Career development

My esteemed colleague Natalie Udo’s post a few weeks ago, “What is a Project Manager?” started me thinking about what are the elements which make us successful in the business. And hopefully, I’m reinforcing Kimberly Wiefling’s recent posts on what are the keys to success as a project leader… and not being too redundant – Thanks, [...]

In my last blog I mentioned that I recently received a job offer at a new company.  This started me thinking about what is my plan for getting started at the new job, so today I figured I’d share my thoughts and maybe it will help you or maybe you’ll have some feedback for me.

Technorati [...]

What’s panache? Its your distinction style. You know project managers who have a special sense of dash, verve, or flair? They seem to consistently pull off tough conversations with apparent ease and confidence. And they get noticed and get recognition and respect.

Accidental Project Manager Series
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6
Part 3 of the Accidental Project Manger series talked about making sure you are working on a project that is important to your organization (and to your next promotion) by documenting benefits in a business case.
Another [...]

Someone sent me an e-mail the other night reminding me and all his other readers of the benefits of optimism over pessimism.   He’s right.  You tend to get what you expect to get.
So, as a manager, if you expect the worst from your people, the odds are that’s what you’ll get.  They will sense your dislike [...]

Project managers come in all shapes and sizes, with varying levels of training, experience, education, and background.  Some come with professional project management credentials, others do not.  Some have spent their entire professional careers managing projects, while others have strong ambitions to become project managers.  And there are many candidates who fall in between these [...]

My last blog talked about applying Five Whys to elements within project management and specifically to human and team dynamics. The more challenging aspect is in attempting to apply the Five Whys on global projects where activities are performed in multiple countries and the team is typically comprised of members from more than one country. [...]

Five Whys provides a structured yet simple approach to solving problems as they occur during a project and can provide a framework for a team to work through complex problems. It is a simple process at its core. 

Technorati Tags: best-practices, Career development, communication, human-factors, people, problem-solving

Do a quick search for project management jobs and you will usually find an emphasis on the ability to create and manage plans in Microsoft Project.  Although nearly every project manager has used this tool before, it is frequently misused and misunderstood.  This often leads to frustration and reversion to other methods of planning and [...]

Having made a moniker name called theUnknownPM kinda makes it impossible for me to push my own products so instead let me do the next worst thing for a moment and engage in random philosphy.  How do you know if you are a success or a failure at what you are doing?  Are you a [...]

There is no shortage of project management books. How they apply to your project reality is, well, another story. At ProjectsAtWork.com this month, we’re asking people to name the book or books that have proved most valuable in doing their jobs. You’re welcome to participate, too, at http://www.projectsatwork.com/survey/survey.cfm?ID=95.
We’ve also been interviewing authors of recent books [...]

Over the last few days this week, I described three scenarios and the difficult decisions Project Managers made in each of the three.  In the first, the desire for more responsibility might bery well have led to less effectiveness.

Technorati Tags: Accountability, Career development, Commitment, decisions, Ethics

 
OK here is the scenario – Do you pass the “ink blot test”??.
It is Friday afternoon on the day before a holiday weekend. You are on the telephone to a venture capital company in New York wanting to know about RoHS impact. The project you are working on since October and which has had three [...]

If you think you might be changing jobs any time soon, (hello Yahoo!, Applied Materials and
Nektar Therapeutics),

Technorati Tags: Career development, career-planning, differentiators, education, process, project-management, Recognition, self-improvement, Success, training, UCSC-Extension

An increasing number of organizations are listing project management (PM) skills as a requirement for their managers. It’s no surprise that many people want to acquire/improve their PM skills. I’d like to start a discussion about the value of the various ways one learns.
First, a few disclosures: I consult on PM issues, [...]

Rosemary Hossenlopp, MBA PMP © 2007 All Rights Reserved
If you don’t want the project manager same job you had last year, you need to plan differently this year. So make a new years resolution to create a project management development plan.
What Do I Focus On?
In the last blog, you identified success factors that are your [...]

Rosemary Hossenlopp, MBA PMP © 2007 All Rights Reserved
We all want to be experts in our project management field. What gets us recognized?
Success Factors Make Your Success Happen
Success factors are key activities you need to do to make your future happen. Success factors are things that must happen for career advancement to occur. These drive [...]

Rosemary Hossenlopp, MBA PMP © 2007 All Rights Reserved
We discussed in Part One how to be hired by clients and loved by your bosses. Now we talk about what makes you thrive in your project management position.
A Personal Vision Statement Formula
Your personal vision statement will consist of what you are known for and what atmosphere [...]

Rosemary Hossenlopp, MBA PMP © 2007 All Rights Reserved
Project managers increase the chance of project failure by not planning project work. You have heard the saying “Plan the Work and Work the Plan.” It is true for career planning too. Project managers limit their personal success and growth by failing to plan their careers. Layoff’s [...]

Rosemary Hossenlopp, MBA PMP © 2007 All Rights Reserved
What did you talk about during your holiday parties? If you didn’t talk about your job, why not? Maybe you were avoiding the subject because your project work just isn’t s exciting as it has been in the past. Or it could be because you were stunned [...]