Project success is …

There a endless articles and books about project leadership (including my own, of course :-)) that explain why and how leadership is one of the key ingredients for success.  In my own book I outline five leadership principles for project success – building vision, nurture collaboration, promote performance, cultivate learning, ensure results.  There is one common denominator of these principles:  They all deal with individuals, people, teams.  In other words, project leadership and project success are not merely technical in nature.  They include a human element.  This must not be missing if your interested in success.

True leadership accounts for the core element in project teams: the human factor.  It is about us!

InspirationBut leadership is not so much about managing people, it is about inspiring individuals for a common cause and vision.  Without this inspiration it is difficult to unleash individual and group energy which again is key ingredient for creativity, innovation, productivity and happiness.  Having said this it is not sufficient to motivate individuals in your team.  You have dig deeper, find out what motivates them intrinsically.  Inspire them and empower them to unleash and use their energy for their own benefit and the benefit of the community we call project team.

Project success formula

Hence, we have to expand our project success formula and state: project leadership + inspiration = success.