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Project Management: Leading with Knowledge

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Category: Articles by Members
Written by Joslyn Sato, PMP, MBA

In a growing economy driven by a changing environment, a project leader’s success depends on his or her level of knowledge to make crucial decisions throughout the project’s life cycle.  The dynamics of leadership, which involves the leader, follower, and situation, affect a project leader’s knowledge.  This dynamic combined with the characteristics of a project – temporary endeavor, limited resources, defined budgets, and critical timelines increases the knowledge an effective project leader needs.  Furthermore, external environmental factors, including technological advancements and globalization, also change what project leaders know and need to know.  Thus environmental changes affect the reliability and consistency of a project leader’s knowledge. 

 

Project leaders should know what epistemology entails, understand why knowledge matters, and recognize they can enhance themselves and the profession through knowledge development.  The dynamics of knowledge provides an opportunity for project leaders to uncover a hidden strength, improve weaknesses, and develop strategies that can begin further inquiry within the organization and project management profession.  This paper will provide insight of epistemology, discuss the purpose of knowledge, and suggest some ways to develop knowledge within the project management profession. 

Epistemology Insight

            Knowledge is justified true belief.  Epistemology “[clarifies] the conditions and limits of what is construed as justified knowledge” (Johnson & Duberley, 2000, p. 8).  Project leaders can draw upon arguments of classical and modern epistemologists like Plato, John Locke, and Richard Feldman to develop epistemology awareness.  As Plato suggests in Meno, once a project leader begins to enquire, he or she becomes better and braver and less helpless (Jowett, 2000).

Views of Knowledge

The traditional analysis of knowledge (TAK) suggests that an individual can develop propositional, familiarity, and ability knowledge as long as the conditions contain truth and belief (Feldman, 2003).  The Standard View provides a common sense approach to various kinds of knowledge while providing individual knowledge sources to include expert testimony, memory, perception, introspection, reasoning, and rational insight (Feldman, 2003).  Although the Standard View provides a general explanation of epistemology, not all epistemologists agree on the rules of knowledge validation.  Skeptics, like Chuang Tzu, challenge the Standard View’s common sense approach, arguing that everyday judgments do not constitute knowledge (Cooper, 1999).  Furthermore, the Naturalists dispute methods used to justify true beliefs as well as individual thinking and reasoning, whereas the Evidentialists argue that knowledge must contain evidence to satisfy the conditions of knowledge.

Each individual’s knowledge differs from another’s because of his or her values, beliefs, religion, morals, backgrounds, genes, and culture.  These differences affect the views of what constitutes knowledge and validates a true belief.  Despite such differences, all individuals have the capacity for knowledge and can know things without prior learning (Cooper, 1999). 

Justified True Belief

            Although many implications affect justified true beliefs, experience provides influential opportunities.  A project leader can create experience for him or her as well as for followers to create future knowledge.  Combined with reason and language, experience creates validated knowledge.  Plato identifies that innate knowledge lies within all individuals’ minds, and through experience and senses, the mind captures and recalls events to create knowledge (Cooper, 1999).  Marquis’ (1996) discussion about the brain also supports Locke and Plato by identifying that the mind, despite differences in layout, recalls what an individual already knows through experience.  Although experience is a primary knowledge source, epistemologist David Hume argues that an individual cannot solely rely on experience to predict an event not yet experienced (Johnson & Duberley, 2000).  Furthermore, too much reliance on experience can hinder an individual’s awareness of the current situation and future opportunities. 

Project leaders rely on many forms of knowledge to justify their knowledge; however, the knowledge they use may not satisfy truth and belief.  Understanding epistemology prompts project leaders to question other forms of knowledge like published data achieved through scientific methods.  Although Evidentialists require tangible evidence to provide justifications, many times the data itself can contain errors because of the methods, sample size, and presentation of findings.  People often form mistaken beliefs because they do not have or do not know relevant rules, or interpret the information differently than was intended (Feldman, 2003).  Developing an awareness of justified true beliefs can improve a project leader’s knowledge and the knowledge applied to daily decisions like implementing crashing or fast-tracking strategies to address resource shortfalls while meeting deadlines.

Purpose of Project Management Knowledge

            Knowledge is “not a possession of lots of facts but of a capacity to understand and explain, to fit things together and into the wider picture” (Cooper, 1999, p. 14).  Project leaders can apply knowledge to achieve project success and create knowledge to improve the project team’s performance as well as the profession.   

