Exploring the Values of a Sustainable Project Manager

Abstract

An important project management trend today is Sustainable Project Management. The project manager plays a pivotal role in the sustainability of his/her project, and studies into the stimulus of project managers for sustainability show that the project manager’s intended behavior with regards to sustainability in and of the project is mainly driven by his/her personal attitude towards sustainability. Sustainability is therefore considered a personal trait. The study reported in this article investigates how the values that are underlying to this attitude are therefore a project manager’s intrinsic motivation for sustainability. The study deployed a survey-based design with 116 responses, in which the correlation between a project manager’s values and the motivation for sustainability was explored. The study revealed five values that are positively correlated to the motivation for sustainability and five that are negatively motivated. Values that are negatively related to the motivation for sustainability have a strong personal focus and are related to conforming to rules, whereas values that are positively related have a more social focus. The study provides guidance for organizations that aim to develop the motivation of their project managers for sustainability, and shows that sustainability is not a personal trait, but a personal value.