How to nudge your project stakeholders to achieve better outcomes

Project managers operate in environments where tight deadlines, complex stakeholder landscapes and strict performance expectations collide. While traditional tools and processes help track progress, they often miss the behavioural factors that influence how teams make decisions and take action. This guide introduces nudges as a practical way to support better choices, strengthen alignment and enhance delivery across the project life cycle. It covers:

• Why behavioural dynamics matter just as much as contracts, tools and reporting
• How nudges can gently guide teams and stakeholders toward more effective decisions
• A toolkit of proven nudge techniques grounded in behavioural science
• How nudges map to different phases of the project life cycle
• Common challenges and how to design, test and scale nudges effectively

By applying these behavioural insights, project managers can complement established practices with subtle, evidence based interventions that improve clarity, collaboration and overall project performance.

ISBN: 978-1-913305-56-7
Price: £8.00
Available to buy in A5 only

Authors: Teslim O. Bukoye & Jens K. Roehrich
Teslim O. Bukoye is an Associate Professor at the University of Bath, Visiting Professor and Fellow of the APM. He has received awards for innovative teaching and inclusion. He has led consulting projects and apprenticeship programmes with major UK organisations including Tesco, the NHS and leading universities and is also profiled by leading outlets such as the BBC.

His research and consultancy span project and supply chain management with a focus on behavioural, strategic and performance aspects; he is noted for applying nudges to improve project outcomes. He delivers international keynotes and publishes across leading journals and policy platforms, including the World Economic Forum, APM's Project and International Journal of Project Management. You can check out Teslim’s work on LinkedIn. All opinions, comments and content represent Teslim’s personal views and research insights, and not those of any organisations he is associated with.

Jens K. Roehrich is a Professor of Supply Chain Innovation at the University of Bath, School of Management, UK and he has previously worked at Imperial College London, UK. He studies long-term relationships between public and private organisations, focusing on governance of major projects and on recovering relationships after coordination failures, trust breaches and conflicts. He has published award-winning research and delivered consultancy, executive education and capability development activities for a wide range of organisations. His insights have also been featured in, for example, Forbes, The Times Raconteur, APM's Project, CIPS's Supply Management, as well as in various industry and policy reports. All views are his own.