From Vision to Delivery: What Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s Leadership Teaches Us About Nation-Building as a Project
- Giana Lawrence-Primus
- Sep 13, 2025
- 5 min read
Whether you’re delivering a project or rebuilding a nation, success isn’t possible without trust.
A Personal Lens on Global Leadership
Before I was a project management coach and consultant, I was a global development professional. My background in international relations and public administration shaped how I view the world—and how I approach my work.
So when I write about Burkina Faso today, I’m not coming to this moment casually. For years, I’ve followed this West African nation, particularly its political unrest, numerous coup d'états, and periods of civil instability. Like many observers of international affairs, I initially dismissed each new disruption as part of a repetitive cycle.
But something shifted with the rise of Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
At just 34 years old, Traoré stepped into leadership with a bold vision for Burkina Faso—one centered on self-determination, sovereignty, and transformation. And as I watched his speeches, strategy, and early reforms take shape, I couldn’t help but see a clear, compelling connection:
Nation-building is the ultimate project management challenge.
And Captain Traoré? He’s showing us what it looks like to lead through vision, strategy, and relational trust.
The Three Pillars: Nation-Building Through a Project Management Lens
In my work, I teach a 3-step Project Delivery Success Framework—Discovery → Planning → Execution—designed to bring clarity, structure, and alignment to every initiative. But underneath that framework are three values that define what it means to lead successful transformation:
Relational leadership
Transformational outcomes
Value delivery
These are the same principles that drive any meaningful project—and they’re at the heart of what Captain Traoré is trying to accomplish in Burkina Faso.
Let’s unpack them together.
1. Relational: You Can’t Build a Nation Without Its People
Whether you’re delivering a project or rebuilding a nation, success isn’t possible without trust.
Project management is human-centered work. So is nation-building.
At its core, both disciplines require:
Stakeholder engagement at every level
A clear understanding of roles, goals, and expectations
The ability to align teams across divisions, geographies, and beliefs
Mutual trust between leadership and citizens
Traoré’s speeches consistently center the Burkinabè people—their dignity, their strength, and their ownership of Burkina Faso’s future. This relational leadership style mirrors servant leadership in project management: listening first, empowering others, and building from the inside out.
In both project delivery and nation-building, relationships aren’t secondary—they’re foundational.
2. Transformational: Leadership That Challenges the Status Quo
Project management is not just tactical—it is transformational. It requires leaders to reimagine what’s possible, solve root problems, and bring people along through change.
So does nation-building.
Under Traoré’s leadership, Burkina Faso has:
Expelled French troops and re-evaluated its foreign policy
Asserted control over natural resources
Invested in local infrastructure, including roads, education, and agriculture
Reframed the national narrative toward sovereignty and pride
Transformation is never just about policy. It’s about mindset, identity, and purpose. Project
leaders and nation-builders alike must inspire people to believe in a new possibility—and then guide them through the hard work of making it real.
3. Value Delivered: Public Value That Can Be Seen and Felt
One of the biggest myths in project management is that value only arrives at the end of the project. In reality, value can—and should—be delivered at every stage.
Likewise, nation-building is about delivering public value, both tangible and intangible.
Tangible value includes:
Accessible healthcare
Improved infrastructure
Skilled jobs and workforce development
Increased agricultural production
Educational access and equity
Public safety and security
Intangible value includes:
National pride and identity
A sense of ownership and agency
Trust in leadership and process
Social cohesion and hope
Burkina Faso is starting to see both.
Case Study: Tomatoes, Women, and the Possibility of Local Development
Project management is human-centered work. So is nation-building.
What if Burkina Faso invested deeply in revitalizing its tomato industry—not just through infrastructure or supply chains, but through the leadership of women farmers?
What if women were equipped with training, resources, and access to markets so they could lead agricultural cooperatives, organize local production, and help shape the flow of goods from farms to processing plants?
What if tomatoes weren’t exported raw—or worse, left to spoil—but were processed locally into paste and preserved in ways that add value, reduce waste, and keep profits in community hands?
The potential impact is profound.
Relationally, women would gain more than income—they’d gain networks, confidence, and voice. Their leadership could strengthen ties between communities, local governments, and producers. They would be seen not only as workers, but as decision-makers.
Transformationally, empowering women in agriculture would shift household dynamics and community development. In many international development studies—including my own past work—it’s been shown that when women earn income, they tend to reinvest more heavily in their families: food, education, healthcare, and long-term stability. This creates ripple effects across generations.
Value Delivered would look like families with more food on the table, children staying in school longer, and communities becoming more self-reliant. The value isn’t just in the tomato paste—it’s in the transformation of household economics, gender equity, and local resilience.
This is the power of designing local projects with human-centered leadership in mind. It’s not a stretch. It’s a strategic opportunity waiting to be realized.
Leadership in Focus: A Blend of Transformational & Servant Leadership
Captain Traoré leads with a rare blend of vision and humility.
He’s transformational, reimagining what Burkina Faso can be.
He’s a servant leader, centering the needs and wisdom of the people.
He’s a systems thinker, aligning military, policy, and civil society toward a shared goal.
And in doing so, he’s reminding us: Project management isn’t just for corporations. It’s a tool for sovereignty.
Conclusion: When Project Management Meets Purpose
As someone whose career bridges project management and global development, I see Burkina Faso not just as a story of unrest—but as a case study in possibility.
What Captain Traoré is building is not just infrastructure. It’s trust, alignment, transformation, and value—the core outcomes of any well-led project.
If you’re a project leader, take note: your skills translate far beyond a Gantt chart. If you’re a citizen watching from afar: remember that leadership—true leadership—is both relational and results-driven.
Ready to explore how project management could transform your leadership, your systems, or your next initiative?
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Author's Note
Giana Lawrence-Primus is a global-minded project management consultant, educator, and founder of Project Manager Lab. With roots in international development and a passion for systems that center people and results, she helps leaders and organizations deliver work that is clear, impactful, and deeply human.
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