The private life of project managers - the social struggle

Abstract

The Private Life of Project Managers is a conceptual paper that takes a Darwinian approach to the concepts, practices, and behaviours of project managers. It contends that evolutionary science can help understand why project managers do what they do, and why they sometimes engage in convoluted, intricate, and occasionally devious or contradictory activities. This conference paper examines some of the day-to-day habits of the modern project manager and of their group behaviour, and how these lead to their survival and advancement in the complex corporate world rather than making a direct positive impact on the project. The intention of the paper is to make the case for a new way of thinking about project managers and their projects which embraces their human fallibilities and the often unpredictable nature of their project work.