Project Leadership: Key Attributes for Successful Project Management

This report examines the Melbourne Market relocation project, a significant undertaking by the Victorian State Government, analyzing the key leadership players involved, including the Victorian State Government, Department of Primary Industry, Department of Business and Innovation, and various other departments. It explores the essential leadership attributes necessary for project success, such as conveying vision, team building, ethical considerations, task delegation, and problem-solving skills. The report also investigates the impact of stakeholder perspectives, including those of the government, Melbourne Market Authority, and tenants, on the project's outcome. Furthermore, it draws leadership lessons from the project's execution, emphasizing the importance of effective communication, decision-making skills, and stakeholder management. The analysis reflects concepts like stakeholder theory and management, highlighting the qualities needed for project management and the influence of stakeholder expectations.

Running head: PROJECT LEADERSHIP
Project Leadership
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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The relocation of Melbourne Market from Footscray Road in West Melbourne to
Epping, was a significant move in terms of trade, strategy and economy of Victoria State.
This market incurred more than 1.6 billion of income for the state (Aljohani & Thompson,
2018). The decision for relocation was taken due to several reasons. First, the market was
expanding and needed much more space for warehousing than the older 33,000 square
meters. Second, the shifting would open the Footscray road for rail and port development
opportunities.
Who were the key leadership players for this project?
The Melbourne Market relocation project was undertaken by the Victorian State
Government. At first, the Department of Primary Industry was given the task to complete the
project. The project was planned to be executed in 2008. However, poor project management
delayed the relocation. The key leaderships were the Government of Victoria, Department of
Business and Innovation and Department of Primary Industries were given the task of
stakeholder management, risk assessment and execution (Victorian parliament, 2012). Other
than that, the Department of Treasury, Melbourne Market Authority, department of Premier,
Cabinet, Treasury and Finance and Major Projects Victoria were also involved in the project
for land and lease procurement, infrastructure planning and building. The leadership had the
responsibility to ensure that the tenants were clear about their expectations from the project
and they supported the relocation.
What were the key leadership attributes needed to make the markets
relocation a successful project? (500)
As we can understand from the video, the market relocation of Melbourne was a
major project, one of the largest ever undertaken by the Victorian government. The execution

2PROJECT LEADERSHIP
of this project needed many leadership attributes for it to become a success. The major traits
needed for the project were:
Convey vision: the most important part of successful project management is conveying the
vision of the project. It means that the stakeholders as well as the target audience should have
a clear idea of the big picture (Yang, Huang & Hsu, 2014).. This necessary as all the people
that are involved in the project understand the mission and vision of the project. The
stakeholders, especially the tenants or the sellers need to understand the benefits that they
will receive and for this the leaders must have the holistic idea of the project.
Team building: any large project needs a large team for it to become successful. Building a
working team and supervision team are necessary in these kinds of projects. The teams
should be informed about the common goals as well as the individual goals. There should be
an easy cohesion among the team members (Zulch, 2014). Here, the role of good leaders is
unavoidable. The problem that delayed the relocation of Melbourne market was due to lack
of proper leadership and direction.
Ethical considerations: in projects where large scale public interest is involved and the stakes
are high, the leaders must be able to understand the ethical aspects of the project. In many
cases it might happen that such a project initiated by the government might have negative
impact upon the people that were earning their living from the market. Possibly due to the
convenient location of the old market, many sellers were able to reach them easily. Their
interest needs to be maintained for the project to become successful. After all, it would not do
to have a large market and no sellers. It is the age old sellers and tenants that uphold the
standard and authenticity of the market.
Task delegation: the project managers in this regard also need superior delegation skills. They
should be able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the members and divide task

