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ponent of daily life. Team members must feel comfortable working in a multidisciplinary team environment and to a great extent the leader is responsible for doing everything possible to create a positive atmosphere of teamwork and trust within the team to facilitate project ownership by all team members. On occasion, the position of project leadership is a lightning rod for senior management as they look for an outlet to vent their frustrations when things go astray during the long drug development process. Under these circumstances, it might be fairly easy for a project leader to pass the buck to someone else, particularly if the reason for management's frustration can be traced to a miscalculation or oversight by one of the team members. It is important, however, that the leader avoid the temptation to point fingers and instead share responsibility collectively with the team. |
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This does not mean that a project leader covers up improper or inexcusable actions or decision making; it does mean, however, striving to create an enthusiastic and productive team environment where team members experience the support provided by the project leader and are encouraged to support one another, even under adverse or uncomfortable circumstances. |
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The successful leader is the individual who basks in the accomplishments of others and in fact goes out of the way to ensure proper recognition of all team members, particularly when significant project accomplishments or milestones are achieved. A key working tenet should be that if any one team member is successful, then as a consequence the whole team including the project leader is also successful; it is inappropriate that all positive attention is directed to the project leader. |
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Another important characteristic of a successful project leader is the ability to accept criticism constructively and to maturely use feedback from others as input to improve personal performance. This is not always easy to do. It is understandable to rationalize away personal criticism as not being justified or feeling that this kind of input is misdirected and should more appropriately be focused on someone else. This, however, is not productive and the leader must possess the courage and maturity to honestly evaluate the source and basis of the personal criticism and decide whether or not to implement any changes in behavior as a result of the comments. |
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There are times during the development process when a project leader must dissociate from the project and objectively assess whether or not the project's value still justifies being kept in the portfolio. Being an advocate for a project is certainly admirable. However, this must be done responsibly. When it is time to assess a project's worth, the project leader must ensure that the team is as prepared as possible with all the relevant facts and data. |
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