The Hidden Role of Every Leader
The Overlooked Truth: Every Leader Is a Project Manager
Lead It Like a Project – Part 1
To be a leader, one must become a project manager who generates ideas, documents them, works passionately day and night, and brings the project, idea, or dream to life.
Don’t let the term “Project Manager” be confusing professional or technical jargon. I want to share a concept that can enhance your life and help you become the best leader you can be. To do so, you need one essential quality: the ability to manage projects.
What I mean by project management is the capacity to envision a project, take the necessary steps to bring it to fruition, and ultimately see the positive outcome, which ideally benefits someone other than yourself (humanity or assists another individual). It’s not just about your job or role as a person who manages projects; rather, it’s about having an idea, defining it, developing it, and implementing it in a way that aids and advances others.
I need to paraphrase an ancient prophet, a spokesperson for God, who said, “Write this down. Write what? Write the vision (the project plan). Document what you see and envision. Make it as clear as possible. This written vision will serve as a witness to what is yet to come in the future, the outcome that will emerge at the end of all your efforts. It yearns to manifest; it can hardly wait. Your vision (your project, your idea, your dream) aches within you, eager to be released. If it seems slow in coming, be patient. Keep looking for it, hold on to it, and work towards it day and night, moment by moment. It is on its way and will arrive right on time.” [1] To be a leader, one must get good at having ideas, writing them down, working on them day and night, and seeing to it (the project, idea, dream) coming to pass.
In this introduction, I would like to outline the key components of this idea that every leader is a project manager, which you can expect in the upcoming installments of this section:
- The Leadership Compass: This concept emphasizes that you must work with people in all directions. A leader needs people, and people need a leader. Without people, you cannot be a leader. As you know, a compass points north, south, east, and west, and leadership operates similarly. A leader works with individuals across these various directions.
- Leading Your Team: Consider the makeup of the team you lead. Suppose we “broadly” view all teams as equal—like in professional or college sports where teams are generally on equal ground, well-balanced, and have a balance of competition. If all teams in the “broad” scope are equal, then the difference maker is the leader. How are you the difference maker for the team you’re leading?
- Celebrating Milestones: It is important to acknowledge celebrations within the team; people respond to celebrations. I prefer to celebrate milestones rather than individual wins because a win for one person may not be a win for the entire team. Therefore, celebrate the milestones the team achieves together, whether it’s a milestone for the whole team, a group of team members, or an individual. Each milestone makes a difference that impacts the entire team.
- Leading Through Change: This will likely be one of my least favorite parts of this section, as leadership is not necessary unless there’s going to be some change. The only reason there are leaders is because things are changing. Change is constant, which means we always need and have room for more leaders. They help us navigate through it.
- Seeing and Calling Out Potential: First, you must learn to identify potential, which is crucial for effective leadership. You won’t make a very good leader if you can’t identify potential. The good news is that you know when you see potential in an individual. Leaders excel at recognizing potential in others, opportunities, and circumstances. However, identifying it is only the first step; a leader must also call out that potential by recognizing skills, abilities, and resources. Your role as a leader is to see, activate, and cultivate the potential you see in others.
- God’s Project Management System: Finally, we will explore what I term “God’s project management system,” a concept I have been eager to discuss for four or five years. I will present this idea at a high level and then get into the details later. This system outlines how God, the ultimate leader, manages His projects to create and implement initiatives that benefit all of humanity.
Remember, every leader is essentially a project manager. A good leader’s project reaches its destination, achieves its goals, and accomplishes what it set out to do. A great leader aims for an enjoyable outcome that fulfills its intended purpose.
[1] Habakkuk 2:2-3 MSG, Bible.com, accessed April 10, 2025, https://bible.com/bible/97/hab.2.2-3.MSG
All Scripture references used by permission, see our Scripture copyrights
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