Conclusions and reflections: what have we learnt about megaproject leaders?

This book focuses upon the central research question: what we can learn from the personal views of megaproject leaders in managing their projects? To answer this question a group of 18 authors used the biographical research method to collect data on the individual lives and work of 16 leaders of megaprojects from all over the world. This gave us an opportunity to learn about their family backgrounds, important mentors, family and personal values, turning points in their careers, and frustrations they had to overcome. The cases contribute to valuable lessons from the reflective management practices of these leaders for improving the management of megaprojects. Based upon our research findings we come to three contributions to the theoretical debate on the management of megaprojects: new trends in managing and governing megaprojects; lessons learned from biographical narratives; and the value of the biographical methods in project studies.