Powering Projects Through the People Element
If you’re getting to grips with PRINCE2 7th Edition, you know it’s a powerful framework. It delivers structured and clear projects.
Leadership takes center stage, specifically through the lens of the new People element. PRINCE2 has always been about processes and principles. But, the 7th Edition puts people front and center. It recognizes that projects don’t succeed without engaged, motivated teams.
So, how does leadership fit into this people-focused approach, and how does it align with PRINCE2’s principles?
The People Element: Where Leadership Shines
PRINCE2’s 7th Edition introduces the People element as a core part of the methodology, emphasizing that projects are human endeavors. It’s not just about tasks, timelines, or budgets—it’s about the people who make it all happen.
The People element focuses on building effective teams, fostering collaboration, and ensuring everyone is aligned with the project’s goals.
Leadership is the heartbeat of this element, weaving through every aspect of PRINCE2 to inspire, guide, and empower teams.
Leadership in PRINCE2 isn’t about being the boss or sticking rigidly to a plan. It’s about behaviors like decision-making, communication, and motivation, aligning with the People element and PRINCE2’s seven principles.
The principles include continued business justification and learning from experience. They also involve defined roles and responsibilities and managing by stages. Additionally, they focus on managing by exception, focusing on products, and tailoring to suit the project environment.
Let’s see how these leadership behaviors work with the People element. Real-world examples show how they bring PRINCE2 to life and make it relatable.
Leadership Behaviors and the People Element in PRINCE2
The People element emphasizes creating a supportive, inclusive environment where teams can thrive. Leadership behaviors like empathy, clear communication, and adaptability are critical to making this happen.
Let’s see how these behaviors align with PRINCE2’s principles and the People element.
Continued Business Justification: Leading with Vision
The principle of continued business justification ensures a project remains viable and aligned with its goals. In the People element, leadership means inspiring the team by connecting their work to the project’s purpose. This approach keeps everyone motivated and engaged.
Imagine you’re leading a project to implement a new HR system for a company. When budget concerns arise, some team members worry about the project’s future.
As a leader, you revisit the business case, showing how the system will streamline hiring and boost employee satisfaction. You hold a team meeting to share this vision, explaining how their work contributes to the company’s goals.
By connecting the project’s purpose with the team’s efforts, you keep high morale. This also strengthens the People element’s focus on engagement.
Learn from Experience: Leading with Openness
PRINCE2 encourages learning from past projects, and the People element stresses creating a culture where feedback is valued. Leadership here means modeling openness, encouraging the team to share lessons learned, and using those insights to improve.
Suppose you’re managing a project to redesign a company website, and an earlier project stalled due to unclear requirements. You start the project with a workshop.
You invite the team to discuss past challenges. They suggest improvements, like using a shared requirements document.
You foster a safe space for honest feedback. This approach aligns with the People element’s emphasis on collaboration. It also promotes continuous improvement and builds trust within the team.
Defined Roles and Responsibilities: Leading with Clarity
Clear roles are a PRINCE2 staple, and the People element highlights the importance of guaranteeing everyone understands their responsibilities. As a leader, you offer clarity, resolve overlaps, and ensure the team feels supported in their roles.
Suppose you have a project to launch a new product, the marketing team and the design team clash. They argue over who owns the branding decisions. You step in.
You clarify each team’s role based on the project plan. You set up regular check-ins to keep communication flowing. By addressing confusion and fostering collaboration, you support the People element’s goal of effective team dynamics.
Manage by Stages: Leading with Focus and Support
PRINCE2’s stage-based approach keeps projects manageable, and the People element emphasizes supporting the team through each stage. Leadership means keeping the team focused on current tasks while providing encouragement to sustain momentum.
Suppose you’re overseeing a multi-stage project to open a new retail store. During the planning stage, some team members start stressing about the grand opening.
You redirect their focus to the current stage—securing permits—and celebrate milestones, like getting council approval, to boost morale.
This aligns with the People element by keeping the team motivated and supported through clear, stage-specific leadership.
