Student Papers:

Humour as a competence element for Project Managers

By Guðmundur Gauti Guðmundsson

Iceland

Editor’s note: This paper was presented as part of the requirements for the degree of Master of Project Management (MPM) at the Faculty of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Iceland – May 2009.

The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. 
-- Mark Twain

Abstract – For project managers, work can be hard. They have to make sure their team is performing at the highest possible level, that projects are completed on time, on budget and within scope. They need to be friendly and yet, keep their professional distance. Through it all they need to maintain their own spirit as well as their teams. How does humour fit into all this? Can humour raise the spirit of the project manager and the spirit of the project team? Can it increase the chances of project success and help the project manager to face his daily challenges?

This paper discusses the meaning of humour is and how it may belong in the International Project Management Associations Eye of Competence. A survey on humour in project management was conducted in order to evaluate the importance of humour in the view of project managers, corporate managers and students in the master degree program of project management at the University of Iceland as well as other experienced project participants, familiar with the theories of project management and practices. The results will show that humour can be an important competence factor for project managers and can help them to achieve project goals.

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