Innovative project seeks manager who thinks outside the box

Project management in the context of innovation

There was a time when project management meant timelines, Gantt charts, and deliverables defined from the outset. But that time vanishes as soon as we enter the world of innovation. Here, we move forward in a fog, between multiple unknowns, needs to be validated, shifting stakeholders, and solutions yet to be invented. In such a context, managing a project no longer simply means delivering on time: it involves collectively creating meaning, learning as we go, and orchestrating the unknown.

Understanding innovation: a field of exploration, no certainties

Innovation isn't a brilliant idea that comes out of the blue. It's an intentional process aimed at creating value in new ways. It can be technological, social, organizational, or commercial, as long as it is perceived as innovative and transformative by addressing a latent or expressed need.

To move away from the overly reductive association "innovation = techno", we can rely on Doblin's framework of 10 types of innovation, which reminds us that we innovate as much in the business model, processes, services or customer relations as in the product itself.

What makes innovation unique is its unwavering dose of uncertainty. We know neither the path nor the destination. We must explore, test, adjust, sometimes fail... but above all, actively learn.

Managing an innovation project: between rigor and agility

In a world characterized by VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) and BANI (Fragility, Anxiety, Nonlinearity, Incomprehensibility) logic, it is becoming clear that traditional project management approaches are no longer sufficient. Innovative projects, however, embrace uncertainty to better leverage it for value creation.

Unlike traditional management, which aims for efficiency in execution, innovation project management seeks to maximize learning, relevance, and emerging value. It navigates between two needs:

• Structure exploration : with tools like the Stage-Gate model, where we avoid burning all our financial resources by de-risking each stage incrementally.
• Explore flexibly : Agile approaches allow you to move forward through iteration, test with users, and continuously readjust the trajectory.

Most often, a hybrid approach is required: Agile approaches are deployed early in the process to define what will need to be done, then the further we move forward and the less uncertainty there is, the more we can plan ahead and manage the project with the Waterfall method. It's not the method that makes the difference, it's the approach with which we implement it.

It is also necessary to know how to alternate between exploration (experimenting, testing, understanding the right problem) and exploitation (industrializing, structuring, delivering efficiently). Knowing how to "do the right thing" precedes "doing things well."

And sometimes doing the right thing is… quitting.

Collaborating to innovate: a key skill

In an innovative project, you don't manage alone. Startups, internal management, experts, citizens, public partners... the stakeholders are numerous and often unaccustomed to working together. This is why project management becomes an art of collaboration . The interests of the group must take precedence over the interests of individuals. In this context, animation and facilitation are often more important than the actual management of deliverables, because they help maintain stakeholder alignment.

The manager then acts as:

• Sense-Maker : building a framework and a common vision.
• Web-Weaver : creating links between expertise and teams.
• Game Master : structure the project as a creative space.
• Flow-Balancer : Maintaining engagement and avoiding burnout.

It's necessary to establish a framework of trust, establish co-construction rituals, and maintain connections even in the face of tension. In short: to innovate is to compose. And the conductor must know how to read silences as well as scores.

New postures for new projects

Project managers in an innovation context must develop skills that are not (yet) found in the PMBOK:

• Radical Empathy : Capturing Deep Needs, Even Unexpressed Ones
• Epistemic humility : accepting that we don't yet know
• Structured curiosity : exploring without getting lost
• Adaptive leadership : mobilizing without constraining
• Systems thinking : connecting impacts, anticipating indirect effects

A good, innovative manager is as much a keeper of the course as he is a master of sidestepping. He or she moves methodically through the fog, guiding without imposing, and stimulating without directing.

What if true courage was saying "stop"?

In any innovative project, the risk of persisting is real. This is why we also need an Exit Champion : someone who questions the project's relevance, defends the idea that exiting can be a success, and protects us from zombie projects.

Knowing when to quit is a sign of organizational maturity. This role should be formalized, because knowing how to say no also protects the overall vision and the innovation portfolio.

In conclusion: flying in the fog

Innovative project management is not about applying traditional methods to new challenges.

It means changing your posture, expanding your tools, and accepting the discomfort of vagueness . It means moving forward without GPS, but with a shared compass. It means building while testing. It means aligning stakeholders with different visions around a common trajectory.

And above all: it doesn't happen alone.

Organizations that succeed in innovating are not those that predict the future.
They are those who dare to learn by moving forward, to test without fear of failure, and to co-construct in uncertainty .

At Interface&co, we don't promise a ready-made map.
But we know how to read the wind, spot the currents... and help teams build their course, even when it means plotting the route as we go .

Do you have a vague, complex, or daring project? Let's talk about it.

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