Project management has a branding problem. The word ‘manager’ implies authority and control, someone who directs, decides, and delegates from the top. But the best PMs don’t operate like that. They create a safe and productive environment for others to do their best work.

In 2026, as teams become more autonomous and AI accelerates delivery, the human dimension of the job matters more than ever. The biggest challenge is applying this philosophy under the pressure of complex projects with multiple teams and stakeholders, and tight deadlines.

Yann Thézénas has spent the last decade doing exactly that, across telecom, logistics, SaaS, and international sport. As Senior Digital Projects Expert at FIBA, the world’s governing body for basketball, he faced his biggest test yet: a two-and-a-half-year overhaul of the federation’s global digital ecosystem, coordinating teams across multiple regions for a hard launch at the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

In this episode, Yann shares what works, what doesn’t, and why a great PM has more in common with a basketball captain than a traditional manager.

Key learnings:

• Understand what servant leadership means in practice
• Learn why knowing what not to build is as important as knowing what to build
• Find out how AI is reshaping the PM role, and which part of it will never be automated
• Discover the lessons Yann took away from the biggest project of his career

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