Lessons from the top

APM’s Project journal has been privy to some of the best leadership and project management advice from those at the very top of the profession. If you’re in need of some pithy advice or inspiration to get through those difficult days, then read on.

Avoid a siege mentality

”I probably shouldn’t share this, but I once worked on a project that failed. We had a great team who would do anything for each other. The projec team even had a unique brand. The strong identity and mutual support within the team created a ‘them and us’ culture when faced with challenges. Unfortunately, the users became the ‘them’ and we had lost our purpose. Watch out for it, especially as high-performing teams could be most at risk”, Andy Murray, Executive Director, Major Projects Association.

Networking is underrated

“I think networking should be part of people’s [employment] contract. If you do it in the right way, you never know who you’re going to meet that’s going to make a huge difference to you, your project, or whatever you’re doing”, Dr Yvonne Thompson, President, APM

Every day matters

“Initial mobilisation of a project is always slower than you expect. People think that decisions will be made faster and resources will arrive more quickly than they do. But if you don’t maintain the attitude that every day matters, you can easily lose time that you will struggle to recover later on”, Adrian Baguley, Chief Project Delivery Officer, the MoD.

Be transparent and own the whole

“Collaboration isn’t enough; you need to transition to ‘owning the whole’, where people realise that their own success or failure – and that of the project as a whole—is dependent on the success or failure of everyone else involved. It calls for total transparency on risk”, Mark Wild, ex-CEO of Crossrail.

Be clear on your project’s ‘why’

“Identify and define benefits, assign owners and write a pithy sentence or two about the benefits of your project. Add them to steering group papers and other key documents as a reminder of the big picture. This keeps everyone focused on why we’re all working so hard to deliver. Be clear on your project’s ‘how’ – gathering requirements is key: great business analysis gets to the heart of what’s needed and provides solid foundations for a project’s scope. It’s all too easy to be pressured into jumping for premature solutions. Resist!”, Rachel Baldwin, Head of Programme and Project Delivery, BBC.

Understand your personality

“Good leadership is personality driven, but it can vary greatly from person to person. This does not mean one personality type is worse or better, but it is important that an individual leader recognises the type of leader they are and their strengths and weaknesses. We can then try to improve on those weaknesses or have other people on our leadership team that complement our own weaknesses, or a combination of both. Good leaders will also be good listeners. We will have a vision of what they want to accomplish or a direction of where they are going, but this vision cannot be deaf to the opinions around them. I have always said a good manager needs to have a “bartenders” ear. It is extremely important to hear those around you on your team and be open minded. Listening is an art that must continually be practiced,” Bill Ochs, Project Manager, James Webb Space Telescope, NASA.

Be courageous

”Believe in your own ability and have the courage to make difficult decisions. As a modern leader, you should be inclusive and involve others in designing and decisioning but, at the end of the day, you need to make some of the decisions yourself. You do not need to be everyone’s friend – you need to be respected,” Dame Inga Beale, former CEO, Lloyds of London.

Be clear on what’s required

“Ensure expectations of delivery and service levels are understood, tried and tested before implementation. Build close working relationships with delivery teams to ensure understanding, capability and capacity are in place for delivery, “ Annie Hairsine, Director of Strategic Programmes and Executive Office, Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022.

People make projects happen

“It sounds obvious, but how many times has process bogged you down and systems not delivered for you? It is the project teams that provide the human energy and drive to make projects happen, and the adoption of AI will make this even more important and give us more thinking time to make the right decisions,” Sue Kershaw, former APM President, and Senior Vice President, Program Management Executive, at Aecom.