Project Knowledge Benefits

Knowledge “presupposes values and beliefs, and is closely connected with action” (Tsoukas, 2005, p. 120).  Many industries establish knowledge to develop a common understanding and foundation for professionals to follow.  An individual’s level of knowledge measured through his or her ability to effectively perform required actions separates an expert and a novice, a leader from his or her followers, and a successful project leader from an unsuccessful one.  Without knowledge, a project leader cannot gain trust and commitment from the followers to achieve project deadlines and goals.  Knowledge not only provides individual benefits, but also creates organizational value, competitive advantages, and opportunities for innovation and improvement. 

Project Knowledge Challenges

Early and modern epistemologists focus on individual knowledge. Tsoukas (2005) goes one-step further by identifying differences between individual and organizational knowledge, where the latter provides a common understanding for everyone within the organization.  Organizational knowledge provides collective understandings and experiences among the individuals within the organization in order to operate (Tsoukas, 2005).

Establishing organizational knowledge becomes challenging when trying to obtain tacit knowledge from individual workers.  A worker develops tacit knowledge through experience; however, because this knowledge cannot easily translate explicitly, the knowledge remains within the individual’s mind.  Tacit knowledge contains many hidden values that could improve efficiencies within the organization.  If an organization does not encourage explicit translation or sharing of tacit knowledge, when the worker leaves the knowledge also leaves.  Developing knowledge creation strategies can mitigate organizational challenges specially in a balanced-matrix organization where resources are shared. 

Enhance the Project Management Profession

            The continuous knowledge creation process occurs at all levels within the organization using tacit and explicit knowledge (Nonaka & Nishiguchi, 2001).  Nonaka and Nishiguchi (2001) identify four modes to sharing knowledge between workers: socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization (SECI).  Along with internal knowledge creation, using resources like the Project Management Institute (PMI®), can provide professionals and organizations with best practices, certifications, and networks to develop further knowledge about the project management profession. 

Organizational Knowledge Creation

Project leaders not only use knowledge but they also influence knowledge creation for the profession and their organization.  Knowing the value of knowledge, project leaders should encourage individual and organizational knowledge creation.  To increase a project leader’s knowledge, the project leader should develop opportunities and participate in different leading situations to develop experiences for future knowledge recollection.  Knowledge creation on an individual level and organizational level can strengthen the team to achieve project goals.

Project leaders should also create opportunities for workers to increase their knowledge.  By improving worker knowledge, organizational processes and efficiencies improve.  Nonaka and Nishiguchi (2001) suggest that because of the differences among individuals within a project team, applying shukko (employee transfer) and worker interactions through the SECI process will allow individuals to share tacit and explicit knowledge.  To benefit from tacit and explicit knowledge, team members involved with a project must interpret, internalize, and understand different issues, circumstances, and situations related to the organization or project (Koskinen, 2004).  Shukko transfers employees between teams or organizations allowing the individual to gain new insights about the operation and environment he or she enters to increase knowledge of his or her current position.  The SECI process encourages face-to-face communication and interaction to share or convert tacit and explicit knowledge between the organization’s workers through strategies like apprenticeships, meetings, and development of diagrams and models (Nonaka & Nishiguchi, 2001).  Thus, project members can use shukko and SECI process strategies to develop a better understanding of stakeholder expectations.   

Co-evolution offers another opportunity to develop the organization’s knowledge.  As the ninth knowledge area in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ® Guide) – Fourth Edition, project procurement and contract relationships commonly form to achieve project deliverables (PMI®, 2008).  The project team establishes working relationships with various vendors and suppliers to fill the organization’s knowledge gaps.  Thus, knowledge creation will sustain project effectiveness when created by the project leader, and implemented within the organization, the project team, and the project management profession.

Opportunities in the Project Management Profession

            The Project Management profession uses the PMBOK® Guide to provide a foundation, which includes five process groups throughout the project lifecycle – planning, initiating, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.  Project leaders must also have knowledge about the activities within each of the nine knowledge areas to guide the project throughout its lifecycle, which includes integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk, and procurement.  The PMBOK® Guide serves as a guide, defining established methods, processes, practices, and related concepts for the project management life cycle (PMI®, 2008).  Industry professionals recognize these guidelines and identify such application as good practice, in that they apply to most projects and can enhance chances of success (PMI®, 2008). 

