Leadership and Conflict Management in Project Management, LD7031

This report provides a narrative literature review on the interconnectedness of leadership and conflict management within the framework of project management. The author explores the essential role of leadership skills in guiding project teams through the initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closing phases. The report emphasizes the importance of conflict management, specifically conflict resolution, in fostering a healthy team environment and enhancing project outcomes. The rationale for focusing on these topics stems from the understanding that projects are team-driven and prone to conflicts of interest, while effective leadership establishes a strong project framework. The review delves into various theories and models, including trait theory, conflict management styles (competition, compromise, collaboration, avoidance, and accommodation), and conflict resolution approaches like party-directed mediation. The conclusion highlights the symbiotic relationship between leadership and conflict management, emphasizing the need for skilled leaders capable of managing conflicts and promoting overall project success and stakeholder satisfaction.

Running head: PROJECT, PROGAMME AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Rationale....................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
“Those who plan do better than those who do not plan even though they rarely stick to
their plan” – Winston Churchill
Understanding Project Management requires an individual to understand projects first
in its elementary sense. A project is a temporary operation that is undertaken with the
objective of producing a definitive outcome which can be in the form of a product, a service,
a report or a research based article. The temporary nature of a project is granted by the
progress of the project starting at one point in time and ending at another, unlike businesses
and organizations which incorporate multiple projects throughout a longer period of time.
The objective behind a project is to deliver an outcome that is viable and feasible for the
target audience/receivers. Therefore it is crucial to ensure that a strategic and systematic
approach is employed in order to successfully accomplish targeted project outcome.
Project management is the application of relevant knowledge, skills, techniques and
tools to the project activities to meet the requirements of the projects for a successful
outcome (Kerzner 2017). The processes of project management falls under five distinct
groups, namely initiation, planning, execution, monitoring/controlling and closing. This
narrative review is based on the understanding of projects and project management and
focuses on the following two topics in order to draw forth correlation between the topics and
project management (Burke 2013):
1. Leadership

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2. Conflict Management.
Based on the assumption that both leadership and conflict management are important
parameters that enable successful and effective project management, this literature review is
developed with the purpose of explaining how the current knowledge and understanding of
the topics are correlated with project management as a whole.
Rationale
If we consider the five processes of project management as discussed above we find
that each of those processes require a thorough, systematic approach. Most projects, unless
they are strictly individual, require the full participation of a group and its members (Heagney
2016). This is where leadership comes into play. Leadership is a practical skill that
encompasses the ability of an individual (and in some cases, an organization) to lead other
individuals, teams as well as entire organizations (Zulch 2014). Most leadership skills are
concerned with the provision of guidance to the members of a working project throughout the
process of initiating the project, planning the steps and executing those (Daft 2014). At the
same time, the concerns regarding monitoring and controlling the quality of the outcome as
well as overseeing the closing procedure are also addressed by individuals with ample skill
and experience in the processes and are thus well suited for the position of a leader.
Leadership skills not only ensure guided progress into a project but also enhances the
workflow and efficiency of the employees/participants of a project through positive
reinforcement (Antonakis & Day 2017).
Looking back on project processes as mentioned above, all five processes in a team
requires the involvement and input of every individual member. Thus it can be safely
assumed that in many cases, starting from the initiation to the closure, there will be conflict in
opinion as well as the procedure of work. This is where conflict management hold the upper

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hand in the procedure of project management. Conflict management refers to the process of
countering the negative aspects and effects of a conflict and promoting its positive aspects. In
a project, conflict management plays the role of enhancing the learning and effectiveness of
the group performance by maintaining a healthy, hostility-free decorum amongst the group
members. Project outcomes can be improved through effectively managed conflict.
The rationale behind selection of these two topics can be explained as:
1. Projects are effectively team driven which entails a certain level of conflict of interest
among the peers that can hamper performance. Conflict management, more specifically,
Conflict Resolution can be instrumental in effective project management.
2. Leadership skills play a crucial role in maintaining a steady and strong framework
behind the project, thereby promoting positive work values, team efficiency, peer retention
and motivation and enhanced workflow.
3. Leadership and conflict management are also intricately linked as at a managerial
level, the intra team and inter team conflicts can be handled well if the individual in charge of
handing the conflict is skilled and experienced enough. Thus a skilled leader is a necessity in
such a scenario.
In the following section, we will briefly look at the popularly accepted and cited
background structure of project management, followed by a review of the theories, types,
aspects and any other relevant parameters in connection with Leadership and Conflict
Management. We will also look at a few theories and models concerned with leadership and
conflict management that is relevant to the process of project management ensuring its
success and the overall satisfaction of all stakeholders concerned with the particular project.

