisms, and the situations in which different leadership approaches are required and illustrates these elements through real-life case studies. Through that, the book provides a new leadership theory that is specific for project settings.

A new theory of balanced leadership in projectsLeadership is not static. Instead, authority in projects shifts dynamically between project managers, individual team members, and sub-teams, depending on the situation. Leadership may be exercised through a vertical, horizontal, shared, or distributed leadership approach. However, balanced leadership ensures the best suitable approach is used in any given situation.Based on an award-winning global program of research studies, Balanced Leadership is a thorough investigation of balanced leadership in projects. Ralf Müller, Nathalie Drouin, and Shankar Sankaran present a project-specific leadership approach as well as a theory of balanced leadership, and the situations in which different strategies are required. They also outline the five building blocks that enable balanced leadership: nomination of team members, identification of potential leaders, selection and empowerment of leaders, empowered leadership and its governance, and leadership transition. The book explains the coordination of these building blocks through the socio-cognitive space shared by project manager and team. Using real-life case studies and clear examples, this book offers a new way of considering and utilizing dynamic leadership in project settings.