ABSTRACT
Every project manager knows that each project is essentially unique. The mix of different people, different objectives, different agendas, different circumstances, and different unfolding events leads to a different dynamic that project managers ignore at their peril. One-trick ponies never do well – only the agile flourish. To be successful, project managers need to be flexible, that is, they need to have a broad repertoire of potential behaviours and problem-solving approaches that they can tap into. But preferably they should also be adaptive, in other words, have the ability to learn new behaviours and problem-solving approaches if the current set is not sufficient. At the same time, this flexibility and adaptability should be coupled with responsiveness to the situational demands, meaning that they should quickly and accurately sense what the circumstances require and adjust their behaviour accordingly. Only when project managers master flexibility, adaptability and responsiveness will they be truly agile and ready to deal with the unpredictable nature of project work.
