Who makes decisions in a project management team? There are different types of leadership in project management. The type of leadership determines the interaction of the project leader and the team members. It also affects the decision-making capabilities of the group.
There are four types of decision-making techniques used in project management. These include (1) unanimity, (2) majority, (3) plurality and (4) dictatorship. Unanimity is a type of decision making wherein every member of the group agrees with the same decision and that everyone should have a unison agreement. Majority means that at least half of the group members agree on the same result to make the decision for the name of the group. On the other hand, plurality means that the group can make the decision even if 50% of the group vote is not required. The decision is usually taken by the biggest block of people that agree with the same result. Lastly, dictatorship involves only one individual with authority to make the decision for the entire group.
Thus, dictatorship is a type of leadership when one person makes the decision for the entire group. In ideal situations, it is important for the project leader to listen to the entire team and accept suggestions. The project leader can then work on the suggestions to create quick yet effective decisions to keep the pace of the project smooth.
Unfortunately, when the project leader is headstrong and does not accept suggestions from the team members, he or she can become a dictator. With a dictatorship, there is always a high risk for the project to lead to failure. Brainstorming ideas are beneficial in project management and a dictatorship leader does not promote the creativity of its team members. The project leader distances himself or herself from the team members thus affecting the cooperation of the rest of the team. Moreover, the project leader is also solely accountable for the problems that may arise during the project life cycle.
This term is defined in the 5th edition of the PMBOK.