ABSTRACT

This chapter explains the people and, in particular, their preferred ways of doing things. It examines their personal styles and how these can have a direct and often significant impact on the initiation and governance of portfolios. People are at the heart of effective portfolio management, which depends on how they perceive its value, and adopt and practise it. If the systems and processes of portfolio management are to be embedded for long-term benefit, the existing organization and its people will have to undergo change – not just in terms of physical infrastructure but also in terms of attitude and behaviour. People perceive, design, adopt, deploy on the portfolio practice, involve others, adapt, sustain its use, learn from and share knowledge differently. Around adoption, it is worth considering how people with different communication styles perceive the goals of portfolio management.