Power, Legitimacy, and Informal Governance
in Complex Projects
Understanding How Projects Are Really Governed
Beyond Formal Structures
FEATURED PAPER
By Prof. Dr. M.F. HARAKE
GBSB Global Business School (Spain / Malta)
CEREGE Research Laboratory
University of Poitiers (France)
Abstract
Project governance is commonly represented through formal structures of authority, accountability, and decision-making. Project sponsors, steering committees, project managers, and defined stakeholder groups are assumed to constitute the principal architecture through which projects are directed and controlled. Yet complex projects frequently operate through a second, less visible governance system composed of informal influence, political relationships, expert authority, resource dependency, social legitimacy, and information networks. This article introduces the concept of the Invisible Project Manager to examine actors who exercise significant influence over project trajectories without necessarily possessing formal project-management authority. Drawing conceptually on theories of organizational power, stakeholder salience, resource dependence, social networks, institutional legitimacy, and informal organization, the article distinguishes formal project governance from the relational structures through which decisions are negotiated, delayed, redirected, legitimized, or resisted. Six sources of invisible project authority are examined: positional proximity, resource control, expertise, network centrality, information control, and legitimacy. The article subsequently develops an Invisible Governance Map for identifying the actors and relationships that shape project decisions beyond organizational charts. It argues that complex projects are governed through a dual architecture: constitutional governance, which specifies formal roles and procedures, and relational governance, which determines how influence actually travels through the project ecosystem. The analysis suggests that project managers must understand not only who is formally responsible for a project but also who possesses the practical capacity to influence whether decisions become organizational realities. The article concludes with implications for stakeholder analysis, ethics, project leadership, governance design, risk management, and project-management education.
Key Words: project governance; power; legitimacy; informal organization; stakeholder influence; resource dependence; networks; project leadership; complex projec
1. Introduction
1.1 The Formal Representation of Project Governance
Project management has developed a sophisticated architecture for
gning responsibility and coordinating collective action. Contemporary standards and governance frameworks distinguish the roles of sponsors, steering committees, project managers, workstream leaders, project management offices, clients, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Such arrangements are indispensable because projects are temporary organizations that require explicit mechanisms for authority, accountability, resource allocation, escalation, and control (Turner & Müller, 2003; PMI, 2021).
The formal governance model rests on a reasonable assumption: those who are assigned responsibility for the project should possess the authority required to direct it. A sponsor authorizes and champions the initiative, a steering committee resolves strategic issues, and a project manager integrates planning and execution. Responsibility matrices, reporting lines, approval thresholds, and governance charters make this architecture visible. They establish who is expected to decide, who must be consulted, and who is accountable for outcomes.
Yet formal representation is not the same as organizational reality. In many projects, an individual with no formal project title can delay a critical approval, redirect a technical choice, mobilize opposition, unlock resources, shape executive interpretation, or determine whether stakeholders accept an outcome. Conversely, a formally senior actor may possess little practical influence because the project depends on knowledge, relationships, or resources controlled elsewhere. The visible chart therefore captures only one dimension of project governance (Granovetter, 1973).
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How to cite this work: Harake, M.F. (2026). The Invisible Project Manager: Power, Legitimacy, and Informal Governance in Complex Projects, PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue IX, September. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/pmwj169-Sept2026-Harake-The-Invisible-Project-Manager.pdf
About the Author
Prof. Dr. M. F. HARAKE
Poitiers, France
Prof. Dr. M. F. HARAKE is a management professor based in France. He is a Full Professor and Manager of the Research Center at GBSB Global Business School (Spain/Malta). He is also affiliated with the CEREGE Research Laboratory at the University of Poitiers (France) as an Associate Research Fellow. Prof. Harake’s research interests include post-conflict public management, crisis and urgent operations management, humanitarian logistics, and project management in unstable environments. His academic and professional work focuses on bridging strategic theory and practical implementation, particularly in volatile and complex environments. He can be contacted at : mohamed.harake@faculty.gbsb.global
