27 09 2025 at 08:30
The Art of Engagement: How Emotions Determine the Success of Your Projects
In 1985, Coca-Cola made a bold move: replacing its classic formula with New Coke. Research showed consumers preferred the new flavour in blind taste tests. Timelines were met, targets achieved, and marketing investment was strong.
Yet when the product hit the shelves, an emotional backlash took over. Within weeks, the company received more than 40,000 angry phone calls, protests erupted in the streets, and the media labelled it “one of the greatest corporate disasters in history.” Coca-Cola had to quickly reinstate the original formula as Coca-Cola Classic.
The hard lesson: decisions based only on rational data fail when they ignore human emotions. And this happens not just with products. According to PMI, 37% of projects fail due to a lack of emotional alignment and engagement among stakeholders. It is no coincidence that the PMP® certification now places people and interactions at the core of its competency model.
In a world where change has become the new stability, projects cannot rely only on planning. Project managers must look beyond tasks and metrics to understand how emotions and narratives shape decisions, commitment, and outcomes.
Projects are not just about what you deliver. They are about how you make people feel along the way.
Why Emotions Matter in Projects
The role of a project manager goes far beyond managing tasks and tracking performance indicators. It is about people and connections. Neuroscience shows us why: emotions decide first, reason justifies later.
As Antonio Damasio wrote in Descartes’ Error:
“We are not thinking machines that feel; we are feeling machines that think.”
To truly move people, be it stakeholders, teams, or clients, you must first speak their emotional language and then their rational one.
Harvard Business Review found that 90% of human decisions are driven by emotions. This means even the most technically perfect presentation can fail if it does not evoke feelings. The most effective strategy for buy-in is to spark positive emotions before presenting the numbers.
Storytelling That Connects
If emotions are the fuel, storytelling is the road. Projects without a clear narrative often appear like just another routine corporate task.
Neuroeconomist Paul Zak explains:
“Well-crafted stories release oxytocin, the empathy hormone, fostering emotional connection and building trust.”
A simple example:
- Technical approach: “We are implementing a new system to optimize processes and reduce costs by 15%.”
- Emotional approach: “Every day, our team loses hours to rework and system failures. This project gives that time back to people, so they can innovate and create better experiences for our customers.”
The message is the same, but the second sparks empathy and inspires action.
Emotional Design: The Silent Language of Engagement
If emotions drive decisions and storytelling gives meaning, emotional design is the silent language that builds trust before a single word is spoken.
Research by the Nielsen Norman Group shows that people form an opinion in less than 50 milliseconds, based purely on appearance.
In project management, design is not about aesthetics. It is a strategic tool. Clear dashboards, structured presentations, and consistent branding convey credibility and make information easier to understand.
An Invitation to Transformation
Project leaders hold the power to shape cultures and inspire real change. More than delivering products, a project manager provides emotional experiences, connecting people and transforming journeys.
Successful projects are measured not only by results, but by the emotional impact they leave on teams, stakeholders, and communities.
The real choice for leaders: will you simply manage tasks, or will you also engage hearts?
Jana Nastari
Associate Director of Marketing & Communication, PMI Belgium Chapter
marketing@pmi-belgium.be
Further Reading
- Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow.
- Damasio, A. (1994). Descartes' Error.
- Zak, P. (2012). The Moral Molecule.
- Brown, T. (2009). Change by Design.
- PMI (2025). Pulse of the Profession Report.
- Hall, J. (2016). Why Good Leaders Make Bad Decisions. Harvard Business Review.
- Nielsen Norman Group (2011). First Impressions Matter.
- Andrivet, M. (2025). The Branding Journal: New Coke Case Study.
