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Leadership Principles for Project Managers
Research Paper Assignment
Conducting a literature review is always the first step of any research project. If the literature review
does not produce a satisfactory answer to the question you’re interested in, then that question itself
becomes a research question and the researcher has to think about what data to collect, how to process
it and how to interpret the results. It is often the case that knowledge workers (you) work
simultaneously on more than one research project, so it is not unusual to do a literature review on one
topic, work on an experimental design for another, and collect, analyze, and report data for yet another
project. In this assignment, we will focus on data analysis and reporting.
The research question we are asking this semester is this: “Are the competencies presented in the
Meta-Tool ordered the way they are presented there?
Experiment setup and data
Since its creation, in 2011, the Meta-Tool has been used to help project managers realize the
importance of developing their competencies. The 14 competencies shown in the Meta-Tool were
ordered in what the researchers believed to be the sequence of their leadership progression. However,
this particular assumption has never been validated.
Lately, we have collected data on leadership levels and the competencies selected. While the
competencies were selected by the Meta-Tool, the hypothesis is that the difference in perception of the
future are influencing the outcome to an extent that is perceivable in the hierarchy of competencies.
If this hypothesis is true, what we expect to see is a change in the frequency of selection from technical
competencies, through management, cognitive, and leadership. In other words, for level 1 participants
(L1), the maximum frequency would be around the technical competencies and it would decrease
towards the leadership competencies, while for L4, the maximum will be in the leadership area, with
very little in the technical competences. L2 and L3 would peak somewhere between those two extreme
values.
The results we received are presented in figure 1.
The correlations between the various competencies at each level are shown in figures 2 to 5.
The numbers in parentheses represent the number of participants at that leadership level. The Excel file
containing the full data set is downloadable from BBd.
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Figure 1. Percent of Competencies by Leadership Level
Correlation L1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1. Multi-disciplined 1.00
2. Technology savvy .00 1.00
3. Business Insight .27 .07 1.00
4. Project Management .61 -.11 .36 1.00
5. Knowledge Networks .44 .20 .00 .00 1.00
6. Monitors Risk .07 -.30 .12 -.06 .07 1.00
7. Complex Decisions .27 .22 -.24 -.07 .27 -.12 1.00
8. Emotional Maturity .40 .00 .17 .26 .16 .32 .17 1.00
9. Communicates well -.18 .05 -.23 -.35 .00 -.03 .23 .35 1.00
10. Diverse Thinking .16 -.26 .17 .00 .16 .32 .17 .40 .35 1.00
11. Builds Relationships .40 -.26 -.17 .00 .16 .05 -.17 .10 .12 .10 1.00
12. Engages others -.41 -.05 -.16 -.43 -.24 .06 .16 .19 .67 .41 -.04 1.00
13. Mentors people -.15 -.12 .55 .36 -.15 -.11 -.55 -.09 -.27 -.09 -.09 -.23 1.00
14. Builds trust .40 -.26 .17 .26 .16 .05 -.17 .10 -.12 .10 .70 -.26 .47 1.00
Figure 2. Pearson Correlations between competencies at Level 1 (n=24).
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percent of Competencies by Leadership Level
L1(24) L2(38) L3(17) L4(11)
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Correlation L2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1. Multi-disciplined 1.00
2. Technology savvy -.02 1.00
3. Business Insight .13 .09 1.00
4. Project Management .45 -.06 .17 1.00
5. Knowledge Networks -.03 .06 .01 .02 1.00
6. Monitors Risk .27 -.22 .27 .02 -.13 1.00
7. Complex Decisions .05 .25 .11 .10 -.27 -.01 1.00
8. Emotional Maturity -.18 .06 .14 -.32 .10 -.02 -.01 1.00
9. Communicates well -.23 .13 .16 -.07 .08 -.16 .13 .08 1.00
10. Diverse Thinking .12 -.08 .27 -.09 .32 .10 -.27 .10 .21 1.00
11. Builds Relationships -.16 -.20 .31 -.29 .25 .14 -.17 .48 .18 .37 1.00
12. Engages others -.02 -.23 .23 -.09 -.04 .18 .16 .07 .27 .40 .24 1.00
13. Mentors people -.19 -.02 .13 -.16 .27 -.03 -.31 .12 -.07 .27 .45 .12 1.00
14. Builds trust -.19 .17 .13 -.16 -.33 -.33 .05 .27 -.07 -.18 .14 -.02 .21 1.00
Figure 3. Pearson Correlations between competencies at Level 2 (n=38).
Correlation L3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1. Multi-disciplined 1.00
2. Technology savvy .19 1.00
3. Business Insight .04 .04 1.00
4. Project Management .30 .30 .60 1.00
5. Knowledge Networks .04 .04 -.13 .06 1.00
6. Monitors Risk -.44 .18 .43 .29 -.35 1.00
7. Complex Decisions -.11 .26 .36 .12 -.25 .52 1.00
8. Emotional Maturity -.44 -.13 -.35 -.45 .17 .29 -.03 1.00
9. Communicates well -.44 .16 -.03 .01 -.03 .32 -.19 .32 1.00
10. Diverse Thinking -.18 -.18 .35 .45 -.17 .18 -.25 -.29 .14 1.00
11. Builds Relationships -.21 -.21 .04 -.02 .04 .18 -.11 .49 -.14 .13 1.00
12. Engages others -.24 -.55 -.51 -.38 .02 -.41 -.46 .31 -.05 .17 .39 1.00
13. Mentors people 1.00
14. Builds trust .19 -.21 .04 -.34 .04 -.44 -.11 -.13 -.44 -.18 -.21 .07 1.00
Figure 4. Pearson Correlations between competencies at Level 3 (n=17).