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accordingly. The project failed since 2008 due to this reason. Most of the departments that
were involved were not delegated tasks properly, thus, they either completed it half-heartedly
or did not monitor or follow through with their jobs (Jiang, 2014). The responsibilities of the
project managers are to oversee the work, its progress, monitor them and suggest necessary
changes.
Problem solving skills: the leadership of this kind of mega projects must be able to solve
problems under duress and take rational decisions depending on the urgency and situation. In
projects like this, numerous problems could arise, the supplies may be slow, the financial
fund might reduce, and people might become skeptical of the outcome of the project. The
project managers in these scenarios must solve these issues effectively in order to avoid
delay. For Melbourne market too, this created a problem that led to its delaying.
What impact did stakeholder perspectives have on the project’s success?
What impact did project leadership have on stakeholders?
The stakeholders have the ability to impact the outcome of any project both positively
or negatively. The main stakeholders were the government, the Melbourne Market authority
and the tenants. The government perspective from the start has been positive. They believed
that the relocation will help the Melbourne economy as well as the tenants. The old market
lacked warehouse space that the new market warehouse could solve (GetMarketFresh., 2016).
Moreover, the space that would become free due to the relocation could be used for future
development of the area. Their perspective helped materialization of the project. The project
leadership ensured that the project work ran smoothly and the government motives were
upheld.

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In case of Melbourne Market Authority, their perspective to the project was mixed.
They felt that they needed the new warehouse space and supported the government
perspective of development. They also knew that it would be a beneficial project in the long
run though they were skeptical about the reaction of the tenants that had been involved with
the market for many years. Through project leadership, the stakeholders became confident
that the project would bring fruitful result and they cooperated with them (Mok, Shen &
Yang, 2015).
The most impactful were the tenants that had been the suppliers and the sellers of
different goods. Initially their perspective had been negative as they believed that it would
impact their sale and convenience. This had a negative impact on the project execution and
the project got delayed.
In your view, what leadership lessons can be taken away from the delivery
of this major project? What would you do in a similar situation?
From the project execution it can be understood that the initial leadership of the
project were incompetent. Later, the leaders were able to manage the execution effectively.
They convinced the stakeholders of the positive aspects of the project. It can be learnt that
true leadership has the ability to transform the outcome of any project through their
communication and decision making skills.
In a similar situation, I would have arranged a collaborative meeting among the
stakeholders and communicate with them the expectations and outcome of the project. I
would have presented them with the benefits that each of them will have along with the
bigger picture.

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How well do these lessons reflect the concepts and theory that are
introduced in this subject?
The lesson reflect concepts like stakeholder theory and management as well as the leadership
qualities that are needed for project management and execution (Eskerod, Huemann &
Savage, 2015). Along with that the expectations of the different stakeholders and the outcome
of their influence were also taught. The key aspects of project management and the methods
of successful project management were also taught in this lesson.

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References
Aljohani, K., & Thompson, R. G. (2018). The impacts of relocating a logistics facility on last
food miles–The case of Melbourne’s fruit & vegetable wholesale market. Case studies
on transport policy, 6(2), 279-288.
Eskerod, P., Huemann, M., & Savage, G. (2015). Project stakeholder management—Past and
present. Project Management Journal, 46(6), 6-14.
GetMarketFresh. (2016). Melbourne Market at Epping [Video]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWnlFqltbw0&feature=youtu.be
Jiang, J. (2014). The study of the relationship between leadership style and project
success. American Journal of Trade and Policy, 1(1), 51-55.
Mok, K. Y., Shen, G. Q., & Yang, J. (2015). Stakeholder management studies in mega
construction projects: A review and future directions. International Journal of Project
Management, 33(2), 446-457.
Victorian parliament. (2012). Melbourne Markets Redevelopment [Ebook]. Melbourne,
Australia. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/file_uploads/20120314-
Melbourne-Markets_gxX7BHLQ.pdf
Yang, L. R., Huang, C. F., & Hsu, T. J. (2014). Knowledge leadership to improve project and
organizational performance. International Journal of Project Management, 32(1), 40-
53.
Zulch, B. (2014). Leadership communication in project management. Procedia-Social and
Behavioral Sciences, 119, 172-181.

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