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Urgency is a familiar force in project environments — sometimes acting as a powerful motivator, and other times as a disruptive influence. In complex, inter-organisational projects, the stakes are even higher. Understanding how leadership can harness the positive aspects of urgency while mitigating its downsides is critical for project success. This blog explores some of the early findings from research carried out by MPA grant recipient Qinghao Wang, a PhD researcher at the University of Leeds, whose research project investigates the leadership challenges and strategies associated with urgency in major projects. Qinghao’s work aims to develop practical guidance for project leaders and policymakers navigating these high-pressure environments.
A sense of urgency is frequently encountered in projects. While urgency can have positive effects like motivating action, it can also have negative consequences, such as compromising technical goals, hindering progress, and slowing down innovation. The leadership role of capitalising on the positive effects of urgency, and preventing its negative effects is crucial for projects to deliver their promised outcomes, particularly in major projects that bring together multiple entities with diverse interests and cultures.
Even though the major projects community has gained significant experience of how to navigate situations of urgency in the face of a variety of relatively recent events such as the Covid-19 outbreak, we still lack comprehensive knowledge and guidance of the role of leadership in the navigation of situations of urgency. This is why this research has set out to examine the role of leadership in the navigation of urgency in inter-organisational projects. The intent is to develop guidance for practitioners, particularly those in project leadership positions or working towards those positions, and policy makers concerned with the improvement of leadership skills in projects. The research is undertaken by Qinghao Wang, who is a PhD researcher at the University of Leeds supervised by Dr Dicle Kortantamer and Prof Christine Unterhitzenberger. Qinghao has been awarded a one‐off grant from the Major Projects Association to undertake this study.
So far, the review of the project management literature suggests that urgency is a broader issue than the issue of time pressure – one that is not limited to the sense of not having sufficient time (e.g., tight schedule). It also includes highly consequential situations that demand an immediate response, particularly unexpected disruptions that produce threats or opportunities, emergencies, crisis situations that may emerge internally or externally, and time-sensitive stakeholder demands.
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Do you agree with these preliminary insights from the project management literature? If you are interested in discussing this topic further, please do not hesitate to contact Qinghao Wang at cnqw@leeds.ac.uk. He is currently engaged in data collection of his research and is eager to engage with anyone who has an interest in this topic.