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Correlation L4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1. Multi-disciplined 1.00
2. Technology savvy -.15 1.00
3. Business Insight -.15 -.22 1.00
4. Project Management .67 -.22 .39 1.00
5. Knowledge Networks -.24 .62 .13 -.36 1.00
6. Monitors Risk .67 -.22 .39 .39 .13 1.00
7. Complex Decisions .15 -.39 .22 .22 -.13 .22 1.00
8. Emotional Maturity -.29 .04 -.43 -.43 .07 -.43 -.04 1.00
9. Communicates well -.52 -.24 -.24 -.77 .04 -.24 .24 .56 1.00
10. Diverse Thinking -.22 .03 -.33 -.33 .05 -.33 -.39 .48 .42 1.00
11. Builds Relationships -.15 .39 -.22 -.22 .13 -.22 -.39 .52 .29 .75 1.00
12. Engages others -.24 .13 -.36 -.36 .21 -.36 .36 .07 .46 .34 .13 1.00
13. Mentors people 1.00
14. Builds trust -.10 -.15 .67 .67 -.24 -.15 .15 -.29 -.52 -.22 -.15 -.24 1.00
Figure 5. Pearson Correlations between competencies at Level 4 (n=11).
Your Assignment:
Write an analysis paper that answers the questions below. The paper shall have no introduction or
literature review. It will only present the questions below and your response and analysis (i.e. why is
your answer what it is. Each section of the paper will start with the question followed by an executive
level answer (what does “the boss” need to know) and more detailed analysis. Post as PDF attachment,
with your name and leadership level (L1 to L4) at the top of the paper.
1. How would Figure 1 look if our hypothesis would be absolutely right?
2. Is there any specific subset of competencies and levels for which the hypothesis might be
right?
3. What are the competencies for which the hypothesis seems to be wrong?
4. Why do you think the competency “13. Mentors people” is shown only for Levels 1 and 2?
5. What do the Pearson correlations in figures 2-5 tell you?
6. Looking at Page 1 of the Meta-Tool, you will notice that some competencies have more
chances to be selected (notably 7 and 9) than others (notably 13). How do you suggest we
take this fact into account in our results?
7. Are there any competencies that we can select as predictors of potential for a 9Box?
8. How confident can we be in the results we obtained? (ANOVA)
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9. What would be a “reasonable” level of confidence in our findings and how many data-points
would we need to collect to get it?
10. So-far we used a rather loose definition of levels. How would a more precise definition
influence the results?
11. Look at the definitions of leadership levels in Table 1. How would you change the definition of
your own level to match the understanding of leadership levels that you had prior to this
exercise?
Table 1. Four levels of leadership and their definitions.
Level 1 (directly contributing knowledge worker)
Solves technical problems (“has the right answers”)
Outcome of work is presented in technical documents (rather than policies)
Communicates directly mainly one-on-one and with the team.
Level 2 (Team leader)
Makes sure technical problems are answered by the right person (“has the right process to
have the right answers”)
Formally recognized (i.e. appointed or elected) as the leaders of a team.
Assigns and can delegate work to subordinates
Work is of different nature from subordinates
Communicates directly (one-on-one or with team)
Level 3 (Mid-level manager – can be at several hierarchical levels)
Asks the right questions.
Responsible for profit and loss (P&L) of the unit
Ultimate decision maker in hiring people (knowledge workers)
Has “skips” (L3’s direct reports have themselves direct reports).
Has specific responsibility for the processes in the unit.
Sometimes communicates through hierarchical channels (L2, other L3)
Level 4 (Senior Executive)
Makes sure the right questions are being asked and answered honestly.
Creates or identifies and follows up with new opportunities (new domains, new regions)
Delegates hiring (i.e. most of the hiring is done by somebody at level 3)
Communications target simultaneously multiple audiences.
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Mathematical / statistical knowledge you will find beneficial when attempting
to solve this research assignment (i.e. “how to connect the dots”)
Data manipulation
Function = relationship one Y for every X
Continuous function
Monotonous function
Inverse function
Lossless compression
Data normalization / Standardization
Logit / Probit transformations
Samples and Populations
Population vs sample
Distribution
Measurements of Central tendency
Central limit theorem
Measures of dispersion
Sum of Squares (SS)
Variance
Standard deviation
ANOVA
Linear models
Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method
Slope, Intercept, R2 and their interpretation
Pearson correlation and its relationship with R2
Testing Statistical Hypothesis
Causation vs. correlation
Experimental Control vs. Statistical control
Longitudinal study vs. cross-sectional study
Degrees of freedom
t, P, and z statistics
Small but statistically significant vs. statistically
significant but small.