Manage by Exception: Leading with Empowerment
This principle allows teams to work independently within set tolerances, escalating issues only when necessary. The People element encourages empowering teams. Leadership means trusting your team. It also involves being ready to make tough calls when needed.
Suppose in your software development project, the coding team hits a snag with a critical feature, risking a schedule overrun. You trust the team lead to propose a solution, like reallocating resources to meet the deadline.
When they escalate the issue, you make a swift decision to approve overtime for key developers. This balance of empowerment and decisive action reflects the People element’s focus on trust and collaboration.
Focus on Products: Leading with Purpose and Quality
PRINCE2’s focus on products ensures deliverables meet requirements, and the People element emphasizes motivating teams to deliver quality. As a leader, you inspire the team to rank the end product’s purpose, even under pressure.
Suppose you’re leading a project to create an employee training portal. As deadlines loom, the team considers skipping user testing to save time.
You remind them of the portal’s purpose—effective training—and negotiate a small extension with stakeholders to guarantee quality. By keeping the team focused on the product’s value, you align with the People element’s emphasis on purpose-driven work.
Tailor to Suit the Project Environment: Leading with Flexibility
PRINCE2 is meant to be tailored, and the People element encourages adapting to the team’s needs and project context. Leadership means being flexible while maintaining the framework’s integrity, ensuring the team feels supported in a customized environment.
Suppose you’re managing a small internal project to update office software. Instead of using full PRINCE2 documentation, you streamline reports to suit the project’s scale.
You explain the changes to the team. This keeps them aligned. This tailored approach supports the People element by creating a process that feels manageable and relevant to the team’s needs.
Leadership Behaviors in the People Element
The People element in PRINCE2 7th Edition calls for leadership behaviors that foster collaboration, trust, and engagement.
Here’s how they play out:
Empathy: You listen to your team’s concerns. These concerns may include workload stress or role confusion. You tackle them to build a supportive environment.
Communication: Clear, transparent communication is essential. It ensures everyone understands the project’s goals. Team members can see their roles and how their work fits into the bigger picture.
Motivation: You celebrate small wins, recognize contributions, and keep the team energized by connecting their efforts to the project’s purpose.
Decision-Making: You make informed, prompt decisions, balancing feedback from the team with the project’s objectives.
Adaptability: You tailor PRINCE2’s processes to fit the project and team, ensuring the framework supports rather than hinders progress.
A Real-World Scenario: Leadership in Action
Let’s bring it all together with a practical example. You’re leading a PRINCE2 project to roll out a new inventory system for a logistics company.
The project has a solid business case (improved efficiency), clear roles, and defined stages. But midway through, a key supplier delays a critical part, and the team’s morale takes a hit.
Drawing on the People element, you start by reinforcing the project’s purpose.
This continued business justification is achieved by holding a team huddle. The huddle serves to remind everyone how the system will save time and reduce errors.
You assist a lessons-learned session. You learn from experience to analyze why the supplier issue wasn’t anticipated. This leads to an update of the risk log. You clarify roles (defined roles and responsibilities) to make sure the procurement team takes the lead on supplier negotiations.
During the current stage (manage by stages), you keep the team focused on other tasks. These tasks include user training. This happens while the supplier issue is resolved.
You emphasize delivering a reliable system. You focus on products. You tailor the project plan. You adjust timelines to accommodate the delay without overloading the team.
Through it all, you communicate openly, acknowledge the team’s hard work, and show empathy for their frustrations. This people-centric leadership keeps the project on track and the team engaged, embodying the People element’s spirit.
The Way Ahead
PRINCE2 7th Edition’s People element puts leadership at the heart of project success. By blending behaviors like empathy, communication, and adaptability with PRINCE2’s principles, you create an environment where teams feel valued.
This environment also ensures that projects thrive. It’s not just about following a framework—it’s about leading with heart, inspiring your team, and navigating challenges together.
The message? As you take on your next PRINCE2 project, focus on the People element!
