Why Project Culture Matters And How You Can Influence It

As governments look to invest further in infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy following the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, now more than ever the successful delivery of these projects is paramount. The authors have recently launched a white paper arguing that the root cause of the inefficiencies and loss of productivity in the delivery of infrastructure projects is very subtle, caused by a failure in leadership to create a great project culture. This paper by the authors is titled:

‘Raising the bar’ in the delivery of infrastructure projects through a focus on project culture.

This article aims to educate the reader regarding culture in general and more specifically on projects, as well as define the relationship between leadership, culture, and governance. This knowledge is critical in starting key conversations that will allow consultants to influence their clients in the creation of a great culture on their projects.

The authors critically acknowledge that the project culture is highly influenced by the client organisation culture, and that strong leadership is needed within client organisations to challenge bad practices and aggressive behaviours that have continued to set up projects for failure rather than success. It is critical for clientside Project Directors/Managers to be brave and challenge these organisational bad practices when creating the culture on their projects. This is where Project Directors/Managers from consulting organisations can also put their leadership skills to the test. They can influence the project culture by asking their clients the right questions from the beginning of their engagements and show leadership in action by the way that they lead and manage their teams.

Deal and Kennedy (1982) defined culture as ‘the way we do things (around) here’ and this definition continues to be the simplest and most popular in communicating the concept. With organisations over the years becoming larger through global mergers and acquisitions, the reality is that organisations have a mix of cultures or what is sometimes referred to as subcultures. This is also the reality in organisations growing rapidly with teams working in various locations nationally and internationally.

With many different organisations coming together to deliver each project, including a myriad of subcontractors and suppliers, senior leaders can either allow a multitude of cultures to exist on their project or work hard to create a unified project culture. There is a great opportunity early in the project initiation phase to create a bespoke culture in a considered way.

With project culture defined as ‘the way we do things’ on this project, it is important to highlight that this includes both project leadership and project management elements, as well as the interdependencies between them (Figure 1). The ‘Raising the Bar’ paper identifies the key project leadership and management elements that shape it.

Figure 1 – Interdependency of project management and project leadership elements, shaping project culture.

When creating the project culture, it is important to understand that the culture is further shaped during each of the three project phases: client need, project initiation, and project implementation. With the project team expanding through each of the three project phases, all members need to be taken on this journey, with the development of a Project Charter being a good first step in this process. Providing a Project Charter without any consultation with the wider Project Team will not result in the commitment necessary in achieving the project purpose, vision, and goals. It will also not encourage behaving in ways that are in-line with the values, which is necessary in creating a great culture that is critical to the project’s success.

Finally, it is worth noting that while many publications point to governance as the answer in addressing inefficiencies and loss of productivity on projects, it is important to understand that at the heart of governance is culture, and at the heart of culture is leadership.

Figure 2 – Culture link to governance and leadership on projects

People could argue as to whether culture or governance comes first but ultimately senior people in organisations make decisions, and it is their strong leadership skills (or otherwise) that shape the culture and put the governance framework in place. It is however the clientside corporate governance that influences the project governance, which ultimately has a big impact on the project culture (Figure 2). Understanding these relationships is critical knowledge for Project Directors/Managers within consulting organisations and an important conversation starter in shaping project culture.

Natasa GadzuricBE

CPEng, FIEAust, EngExec - Managing Principal Sustainable People Solutions

Dr Tom Crow

BE,MBuil, DTech, FIEAust, EngExec, MAICD - Director Project Chambers