Why Projects and Project Leaders Matter

I love being a project manager because I see it as so much more than a job. As I’ve discussed before, it feels like a set of superpowers that makes me a borderline superhero. But these fantastical terms are really a metaphor for the tremendous down-to-earth value we as project leaders provide. In case talking in down-to-earth terms resonates more with you or the people you work with, I want to talk about that actual value today.

Why projects matter

Projects are important for many reasons. Today I’d like to focus on two reasons I find particularly significant.

1. Projects solve hard problems.

The first is that a project is the essential method to solve any problem with any complexity (see previous post, “What is a Project?”). A problem you can solve on your own doesn’t need many of the elements of a professional project. But as soon as we’re talking about a problem that requires other people, you will need a clear goal, a clear plan with timelines, excellent communication, considerations of cost, considerations of what could go wrong, and a way to manage all these elements together.

In short, you need a project. 

For example, if you’d like to address the problem of neighborhood crime, you might start a political campaign for somebody with smart policy solutions. Or you could start an annual block party to deepen mutual neighborhood support or open a nonprofit to help meet the needs of individuals who might otherwise commit the crimes in question. All of these would be projects undertaken to solve a problem. And all of them require the efforts of many people to be coordinated to meet a stated goal. 

These factors are  just as true if not more so for businesses because a business only really exists if it is effectively solving problems for its customers. If a business takes on projects to identify customer problems, identify solutions it can offer, and package those solutions in a way that provides enough benefit to the customer, it is on a likely path to success.

2. More work is happening in project form.

Which leads to the second major reason projects matter, especially right now: a greater percentage of business activities happen within projects than in the past, as this article from Reuters explains.

One driver of this shift is that projects are an ideal change-response mechanism. If you think of a change in your customers, in the economy, in technology, etc. as a new problem (or opportunity), you need a project to create a new solution to solve that problem or exploit that opportunity. In a world with increasing complexity and change, businesses comfortable with projects and the adaptation they facilitate will see the greatest success.

Why project leaders matter

This is where YOU come in, project leader! There are abundant opportunities to solve problems that are meaningful to the world, or to your employer, or to you. When you step in with your managing superpowers, you can help grow an idea into a tangible result.

Few projects have played out in the public eye in recent years as much as the development of COVID-19 vaccines. Obviously, all the scientists involved did an incredible, unprecedented job. But I couldn’t help but cheer on the project leaders from the sidelines. It was project leadership skills that figured out what steps needed to happen in what order, where there were creative opportunities to do things faster while preserving safety, where major financial investment in projects with many unknowns would be worthwhile, and how to facilitate communication among many companies, nonprofits, and governments around the world. 

Project managers and other project leaders made it possible.

Leading projects is hard. But through the right lens, the difficulty can be a benefit to you. It means you have a meaningful role to play. It means you have something to be really proud of when you’re doing it well. And it means, more than anything, the world needs more and more people like you.