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Literature Review
As pointed out by Meredith, Mantel and Shafer (2017) and countless other authors and
authoritative sources, project management includes five main process groups along with a
control system. Irrespective of the field or type of project, or the methodological approach
used, the same five major process groups remain same almost all the time (Mir & Pinnington
2014). These process groups are
1. Initiation – determines the scope and the nature of the project. The success or the
failure of the project in terms of meeting the business needs depends on this process.
At the same time, this process is also responsible for recording ‘project initiation
documents (PIDs)’ which are a series of documents generated in order to maintain
order during the process (Harrison & Lock 2017). Most PIDs include a proposal along
with the scope of the project, a breakdown of the structure, division of work and
product breakdown, assignment of responsibility, operations review, financial and
stakeholder analysis and SWOT analysis (Harrison & Lock 2017).
2. Planning – the post initiation stage characterised by a detailed outlining of the planned
pipeline based on which the project would be structured (Harrison & Lock 2017). The
planning process is basically used to plan for time, cost, resources, labour and post
execution deployment. Developing the scope and problem statement, selection of the
planning team, identification of final outcome along with the resource requirement,
time and cost estimation, schedule and budget development, risk planning and gaining
approval for beginning work are handled by the planning process (Harrison & Lock
2017).

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3. Execution – the most crucial phase in a project which determines the viability of the
outcome. Execution is heavily dependent on the planning process and efficiency of
execution is directly correlated with the efficiency of planning. Proper allocation of
and coordination with human and material resources are the key aspects of this
process (Harrison & Lock 2017). Another key aspect of execution is documentation
which can range from documenting the budget and resource allocation to the progress
achieved by the work. Documentation acts as a bridge between execution and the
process of monitoring (Harrison & Lock 2017; Heagney 2016).
4. Monitoring/controlling – this process is meant to identify the progress and any
potential problems that entail the progress. The problems can be issued from any
sector, either financial or resources for instance. This process identifies and takes
actions in order to eliminate any potential problem as well as controls the variables
required for the work to progress in a seamless fashion (Harrison & Lock 2017).
5. Closing – includes a formal acknowledgement of the completion of the project and
acceptance of the outcome signifying a termination of the entire procedure. This
process consists of two sub-phases namely ‘Contract Closure’ (formal termination of
all contracts pertaining to the project) and ‘Project Closure’ (finalization of the project
outcome and formal end to the project itself) (Harrison & Lock 2017).
Each of the five processes described above are crucial in order for the project to reach a
meaningful conclusion. From the beginning till the very end, every single process is marked
by a holistic, team driven approach. This is where leadership and conflict management is
brought forth as instruments to drive the process.
Studies of leadership across time has successfully produced theories regarding leadership
traits. At the same time, there has emerged various types of leadership that influences an
organization’s performance and outcome in various ways. The trait theory of leadership

