Leading Complex Projects

CHAPTER 3THE UNIQUE DEMANDS ON COMPLEX PROJECT LEADERS

Large complex projects are in many respects fundamentally different than their less demanding counterparts. Those differences, which we will discuss below, give rise to the need for a different kind of leader for these projects. As we will discuss in the next chapter, the differences in task requirements for the complex project leader demand a somewhat different personality profile and cognitive style for success.

WHAT MAKES A COMPLEX PROJECT COMPLEX?

Each dimension of complexity discussed below is a continuum rather than a switch. It is always a matter of more or less rather than a matter of simple versus complex. Project complexity correlates with project size and cost. But the relationship is associational, not casual. Some relatively small projects in terms of cost may be highly complex and require complex project management to succeed. Some projects in excess of $1 billion may be relatively simple projects that will succeed with a simple project's approach to management.

Fortunately, the characteristics of a project that will render it relatively simple or relatively complex are usually known early in the project's development life cycle. It is unusual, but not unheard of, for a project to start out simple but become complex along the way. When that occurs, it is almost always due to unexpectedly difficult shaping, the third dimension of complexity we discuss below. We cannot recall a situation in which a project ...