Project Managers need to be Jesters

Project Managers need to be Jesters

We all know the saying Time flies when you’re having fun. Are you helping your team’s time fly?

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Project Managers are Supporters

Project Managers are Supporters

Many of the things that go wrong in projects will be wholly and completely out of your control, but can have a massive affect on your project. You will need to find a way to support your team while they work through whatever issues they may be dealing with.

Project Managers Pave the Way

Project Managers Pave the Way

As a Project Manager, it is going to be necessary to pave the way through obstacles that come up as the project progresses. Some say that this is the main responsibility of a Project Manager, and I tend to agree. It is up to the Project Manager to ensure that obstacles are dealt with and mitigated before they affect the project team and the project itself. Generally, there are three different kinds of obstacles that projects face: Technical, Political, and Emotional.

Project Managers are Leaders

Project Managers are Leaders

Think about a person that you would follow regardless of where they were going. What makes them a leader worth following? In terms of the business world, a leader doesn’t necessarily make decisions, and a leader doesn’t necessarily have the highest ranking title. A true leader is someone that has earned the trust and respect of their team; and as a result, that team will follow that person in whatever direction they take.

What exactly, do Project Managers Do?

What exactly, do Project Managers Do?

Project Management is a very difficult line of work to describe in terms that every person can understand. The quickest answer I can usually come up with is “I get all of the work done on projects without doing any of the actual work”, which is the best description I have of what I do.

Another Two Types of Team Members – The Yellow and The Red

Last post we discovered how Green and Blue personalities add to the value of a team. In this post we will take a look at the last two types: Red and Yellow. These two colors round out a truly high performance team as long as the team leader is able to understand their needs and [...]

Two Types of Team Members – The Blue and The Green

In the first post we discovered how color can be a contributor on how a team functions. The proper mix of colors will make the difference between a functional and non-functional tam. There are many theories around personality types and a derth of information around daily interactions that create a highly functional team. In this [...]

Use Of Colors For Successful Team Building

Most of us have worked on a team whether it is for work, leisure or other pursuits. It is inevitable that some personalities tend to take over the group and assert their influence even if it is not warranted. I have seen teams fall apart on the basis that the mix of members has not [...]

Projecting Leadership in the Age of Change

Projecting Leadership in the Age of Change

IBM’s Global CEO Survey, entitled Capitalizing on Complexity, provides insights from over 1500 CEOs worldwide.  Inside this survey come some startling observations.  Just a couple of years prior, CEOs complained of an inability to see the change that was coming to their market, creating real difficulties in determining how to respond.  The problem seems to [...]

Four Facets of the Cross-Culture Project Manager

Four Facets of the Cross-Culture Project Manager

About one generation ago, management styles focused on the concept of a “happy worker is a good worker.”  Organizations focused on providing employees the amenities they needed to feel valued, in hopes of it leading to higher productivity.  The Hawthorne experiments by Elton Mayo found that changes in the workplace were welcomed and improved morale.  [...]

Understanding Your Customer’s Attachment Style

Understanding Your Customer’s Attachment Style

Program managers, used synonymously with Project Managers here, are often the most consistent face of the organization to the customer base.  Program managers (PM) deal with customers on a daily basis.  PMs are forced to interact with them constantly to resolve issues, communicate progress, sell new products and services and build a healthy long-term relationship [...]

Some rules are meant to be broken….

When things are not going our way, we need to stop and evaluate; because things are supposed to work smoothly together. So, when we find any type of resistance, chances are something isn’t matching. Either the rules or the people involved are not aligned. Once again – no one is doing anything wrong. It’s just not a perfect match, yet.

Handling delays in a project schedule (Part III)

Handling delays in a project schedule (Part III)

This is the second part of a three part article discussing “how does a project manager intelligently handle delays?”

Last article we focused on acknowledging the natural flow of a project which includes periodic speed bumps and roadblocks. In today’s article we’ll focus on using critical path analysis to assist with project management. Diagramming the critical paths of a project accomplishes several things:

Handling the speed-bumps in a project schedule (Part I)

Handling the speed-bumps in a project schedule (Part I)

Last week I was taping a series of lectures for the Sequel Server World Wide User Group (SSWUG.org), and I was asked “how does a project manager handle items that causes us to miss deadlines?”

This is an interesting question, because every project will have speed bumps. A good project manager expects speed-bumps and actually plans for the unexpected. So – how does one do this intelligently to synchronize with the final delivery dates?

Handling the delays in a project schedule (Part II)

Handling the delays in a project schedule (Part II)

This is the second part of a three part article discussing “how does a project manager intelligently handle delays in a project?”

Last article we focused on acknowledging the natual flow of a project which includes periodic speed bumps and roadblocks. In today’s article we’ll focus on using recovery protocol plans to assist with project management.

Tips to increase effectiveness and  efficiency at the office

Tips to increase effectiveness and efficiency at the office

Many of us like to think of ourselves are multi-tasking experts.  But in reality, multi-tasking is an euphemism for “interruption” and  “distractions”.    You feel busy and much in demand.  But at the end of the day we feel exhausted with not much to show for the churn. Below are some simple tips to increase your [...]

Are Businesswomen Contributing Enough? Nope!

Are Businesswomen Contributing Enough? Nope!

Not even close! Don’t take my word for it. I’m educated as a scientist, and I do everything I can to make fact-based decisions based on data, so here’s some data for ya . . . According to the 2011 Catalyst Census:Fortune 500 Women Board Directors, Executive Officers and Top Earners and prior Catalyst Censuses, women have made no [...]

Stick a Fork in 2011 and Call it DONE!

Stick a Fork in 2011 and Call it DONE!

In my timezone I’ve got just a bit over one more day to go in 2011. Personally I always welcome the end of one year and the beginning of the next. It feels like a fresh start to me. It’s been a great year in many ways, but now that I have worked with people [...]

Weed Your Life

Weed Your Life

Here’s another personal musing promoted by what I’ve come to call the “alcoholidays”. This time of year my mind wanders to gratitude. I’m grateful for the incredibly talented colleagues who have made this year’s relentless stream of work border on enjoyable. And I’m thankful for friends who have made life’s normal burdens lighter through their [...]

Holiday Compassion All Year Long

Holiday Compassion All Year Long

This time of year in the US many people, including me and my family, celebrate Christmas. It’s the most important holiday for us, and it’s a time of year when people seem more tuned in to the connections among all human beings. It seems to me that people are a wee bit nicer to each [...]

Do Affirmations and Quotes Work for You?

Do Affirmations and Quotes Work for You?

In the first and second blog posts of this series we talked about heavy stuff. I shared some thoughts about disappointment and forgiveness, two key human conditions that I’ve observed in my practice that consistently drain and distract people from reaching their full potential (and enjoyment) in the workplace. Now I’d like to shift gears and to [...]