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suggests that individual traits play a significant role in determining the type of leader one
would turn out to be (Chemers 2014). Revisiting the trait theory therefore gives us a list of
significant human traits that an individual possesses that makes him an efficient leader. These
traits involve intelligence, Adjustment, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Openness to
experience and self-efficacy (Chemers 2014). All these traits can be implemented in a project
management platform in the five important processes as mentioned above as an efficient
leader would be efficient in understanding the scope and nature of a project, plan effectively,
handle the deployment of planned resources and tasks, oversee and participate in the
execution, manage and control the process as well as take charge and successfully execute the
closure. At the same time, in order to manage these tasks, an individual is required to be
proficient and have all the aforementioned traits.
When it comes to working in a team on a project, we cannot overlook the possibility of a
conflict in terms of opinions, approaches, workplace hostility, discrimination, incentives,
work satisfaction and multiple other factors. Conflict management thus turns out to be a key
factor in this scenario. The most significant aspect of conflict management that is important
in this regard is conflict resolution (Wall Jr & Callister 1995). It refers to the reduction or
absolute termination of all conflicts. Thomas and Kilmann have identified five styles of
conflict management, namely Competition, Compromise, Collaboration, Avoidance and
Accommodation (Wallensteen 2018).
At an organizational level, two main types of conflict is noticed – inter peer conflict
and supervisor-subordinate conflict (Folger, poole & Stutman 2017). These two types of
conflict are also significantly visible in a project and can stem from many factors that can
range from the ones identified above and extend to cultural and ethnic factors as well. Party-
directed mediation (PDM) is an approach that is well suited for managing such conflicts
(McKibben 2017). It encourages parties to engage in direct conversation with their

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adversaries in a joint session. In order to improve the communication between supervisors
and subordinates, The Negotiated Performance Appraisal (NPA) tool proves to be an
important and alternate mediation model that settles disputes through dialogue while also
maintaining the hierarchy and superiority of the supervisors (McKibben 2017).
Various models of conflict management also come into consideration when project
management is considered (Spaho 2013). Notable ones include
1. Khun and Poole’s model that emphasises conflict as an opportunity to integrate
positive outcomes and resources.
2. DeChurch and Mark’s meta-taxonomy model which emphasises activeness and
agreeableness as important factors that enhance conflict management through
communication and how the individuals feel about the way the conflict was managed
(Spaho 2013).
3. Rahim’s meta- model which is focused on conflict management based on two
dimensions namely concern for self and concern for others. This meta-model
framework encompasses five approaches, namely integration, obligation, domination,
avoidance and compromise as utilisable in resolving a conflicted scenario
(Wallensteen 2018).

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Conclusion
Contemporary views and opinions on both leadership and conflict put them at
pedestals that can be connected at a very basic level. Every model and approach that the
system of conflict management identifies incorporates the involvement of an individual of
power and skill in order to manage and resolve conflict. That individual would have to show
remarkable capabilities in terms of various traits of leadership in order to manage the
situation as he perceives to be well suited for the overall general wellbeing of the
organization or project concerned. Conflict management and Leadership thus play crucial
roles in project management by helping a project overcome certain absolute hurdles that can
prove to be detrimental for the successful completion of the project. The outcome of the
project has a lot of factors st stake, starting from the management which is responsible for
delivering the outcome to a requiring body, to the project members who work tirelessly to
bring the project to a successful closure. Therefore, it become crucial on the part of the
management to identify and eradicate those specific aspects of the project while it is ongoing
to ensure that a steady workflow is maintained while progress towards a successful
deployment and completion of the task is ensured.

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References
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017. The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Burke, R., 2013. Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA, 26.
Chemers, M., 2014. An integrative theory of leadership. Psychology Press.
Daft, R.L., 2014. The leadership experience. Cengage Learning.
Folger, J., Poole, M.S. and Stutman, R.K., 2017. Working through conflict: Strategies for
relationships, groups, and organizations. Routledge.
Harrison, F. and Lock, D., 2017. Advanced project management: a structured approach.
Routledge.
Heagney, J., 2016. Fundamentals of project management. Amacom.
Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
McKibben, L., 2017. Conflict management: importance and implications. British Journal of
Nursing, 26(2), pp.100-103.
Meredith, J.R., Mantel Jr, S.J. and Shafer, S.M., 2017. Project management: a managerial
approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Mir, F.A. and Pinnington, A.H., 2014. Exploring the value of project management: linking
project management performance and project success. International journal of project
management, 32(2), pp.202-217.
Spaho, K., 2013. Organizational communication and conflict management. Management-
Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 18(1), pp.103-118.

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Wall Jr, J.A. and Callister, R.R., 1995. Conflict and its management. Journal of
management, 21(3), pp.515-558.
Wallensteen, P., 2018. Understanding conflict resolution. SAGE Publications Limited.
Zulch, B., 2014. Leadership communication in project management. Procedia-Social and
Behavioral Sciences, 119, pp.172-181.