Crisis Leadership for

Project Managers
Supervisor by:
Assoc. Prof. Nabeel Alsohybe

Prepared by:
Zahra Rajeh
Somaia Albahri
Nassmah Almatari
Outlines
1. Introduction
2. Statement of the problem
3. Purpose of the study
4. Research question
5. Literature review
6. Practicing crisis leadership skills
7. Discussion
8. Limitations
9. Future research
10.Conclusion
Introduction

crisis leadership is essential in project management;

there is also a need to train project managers in crisis
leadership (Weick, 1988). There needs to be a frame-
work for training that organizations can quickly im-
plement to ensure that their project managers are ready
to handle a crisis that affects their projects. This
framework, which includes practicing crisis leadership
skills, will help organizations and project managers
weather any crisis that interrupts their projects.
Statement of the Problem

Project managers lack the skills and experience to lead projects

during a crisis. This is because of a lack of awareness of how
crisis leadership affects project management and the high cost of
training project leaders (Kapucu & Ustun, 2018). The lack of
training is a significant factor in why some projects fail (Spinelli
& Pellino, 2020).
Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to provide organizations

with a framework for training project managers to lead
projects during and after an external crisis effectively.

In addition, this study examined other disciplines such

as the emergency management field to see what skills
make an effective crisis leader and how project man-
agers can use those skills to better prepare them for
leading during a crisis.
Research Questions
A. How does a project manager adjust to rapidly changing project
requirements during a crisis?
B. How does a project manager quickly identify a crisis?
C. What skills are needed to be a successful crisis leader?
D. How are communication tools used differently by project managers
during a crisis?
E. How can project managers practice their skills to prepare for a cri-
sis?
F. How would a project manager use the project retrospective process
to improve the current and future projects?
Literature Review
A literature review of crisis leadership in the project management set-
ting has found that this topic has not been thoroughly explored related
to project management ;however, other disciplines have studied how to
lead during a crisis
There are several key areas to be explored:
 identifying a crisis
 changing project requirements during a crisis
 skills needed during a crisis
 communication during a crisis
 practicing required skills before a crisis happens
 using project retrospectives following a crisis.
Practicing crisis leadership skills

Knowing how to communicate during a crisis is essential for

every project manager to have in their toolbelt. Just as im-
portant as having these skills is to practice them before
they are needed;
• Dry Runs
• Role-Playing
• Using Project Retrospective during
• after a Crisis
• During a Crisis
• After a Crisis
Limitations
The SCLF was designed to help project managers learn
and practice the skills needed to be better project managers
when a crisis affects their organization. However, one limita-
tion of this research is that the solution has not been tested
and may not provide a good return on investment when
implemented. Therefore, the SCLF will need to be evalu-
ated after many project managers use it to see if it helps
make
them better crisis leaders and is cost-effective.
Future Research
The "skills needed" will need to be studied continuously
to ensure they are still relevant in the future. For exam-
ple, just because the current literature has determined
that learning how to manage changing project priorities
during a crisis is relevant now, it may not be applicable
in the future. In addition, future research may uncover
new skills required by crisis leaders, and
the SCLF could change accordingly.
Conclusion
When project managers are routinely taught the SCLF, project managers
will be better prepared to lead projects during crises, whether those
crises are small in geographical nature like a hurricane in South Florida
or affect the entire world simultaneously like the COVID-19 pandemic.
These better-prepared project managers will have the confidence and
skills needed to lead their stakeholders and projects through any crisis.
As a result, they will be stronger leaders overall, thus improving their
value to the companies they work for.
Thanks