EXCERPT FOUR With project management professionals utilising best practices in project and programme management in their organisations, there is evidence that project success rates have improved in the last few years. Project managers have mastered implementing project management methodologies, leveraging advancement in technologies as applied in useful project management and team collaboration tools and techniques. However, even with improved project success rates and more technologically advanced tools and techniques to help improve team productivity, organisations today still face many complex challenges in setting and achieving their strategic goals. One big challenge is coming from the lack or weakness of leadership in the organisation. To be successful in implementing their strategic goals through projects and programmes, organisations need effective leaders. Organisations need to have successful project/programme managers who are also effective leaders. Project management is different from leadership. Successful project managers may not be effective leaders. By understanding the difference between project management and leadership and taking the path to become effective leaders, successful project managers can utilise their innovative and creative skills to enable them to develop leadership skills that will complement their project management abilities. Although there is an expectation for project managers to be leaders, project management and leadership are two different things. Being a successful project manager, delivering successful projects consistently, does not mean that one is a successful leader. Successful Although project management is different from leadership, there is some commonality between the two. The performance of a project manager and the effectiveness of a leader are both measured in terms of the performance of the followersthe performance of the team. Hence, focus on team performance is a very important aspect in developing leadership skills for project managers. The most essential leadership skills for the project manager start with motivating and inspiring teams and individualsnegotiating and communicating skills, listening and influencing skills, and team building with emphasis on improving team performance. Project management is defined (PMI) as the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. Kotter (1988) defined effective leadership as the process of moving a group of followers in some direction through mostly non-coercive means and producing movement in the long-term best interests of the group. Gardner (1990),defined leadership as the process of persuasion or example by which an individual induces a group of followers to pursue common objectives.1.2 Critically discuss the following statement: Project management is different from leadership(20)