Project Spirit zyxwv - A Strategic Concept Zvi H. Aronson, Thomas Lechler, Richard R. Reilly, Aaron J. Shenhar Stevens Institute of Technology Abstract- The classic approach to explain project success has reached its limits. By introducing a new framework, which is called “Strategic Project Leadership,” Shenhar zyxwvuts (2000), questions these limits and extends the borders to a modern approach of project management in the new economy. One major dimension of strategic project leadership is “project spirit”. Project spirit deals with excitement, passion and enthusiasm, as a driving force, which energizes teams, unleashes talent, and enhances project performance. Our objective is to define the concept of project spirit that includes project culture, commitment, citizenship behavior, and satisfaction and to provide project manager with guidelines for managing project spirit. I. PROJECT SPIRIT - AN ELEMENT OF STRATEGIC PROJECT LEADERSHIP With the wide use of project management in different industries [30] the interest on how to manage projects successfully has increased over the past twenty years. But extended analysis of empirical success factor studies of project management [2], [15] show that these classical approaches explaining project success have reached their limits. Previous studies identified several critical factors for project success, but none of these studies explained more than zyx 60% of variance of the success variables and most of them do not provide the causes for these success factors. By , introducing a new framework, called “Strategic Project Leadership,” Shenhar [3 11, questions these limits and extends the borders to a modem approach of project management in the new economy. Strategv Goals Competitive Advantage Success Measures Spirit Organization Attitude Structure Culture Teams Vision People Policy Risk Taking zyxwvutsrq Tools - Processes Communication Schedule Planning Budget Monitoring Configuration Controlling Decision Making Figure I: Revised Framework of the Dimensions of Strategic Project Leadership One major element in this framework is the dimension called spirit, which describes the behavioral pattern of the team members. The main hypothesis underlying the Strategic Project Leadership framework is: zyxwvutsrqp To achieve project success the dqerent dimensions of theframework have to be defined by considering their interactions and by considering the characteristics of the task. Compared to the traditional success factor studies, which focus on the dimensions of organization, processes and tools, the two new dimensions, strategy and spirit allow a new insight in to the factors influencing project success. 539