Project Value Delivery sponsors Jeremie Averous’s new book, ‘Project Soft Power’, which will now be published very soon (the final production process has started). In this blog post as well as in 6 weekly sequels leading to the book’s publication, we will share with you what is Project Soft Power and why it is important to the world of project management for large, complex projects.
We don’t have today a consistent framework that allows a reliable project delivery, in particular when it comes to complex projects (those projects that involve many inter-related contributors that all have different aims and interests).
Project Management failure statistics from Cranfield University
Although much progress has been done in the past decades to formalize specific tools around project management, the percentage of projects that fail outright or that does not deliver the expected value is staggering (depending on the sources, between 60 to 80% of projects). And research shows that it does not significantly improve through the careful use of processes described in thick manuals, and the increasing number of certified professionals in the use of these processes.
What is then the difference that makes project delivery a more reliable endeavour? Based on our experience and research, we believe it is ‘Project Soft Power’, or the application of personal and inter-personal skills to project management. Project Soft Power is deeply rooted in emotional work.
First of all, the “project manager” should not manage; she should lead. An unknown situation cannot be managed; we can only lead through it. Thus we have have decided from now on to use ‘Project Leader’ instead of ‘Project Manager’. In the Collaborative Age, the manager, a concept from the Industrial Age, will be obsolete anyway.
Still wondering who are these Project Soft Power characters?
We have identified 5 main Project Soft Power skills that correspond to the following roles:
- the SPIDER (weaving its network)
- the KUNG FU MASTER (executing through focus and discipline)
- the ENTREPRENEUR (able to invest upfront and defer instant gratification to reap later returns)
- the TEAM COACH (building an effective team)
- the PEOPLE CATALYST (unleashing the talents of the individuals)
In the next weeks we will publish on a weekly basis a description of each of these roles. Get ready for a mind-changing description of success factors in project leadership!
