International Journal of Project Management

At the 10th IPMA SENET Conference in Belgrade, themed Beyond Success: Happiness and Wellbeing in the Project Environment, Dr. Efrosyni Konstantinou challenged delegates to reflect on a deceptively simple question: Can we really be happy? In a keynote that combined philosophy, leadership and project management, she argued that happiness is not something that can be acquired through success, status or material achievement.

On behalf of the IPMA Executive Board, we express our sincere condolences on the passing of Mr. Klaus Pannenbäcker, former President and Chairperson of the Council of IPMA, Honorary Fellow, and one of the most influential figures in the development of modern project management standards and certification systems.

On behalf of Prof. Dr. Mladen Vukomanović, IPMA President, and the IPMA Executive Board, we express our sincere condolences on the passing of Peter Tarnoki, long-standing President and Delegate of FOVOSZ, IPMA’s Member Association in Hungary, and a highly respected member of the international project management community.

Reflections from the 34th IPMA World Congress, Berlin 2025 The project management profession stands at a pivotal crossroads. As organisations navigate increasingly complex landscapes marked by rapid technological change, geopolitical uncertainty, and mounting sustainability pressures, the question is no longer whether to transform Project Portfolio Management (PPM) – but how to do it effectively.

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At this year’s IPMA World Congress, current President Mladen Vukomanović joined three of his predecessors – Brigitte Schaden, Roberto Mori and Joop Schefferlie – for a panel discussion on the history, core values and future challenges of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). The “Insights Session” provided an intimate setting to reflect on how the role of the project manager must evolve in a world shaped by disruptive technologies and increasing social responsibility.

In the early afternoon hours of 9 February, 2025, a small meeting room overseeing heavily protected System Control Centre inside Vilnius headquarters of Litgrid, Lithuanian power transmission system operator (TSO), was quite unusually packed.

You may be wondering what goldfish have to do with agile leadership. The answer will be shared by Constantin Hoya in his talk “Agile Leadership: Lessons from Ted Lasso” at the upcoming 34th IPMA World Congress. Breaking away from the tradition of explaining leadership concepts purely in academic terms, he uses the popular Apple TV series Ted Lassoto illustrate ideas for Agile Leadership.

At the IPMA World Congress Berlin 2025, David Hudson presented “Project Leadership – The Conundrum,” a session that resonated with many of us who live the challenges of leading projects every day. Hudson reminded us that leadership is not a formula or a fixed trait. Instead, it is a paradox: a balancing act between aspiration and perfection, between leading and influencing, and between what we know, what we can do, and who we are under pressure.

Only 40 percent of project leaders in large-scale projects feel confident they will successfully reach their goals. In other words, the majority do not believe in the success of their own initiatives. In stark contrast, cave diving—projects in themselves with clear start and end points and inherent risks—must succeed 100 percent of the time. This striking discrepancy raises the question of what project management can learn from extreme environments to significantly increase its success rate.