The PMI® (2011) website offers project management professional certifications like the Project Management Professional (PMP®), which recognizes knowledge and competency through a complex test that implements the highest levels of knowledge evaluation by Blooms Taxonomy.  The certification requires an individual to meet specific project management experience and educational hours prior to taking the test.  Once achieved, the certification requires holders to earn professional development units continuously to maintain an active certification.  Although epistemologists may argue about the validity such certification provides of an individual’s true knowledge, to professionals within the project management profession the certification provides a common awareness that the individual understands the PMBOK® Guide and can apply the knowledge to lead a project.  The PMI® (2011) website also provides communities of practice, research programs, and professional development opportunities.  Project management professionals can develop their knowledge and contribute to the profession’s knowledge through PMI®’s services. 

Knowledge Evaluation of a Project Management Professional

As Tsoukas (2005) suggests, not only do project leaders not know enough, but they do not know what a project leader needs to know.  Until he or she encounters a situation that requires specific knowledge, a leader can assume that the knowledge for one instant provides enough knowledge for all instances.  Therefore, experiencing different projects and leadership situations provides awareness of what a project leader knows and needs to know.  Furthermore, even if a leader’s knowledge of project management concepts based on the PMBOK® Guide may meet the standards to achieve a PMP® certification, application of Project Management within the project environment may need further development.  Maintaining a membership with the PMI® provides resources to increase knowledge, while the certification requires achievement of development units to gain new knowledge.  Experience along with education and networking will allow project managers and leaders knowledge to grow.

Furthermore, looking beyond current boundaries between teams, among different organizations, and across industries and countries, develops new knowledge that can guide further enquiry into current knowledge as well as lead toward innovative development.  Project leaders “become reflective practitioners when [they] both unreflectively carry out [their] research tasks to generate new knowledge about organizational phenomena of interest and engage in discussions about the validity of our knowledge claims” (Tsoukas, 2005, p. 333).  Continuous knowledge enquiry will sustain competitive advantage and professional standards. 

Conclusion

A project leader’s role in gaining follower commitment and trust influences project success.  The complexity of epistemology and diversity of project leadership knowledge require project professionals to develop knowledge about the profession and the current project.  Project leaders need to encourage participation and communication, not only to share tacit and explicit knowledge but to increase individual experience within the various aspects of the project lifecycle to enrich project team knowledge while creating organizational knowledge. 

Project leaders should maximize and diversify all leadership experiences.  In addition, joining institutes and communities of practice like the PMI® provides a resource for project leaders to obtain, maintain, and contribute to their level of knowledge as well as the profession’s knowledge.  Providing early opportunities to lead means that, once an individual becomes a project leader, he or she would have more knowledge to recall during leadership situations.  By knowing, a project leader can create individual knowledge as well as knowledge for the project team, the organization, and the profession.  Thus, knowledge gained today may not be enough for tomorrow’s success so project leaders must pursue continuous inquiry and lifelong learning. 


References

  • Cooper, D. E. (Ed.). (1999). Epistemology: The classic readings. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
  • Feldman, R. (2003). Epistemology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  • Johnson, P., & Duberley, J. (2000). Understanding management research: An introduction to epistemology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.
  • Jowett, B. (2000). (Trans.) Meno by Plato. The Internet Classics Archive. Retrieved from http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/meno.html
  • Koskinen, K. U. (2004). Knowledge management to improve project communication and implementation. Project Management Journal, 35(2), 13-19. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.
  • Marquis, J. (1996). Our emotions: Why we feel the way we do; new advances are opening our subjective inner worlds to objective study. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from ProQuest database.
  • Nonaka, I., & Nishiguchi, T. (Eds.). (2001). Knowledge emergence: Social, technical, and evolutionary dimensions of knowledge creation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
  • Project Management Institute. (2008). A guide to the project management body of knowledge: (PMBOK Guide) – Fourth Edition. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc.
  • Project Management Institute. (2011). About Us. Retrieved from http://www.pmi.org/About-Us/About-Us-What-is-PMI.aspx
  • Tsoukas, H. (2005). Complex knowledge: Studies in organizational epistemology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.