Leadership in projects, programmes and portfolios: putting people at the heart of successful change
What is the difference between working on a project and leading a project (or programme/portfolio)? And what are the different challenges that need to be addressed and what competencies does this require?
Interviewed for a recent article on the topic in Information Week, the group CIO at cybersecurity consulting firm, NCC Group, Rebecca Fox, noted that a leader needs to “maintain oversight of strategic and operational priorities” and “delegate, inspire and drive execution” with only “occasional involvement in details”.
Another voice captured in the article that of Bill Bragg – CIO at AI technology developer, SymphonyAI – points to the critical group leaders should focus on: people. “Your goal is to remove obstacles and steer the ship towards success, growing the people (our italics) and business together.”
PRINCE2-accredited training organisation, pm-partners, is unequivocal in its advice about project leadership: “The quality of a project’s leadership is often the difference between success and failure…poor leadership can cause projects to become directionless and even negatively impact the team’s collaborative qualities and productivity.”
Leadership challenges in projects
So, what are the main challenges of a leadership role in projects and programmes?
The VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world we live in looms large for Carl Ivey, Executive Director at Texas A&M University, when highlighting project leadership challenges. However, the second place challenge he notes is people:
“It’s about creating a vision [for people] at a high level and explaining the ‘why’ at a lower level. This means spending more than 90% of the time communicating; acting as a translator and turning chaos into a manageable plan.”
And along with the leader helping people to “zoom out” and connect to the big picture, Ivey says the role involves “getting people to play nicely and collaborate”.
Emma Arnaz-Pemberton, Director of Consulting Services at Wellingtone, questions whether enough is done to support new leaders: “For those emerging in leadership roles there is a capability gap and a lack of managing expectations about what it means to lead/sponsor projects.”
And for existing leaders, she added, the challenges are driven by visibility and engagement of project teams in a remote working world. A tendency to micro-manage, sponsoring from afar and the pressure to do more with less has an impact, especially on “accidental project managers”.
Kanwal Nazim, now Principal Programme Manager at NSW Ministry of Health in Australia, was never an accidental project manager. Yet, starting her career at a very young age, she often found herself managing projects with colleagues far more experienced than herself - a challenge that shaped her leadership journey:
“It was about gaining people’s trust that helped me to jump into leadership as a programme manager – and that meant being open and vulnerable with my team.”
For example, when dealing with technical experts and a lack of specialist knowledge, Nazim wasn’t afraid to “put her hand up”. She’d observed this approach from a manager and mentor and recognised how well it worked in creating a family-like project environment.
Cultivating leadership skills
Being a “Lifelong learner” is perhaps not the most common description chosen by professionals on LinkedIn, but for Carl Ivey it’s one of the best ways to develop project and programme leadership skills.
“I can’t look like a deer in the headlights when I’m speaking to technology teams, for example, so I need to have a reading list to be plugged in, improve my knowledge and not slow people down. I owe it to them to be aware.” Courses, conferences and conversations are also in his armoury of ongoing leadership skills development.
Studying for a Master’s at the University of Sydney helped Nazim’s theoretical knowledge of project management – including prioritisation, risk management and stakeholder communication – plus some practical project work. In addition, studying for certifications including PRINCE2 Agile and PRINCE2 Programme Management (formerly MSP) gave her the fundamentals of global best practice.
The latest version of PRINCE2 Project Management includes a dedicated focus on people, leading successful change and leading successful teams – and Ivey was part of the discovery team when the guidance was created.
“The business case in PRINCE2 Project Management is huge for me, as it provides strategic updates on a project – with touchpoints and feedback loops – without needing to interrupt the project team constantly or demand reports,” he said. “Having a business case holds people accountable as it’s a living document that engages leadership throughout the project.”
Ensuring clear roles and responsibilities which eliminates ambiguity and aids decision making, along with the principle of tailoring in the method, makes it possible to add further project stages or apply other frameworks, he added.
Such is his – and his university’s – faith in PRINCE2 Project Management, it will become part of the IT service management degree programme from January 2026, in which students will use the method to manage a process improvement and value stream mapping project.
Progressing from project to programme management meant that upskilling in PRINCE2 Programme Management was essential for Nazim. “At the time I was starting work on a real-life programme and could constantly refer back to the text book on topics such as documentation and resource management,” she said.
An especially valuable element in the guidance, she added, is that it presents how the original programme mandate leads to outputs and capabilities which then link to outcomes and benefits that meet organisational objectives, in a holistic and understandable way.
Leading programmes – with their strategic and higher-level vision – also required her to develop executive influencing and the ability to drive organisational change.
