From the Podcast: Summary of a recent Interview
on The Project Management Podcast
SERIES ARTICLE
By Cornelius Fichtner
Arizona, USA
Kevin Eikenberry tells listeners that leading through change starts with selecting the right “flexor,” the behavior best suited to the moment. Eikenberry, the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group and author of Flexible Leadership, argues that project success hinges less on rigid control and more on a leader’s ability to flex behaviors in response to ever-shifting contexts. Drawing on 30 years of coaching managers in more than 50 countries, he shares simple, repeatable techniques that help teams thrive without adding bureaucracy.
Why Flexible Leadership Matters
Projects derail when leaders cling to a single style despite ever changing scope, stakeholders, or technology. Eikenberry introduces the idea of “flexors” (behaviors like curiosity, humility, and decisiveness) that allow a leader to remain consistent in purpose while adjusting tactics. He explains how choosing the right flexor at the right moment turns chaos into project progress.
The Flexor Framework in Action
Through consulting anecdotes, Eikenberry illustrates how a quick shift to the humility flexor transformed a tense status meeting into a brainstorming session, and how the decisiveness flexor kept a software rollout from stalling when scope turbulence hit. Listeners learn a three-question checklist to pick their flexor before every meeting.
Practical Guidance for Hybrid Teams
Remote and hybrid environments amplify the need for adaptable communication.
Eikenberry shares tactics for reading virtual rooms, signaling intent, and ensuring distributed team members experience the same clarity as those on-site.
Key Takeaways
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- Flexibility, not rigid authority, keeps projects on track when conditions shift.
- Selecting one behavior “flexor” per situation provides focus without mood swings.
- A clear shared mission anchors adaptability and prevents decision paralysis.
- Simple cues (questions, visual signals) help hybrid teams understand leadership intent.
- Discipline and empathy together create a resilient, engaged project culture.
More…
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Editor’s note: The author Cornelius Fichtner, PMP, CSM is an author, speaker, course creator, and since 2005 host of the world-famous Project Management Podcast. In this new series, Cornelius provides a summary of a recent podcast on a topic that we think will be of interest to our readers. This article is based on The PM Podcast Episode 527, an interview with Kevin Eikenberry. For more, see his author profile at the end of this article.
How to cite this work: Fichtner, C. (2025). Flexible Project Leadership: Mastering Time in a Turbulent World, From the Podcast: Summary of a recent Interview on The Project Management Podcast, series article, PM World Journal, Volume XIV, Issue VII, July. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/pmwj154-Jul2025-Fichtner-Flexible-Project-Leadership.pdf
About the Author
Cornelius Fichtner
Arizona, USA
Cornelius Fichtner, PMP, CSM is an author, speaker, course creator, and host of the world-famous Project Management Podcast. He is also well known for creating one of the first and most renowned PMP Exam Simulators, offering PMP practice exams that have helped countless students effortlessly pass their PMP Exam.
He says that the main way he helps candidates pass their exams is by letting his enthusiasm for project management shine through during training. Students and podcast listeners often comment on how he can make an academic subject like PM theory come alive to motivate, excite, and inspire them with this ‘dry’ subject.
He is a past president of the PMIOC Chapter and a PMI-OC Fellow. He lives in Tucson, Arizona, USA, with his wife, cats, and their four computers. Cornelius can be contacted at cornelius.fichtner@osp-international.com
You can find The Project Management Podcast™ at https://www.project-management-podcast.com, and The Project Management PrepCast™ at https://www.project-management-prepcast.com. If you are preparing for your PMP exam, then take a look here: https://www.pm-exam-simulator.com.
To view other works by Cornelius Fichtner published in the PMWJ, visit his author showcase at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/cornelius-fichtner/
