When it comes to project management, most organizations put their practices before their people. They place more emphasis on rational factors, i.e., the process itself, and less on emotional drivers that could lead to project excellence—like their employees’ engagement with the project and company.

But forcing team members to adapt to project management processes and procedures makes it more likely that the project will fail. The resulting cost from bad project management is reaching astronomical levels. It represents a significant waste of money, and it poses a threat to organizations that rely on the success of large-scale projects.

Gallup’s behavioral economics research suggests a different, more powerful approach: behavior-based project management. This approach enables project groups to gain higher levels of emotional commitment and performance from their team members, and increased levels of emotional involvement from stakeholders, in a way that improves both engagement and performance.

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