Lightbulb moments and leaving egos at the door
There is a business justification to train the people who lead because, without education, leaders can flounder.
Arnaz-Pemberton quotes the UK National Audit Office’s observation that the quality of project sponsorship is the biggest single predictor of project failure. Consequently, leadership education provides “the lightbulb moment for people”, helping them understand their responsibilities and accountabilities. This also provides teams with the leaders they need to set the scene for a project programme and avoid micromanagement.
Beyond formal training, she notes how leaders can further develop their skills and competencies by “moving their egos aside” and being honest about the gaps in their project/programme leadership capabilities: “While they may not want to show they don’t know something, leaders must recognise they’re never done with learning and that training and development will help them.”
Creating a psychologically-safe space for leaders to learn – such as workshops – can empower people who take the helm of projects to hold each other to account and create a more consistent experience for teams and customers.
Leadership in programmes versus projects
With leadership experience in both projects and programmes, Nazim noted their distinct differences: project leadership focuses on tactical delivery, balancing scope, time and budget, while programme leadership involves managing interdependencies between projects, ensuring benefits realisation and aligning with the corporate vision.
Programme management also deals with higher-level stakeholders and increased complexity due to cross-functional teams, resource management and external dependencies.
The higher up the level of change initiative – i.e., from project to programme to portfolio – leaders face greater impacts and more difficult decisions around time, investment and resources.
What people need to lead in these different scenarios is what Arnaz-Pemberton calls the “sponsorship sweet spot”: getting the balance right with the respective decisions for change and for the organisation.
And the difference in finding this “sweet spot” between projects, programmes and portfolios requires a transition for leaders as they climb the ladder: “This needs a wider view than just thinking about the project output; it means asking if change has delivered an outcome,” she said.
The essential elements of leadership to get the best from people
Rallying people to a mission, vision and approach while building trust within the team and creating a positive working culture are, according to Arnaz-Pemberton, the key elements for leadership in successful change initiatives.
The level of effort leaders need to apply to create an environment of trust, transparency and psychological safety – Ivey added – shouldn’t be underestimated. But it’s necessary to allow people to offer “professional dissent” and be able to make, and learn from, mistakes.
However, Arnaz-Pemberton said, leaders should also be informed about the context of change for a project, along with showing a willingness (or not) to be part of it. For example, if a sponsor is expected to lead an AI project but doesn’t believe in it, they should acknowledge their unsuitability for the project or risk their scepticism leaking into the team.
Nazim cites “trusted partnership” as the “key to project and programme leadership”, explaining that this approach is about mutual belief and openness between the leader, multiple stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
In turn, she highlights communication as “so integral to making sure programmes meet the vision and have strategic alignment” while another essential element, adaptability, is about learning different ways of working and being able to up-skill quickly to embrace remote working and new technology, such as AI.
Today’s leader in projects and programmes
As the latest version of PRINCE2 Project Management suggests, and as Arnaz-Pemberton concurs, “the human aspect of change is more important now than it has ever been”.
Today, a move to more authentic leadership and less formality leads to greater trust with teams and a better chance to get things done when the going gets tough.
“Ensuring people are working in the best way that suits them and the business, managing virtual and physical relationships and wellbeing to avoid burnout is much more of the leadership conversation today,” Arnaz-Pemberton said.
“10 years ago, business culture was ‘keep calm and carry on’; now, it’s ‘take a break if you’re feeling burned out’,” – highlighting the shift from traditional “command and control” leadership and management and the switch from work-life to life-work balance.
Carl Ivey’s more than two decades in the US Air Force was the epitome – as expected in military settings – of command and control. His move to working in higher education meant a transition to a different leadership approach: “My role must be more of a facilitator in an environment where knowledge is co-created. Neither command nor micro-management helps but being adaptable and comfortable with the different personalities of team members.”
Being a “servant leader” today, Ivey said, is about developing other leaders, serving the needs of the team and leading by example. “Certainly, this includes work ethic and integrity but also empathy, humility and self-awareness.”
Arnaz-Pemberton added: “I think leaders have come down a layer and part of their role is to bring people with them, rather than setting strategy and letting someone else manage people to do it. Today, they’re right in the thick of it.”
Nazim has seen at first hand the shift from hierarchical command and control to more collaborative and people-centric leadership, where people work together in trusted partnership.
“Today, change environments are so complex and leaders need to influence and adopt agile approaches to keep teams motivated in the face of uncertainty. This means giving everyone the chance to step up and speak up with their ideas.”
But has this made a difference to project and programme success? “100 per cent. People feel included, more part of the team and take more ownership in wanting a project or programme to succeed.”