Strong leadership emerges as the defining factor in project success
APM research highlights leadership quality, skills and resourcing as top drivers
Confidence in project delivery is rising sharply among UK business leaders, and they are increasingly attributing it to leadership capability and a stronger project talent base. For HR leaders, results point to a clear link between how organisations build leaders, recruit and develop project professionals, and how reliably strategy gets delivered.
New research from Association for Project Management (APM), the chartered membership organisation for the project profession, compares responses gathered in April 2025 and April 2026 from 500 UK CEOs and Managing Directors (of companies with between 50 to over 500 employees). It shows a marked shift away from uncertainty and towards high confidence in organisations’ ability to deliver projects successfully.
- 43% of business leaders (in April 2026) say they are ‘very confident’ in their organisation’s project delivery compared to 14% (in April 2025)
- Among leaders who are confident, the top reason in 2026 was high quality leadership (22%), followed by professional development (19%)
- Agreement there are enough project professionals in their organisation to deliver over the next five years increased from 70% to 91%.
- Over 90% of business leaders expect an increase investment in project delivery capability in the next 12 months
A year earlier, confidence was more likely to be explained by past experience (a proven track record of project success, 20%). For HR teams, it reinforces the growing importance of leadership development, consistent governance and decision-making, and clear accountabilities in delivering complex programmes.
Nicky Dixey, Chief People Officer at property and construction consultancy Ridge, said:
“At Ridge, leadership is what connects strong culture with great teamwork and strong delivery. As the business has grown, we’ve seen that confidence in project outcomes isn’t driven by process alone, but by how leadership is exercised day‑to‑day – through clear direction, decision‑making, governance and consistency.
When leaders create clarity, direction and alignment, teams are better equipped to navigate complexity, set clear goals, manage risk, and deliver work to a high standard. That focus on leadership capability, alongside clear ways of working, has been central to building confidence in delivery across the business.”
Confidence is up across organisations of every size. In April 2026, 84% of leaders in organisations with fewer than 50 employees said they are confident in delivery (up from 60% in April 2025). Among the largest organisations (over 500 employees) confidence rose from 65% to 95%. By April 2026, leadership was the most commonly cited reason for confidence in every band from 50 employees upwards, reinforcing the case for sustained leadership development alongside professional standards and training.
APM’s data suggests this shift is also changing what senior leaders most want from project professionals. In April 2025, the skill most frequently rated as most important was time management (16%), closely followed by adaptability/flexibility (15.5%). By April 2026, leadership had moved into first place (16%), with adaptability/flexibility again close behind (15%). The results highlight that leaders are increasingly looking for project professionals who can set direction, influence stakeholders and build commitment, and not just manage schedules.
Carolyn Adams, Chief People Officer at Klipboard, said: “Strong leadership sets the vision and enables teams to deliver results.
Project managers don’t just manage tasks, they lead people. They provide clarity when priorities shift, keep teams aligned around a shared goal, and ensure delivery remains focused on what matters most to the business.”
Confidence is also being reinforced by a more positive view of capability and resourcing within organisations. The proportion of leaders who agree there are enough project professionals in their organisation to deliver projects effectively over the next five years rose from 70% in April 2025 (24% strongly agree; 46% somewhat agree) to 91% in April 2026 (42% strongly agree; 49% somewhat agree).
Leaders are also finding recruitment less challenging, with those saying it is very or fairly easy to recruit project professionals with the right skills increasing from 49% in April 2025 to 67% in April 2026, while ‘fairly/very difficult’ fell from 26% to 9%.
Looking forward, leaders appear ready to back project delivery with investment. In April 2026, nine in ten (90%) said their organisation is likely to increase investment in its project delivery capability over the next 12 months, such as growing project teams, training and upskilling existing employees, and introducing new project management tools or processes. 43% of those said they were ‘very likely’ to increase investment in project delivery capability.
Professor Adam Boddison OBE, Chief Executive of APM said: “What our research shows is a clear shift in where confidence comes from. Past success is not assurance of future success, especially in the current climate of political and economic uncertainty.
Building project confidence is increasingly a leadership and workforce strategy issue. Organisations that want to improve delivery outcomes should focus on developing leaders who can provide clarity and governance; investing in professional development for project teams; and strengthening recruitment so that project professionals have recognised capability.
As project delivery becomes a core route to executing strategy- from transformation to growth – leadership quality may be the differentiator between organisations that deliver change and those that merely initiate it.”
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