Scenario

You are an experienced civil engineer who has worked on many highway and infrastructure projects over your career. You have seen excellent project managers and some who were rather ineffective.

Your company's Director of Human Resources has asked you to be on the hiring committee for a new project manager who will be leading large teams working on complex projects (aqueducts, dams, sewage treatment plants, etc.). The HR director emphasized the need for a good leader.

The two final candidates are almost equal - on paper. Below are excerpts from what they said during their third interviews when the hiring committee asked them to sum up their experience in a few words. (Note: These candidates and projects are entirely fictitious.)

Candidate A: "I pride myself on having led several large, high-profile projects, including the Athabasca Aqueduct back in 1997, the Eagle Bay Groundwater Replenishment System in 2003, and the Rocky Mountain Tunnel project in 2010. I have led teams of between 50 and 100 people (not to mention subcontractors) and delivered 90 percent of my projects on time and within budget. I am very confident in my ability to use resources - both people and materials - very efficiently. I've done nearly all the front-line jobs myself at some point in my life and feel very strongly that making sure everyone is fully trained and confident in their abilities will lead to greater success. When I work on a project, I take full ownership - it's MY project as much as it is my company's project. I try to make everyone on my team see the vision and embrace it as much as I do."

Candidate B: "I've had a long career leading several rather significant projects, including the Central Oklahoma International Airport in 1998, the Beresford Nuclear Plant in 1975, and of course I can't forget the Twin Cities Rapid Transit Overhaul project back in 2006. I really believe in fully embracing my projects - even if I don't initially agree with a stakeholder's idea, I take it back to my team and treat it as if I dreamed it up myself. I'm very effective at getting my folks to deliver 100% on their commitments. Projects simply get DONE - maybe 85 or 90 percent of the time. When I do go over on budget or time, it's not by much. I also believe in training and then more training. That's the best way to get everyone up to speed on whatever they're responsible for doing. I think this is one reason why my folks repeatedly say they'll follow me on just about any project."

Question:

please discuss the following question: Which one of these two candidates would make a better leader? and why?