Project Management Insights

Just as with normal face to face meetings you will find that people don't always interact and engage when you want them too.  It is, of course, more difficult when you hold virtual meetings unless they are something that has happened regularly in the past. Here are three ways to engage people and include them more in your virtual meetings so they don't see them as a waste of their time. #Project Management #Projects #Virtual Meetings #Small Business

There are four key things that will make a difference in how your TEAM performs and engages to get the work done for you on your project. In this episode, I talk about those four things and the difference they can make to team output. #Project Management #Projects #Leadership

Life might not be easy right now, either for you or your team. Let's talk about what's likely to be causing stress and how you can work with that. And if you are one of the PM's that may have lost their job, what can you do to move forward during this time. #Project Management #Projects

With the onset of COVID-19 the way we work has shifted. It's time to shift your thinking about connection and teamwork. Here are ideas for ramping up your communication and connection with team members so they stay productive and focused.

Unspoken assumptions are the things that make problems bigger, issues become risks and risks to materialize. So, learn how to ask the questions to uncover unspoken assumptions so you don't have any of these things happen. By uncovering the assumptions you create more clarity for the whole team, which makes your job a whole lot easier. #Project Management #Leadership #People Management

It's not a great space to be in as a Project Manager, feeling as though you have no authority. I would question whether it's really authority you need or control. Let me share my ideas on how to feel as though you have more authority or control over what's happening, or have the discussion about shutting the project down. #Project Management #Projects #Leadership #Business

You might not have realized that when people feel connected and appreciated they produce more work than when they don't. On today's episode, I talk to Dr Dave Schramm who is as Assistant Professor and Family Life Specialist at the University of Utah. He spoke to me about the importance of treating team members like family in order to get the best from them. Dave recently gave a TedX Talk on The Secret Sauce for Business which elaborates further on this topic.

Often times we step into the role of being a Project Manager with little to no other experience in managing people. We might think that being a project manager is sexy and not consider that people management skills are really at the core of the role. Let's dive into the list I spoke about in the very first episode of Project Management Insights back in 2015 of the core skills you'll need to be a great PM.

Let's talk about those things that make the real difference to your success and they aren't during project implementation necessarily. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez talks about the keys to setting up your project and how to finish it.  Once again we are not talking about the scope, schedule or budget.

Too often I see vendors selling the business a solution to their problem before a Business Case or Business Requirements have been developed. This spells disaster. Take the time to develop both your business case AND business requirements without your vendor involved. Then gather information from the marketplace. Don't waste time and money on letting a vendor sell you a solution before you truly understand what the marketplace has to offer.

In this episode George Freeman III and I talk corporate politics. You'll learn how to work with the politics to make it work for your project. Don't be afraid of it. It makes sense once you understand the why behind it occurring.

John Sheridan, author of 'The Perfect Business' discusses project culture with me in this episode. How it forms and the five ways to make the culture better. We talk simple tips that can easily be put in place on any team. 5 simple ideas that can make a big difference to team effectiveness. Ultimately the things that will shift a project to becoming easily successful and ultimately make your job easier.

When you write a Business Case you are asked to show the 'Benefits' to be realized from undertaking the project. Why? Because that's what works for finance. What if we changed that and looked at the value to the business? Value as in, how will it change the people experience. How will the staff be positively impacted by the change?  How will the customer? It's a totally different way of looking at a project, from the businesses point of view. Something that doesn't happen currently.

There is no legitimate reason to rush a project. There may be reasons for needing a specific timeframe, and this still needs to be clear. The more 'rushing' that occurs the more problems a project is likely to face. Don't put that added pressure on your team by specifying an unrealistic timeframe for delivery. It isn't worth it.

Sure, it's great to have the technology available to support you in capturing ideas and providing information to your team, but don't forget the value of the personal factor. Connecting with your team members in a meeting, celebration, for coffee or lunch, as a group is ten times more valuable than any technology will be. Why? Because people like to be treated as individuals and recognized as a human with feelings and capabilities.

My belief is that we don't look at a project as something that is set up to manage change and this is what creates difficulties. If we ground ourselves in first understanding what the change is that the business wants, then the process for us making that change happen is our project. And if we keep this outcome, the desired change, in our minds during the life of our project, we can't help but deliver what the business wants.

I know it's a crazy question and yet I'm going to guess that at least some of your project team aren't fully committed to the project. How do I know that?  They aren't performing, they aren't even really bought into what it is that you're doing on the project. If you or your team members aren't committed to the project, then how on earth can you expect to deliver on time, and on budget.

You may not think about the people around you, or that you know who could help you solve any major problem on your project that you haven't faced before. People like another Senior Project Manager, for example; or a Project Coach.  Consider the people that you know who could support you at one of these times and connect with them, so if you need their help and support they will be ready and willing to help.

Do you notice that a number of projects in your business/organization are started because someone has a budget to spend and someone else comes up with a bright idea?  The very worst reason to start a project. Let's talk about why that's the case.

Does it matter how large or small your project is in relation to how you manage it, or what it means to manage it? My opinion is no, it doesn't. Argue with me if you like.