Industry 5.0 is here, and it’s changing how we lead projects. Project Management 5.0 teams human judgement with smart tech (AI, digital twins, real-time data) to support faster, better decisions at the frontline.
This is the main idea of the paper I co-authored with Associate Professor Yongjian Ke and Dr Suhair Alkilani.

(Link to the published paper is here. Link to a pdf version of the paper is here.)

Industry 5.0 is here, and it’s changing how we lead projects. Project Management 5.0 teams human judgement with smart tech (AI, digital twins, real-time data) to support faster, better decisions at the frontline.

Project Manager 5.0 leadership traits that matter most:

• Networked leadership: builds broad, diverse relationships across teams, partners, and communities, connects silos, and mobilises value through influence not hierarchy.
• Digital fluency: understands data, AI, and automation well enough to question, interpret, and apply them responsibly.
• Ethical judgement: weighs trade-offs, bias, and long-term impacts, not just short-term wins.
• Systems thinking: sees interdependencies, designs for resilience, and prevents unintended consequences.
• Emotional intelligence: earns trust, reads the room, and keeps teams psychologically safe under pressure.
• Purpose and stakeholder value: frames work around outcomes that matter to customers, communities, and society.

Join me in crafting the future 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝟓.𝟎:

• Education and upskilling need a refresh: less tool chasing, more practice in judgement, collaboration, and responsible AI use.
• Standards and competency models should align to this human centred, AI-enabled direction to scale impact.

Bottom line: To thrive in Industry 5.0, grow networked leaders who 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞, use AI as a teammate, and navigate complexity with ethics, empathy, and systems thinking.

Read the full paper here.