Project management is continually evolving. This evolution is described, for example in Morris (1994) and Shenhar and Dvir (2004). Each change is supposed to bring advancement in project management practices and greater reliability and professionalism. Yet projects continue to fail. We believe that the next developmental stage for project management is to focus on the needs of the people who are carrying out the project. In order to take that step, education for project management (PM) professionals must help project managers to understand the people they manage, in all their diversity and complexity. There is a growing body of research in psychology and management sciences to support developing that understanding for PM professionals thereby moving this knowledge from the universities and colleges to common practice in the workplace.
Read more from Jocelyn S. Davis in “Positive Psychology” — Chapter 51 of Gower’s Handbook of People in Project Management