Human Side of Project Leadership

CHAPTER 7

Conceptual Background

Great projects create their own unique micro-culture (sometimes called climate), which is nurtured by a set of values that are demonstrated and practiced by the project manager. Culture in project settings refers to the social and cognitive environment, the shared view of reality, and the collective belief and value systems reflected in a consistent pattern of behaviors among project members that we refer to as behavioral expectations or norms. We argue that project cultures can and should be formed to achieve specific and outstanding results. (For other culture definitions, see Detert, Schroeder, and Mauriel 2000; Schein 1992. For a discussion of culture and climate, see Denison 1996. For review on changing ...