and Team Lessons Exceptionally Well
Projectland Goes to the Movies
SERIES ARTICLE
By Dawn Mahan and Jerry Manas
United States
In our last installment, we made the case that movies are a great way to help project teams learn and align, with the added benefit of building a shared language and culture. After all, as we stated, movies are really project stories at heart. Let’s dive a little deeper to see why movies and stories make such a difference, and why the Eighth Edition of the PMBOK Guide cites storytelling as a key enabler of project success, especially around communication and stakeholder management (Project Management Institute, 2025).
Here are 5 specific reasons movies can be such an effective way to help people grow stronger project skills and leadership capabilities.
- Movies Engage Our Emotions
Unlike traditional case studies, which are often sanitized and stripped of emotion, movies place us directly inside the pressure cooker. The stakes feel real. The clock is ticking. The characters care deeply about the outcome, and so do we.
That emotional engagement is what makes lessons stick. Whether it’s the underdog team in Moneyball defying convention through ingenious analytics or the crew of Apollo 13 solving one problem after another to bring their team home safely, we’re not just observing the situation. We’re experiencing it with them.
In Projectland, challenges rarely arrive with neat textbook answers. Teams must recognize the kind of situation they’re in, assess imperfect options, and make the best decisions they can with limited information while the clock is ticking.
Movies allow people to experience those dynamics in a way that feels immediate and memorable.
- Stories Help People Understand – and Remember – Faster
Cognitive science tells us we remember stories far better than facts. The human brain is wired for story, which is why simple parables have lasted generations. A well-chosen movie scene can sometimes communicate more about leadership, conflict, or teamwork than an entire slide deck because people can see the decisions unfold in real time…
More…
To read entire report, click here
Editor’s note: Dawn Mahan and Jerry Manas are co-editors of the wildly popular book “Projectland Goes to the Movies: 22 Blockbuster Strategies for Project Success” published in January 2026 by Project Guru Press. To learn more about the book, click here.
How to cite this work: Mahan, D. and Manas, J. (2026). Five Ways Movies Teach Leadership and Team Lessons Exceptionally Well; Projectland Goes to the Movies, series article 2, PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue VII, July. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/pmwj166-Jul2026-Mahan-Manas-Projectland-series-article-2-Five-Ways-Movie-Teach-Leadership.pdf
About the Authors
Dawn Mahan
Florida, USA
Dawn Mahan is the founder of PMOtraining, LLC, and coined the term, Projectland®. She is a dynamic international speaker, award-winning project management consultant, and author of the Amazon #1 bestselling book, Meet the Players in Projectland: Decide the Right Project Roles & Get People On Board. Visit her website at PMOtraining.com.
Jerry Manas
Pennsylvania, USA
Jerry Manas is an internationally bestselling author, speaker, and consultant specializing in resource management and workforce effectiveness. His work—including Napoleon on Project Management and The Resource Management and Capacity Planning Handbook—has been cited by business leaders such as Tom Peters and Orlando Magic Senior VP Pat Williams. Visit his website at jerrymanas.com.
Projectland Goes to the Movies: 22 Blockbuster Strategies for Project Success (2026 Amazon Hot New Release) is available globally.
Visit https://books2read.com/projectlandgoestothemovies.
For bulk orders, tools to engage your group, or to inquire about storytelling workshops, email us: hello@pmotraining.com.
