Project Management Insights

What state is your schedule in?  Is everything on track and you're totally smashing delivery?  Or are some of your tasks that are slipping and the project is beginning to slide? Perhaps you have a total train wreck. Let's talk about your schedule and the things you can do to get it back on track and keep it that way.

Picking up the phone can be the simplest way to reconnect with a team member. It's much more personal than sending an email. What I found is picking up the phone I get an instant response, and of course that relies on the person being at their desk, or having their cell phone/mobile with them. These days that's fairly common. Get into the habit of picking up the phone first, then if you can't get the person, send an email.

Trust is one of those things that isn't always easy to gain. Once you lose someone's trust it's not easy to get it back. Unless you know-how. Here are some ways that you can begin to rebuild trust with your team members. You may be very surprised at the difference it makes.

What do I mean by 'Project Foundations'?  I'm talking about things such as a strong Business Case and Business Requirements.  You wouldn't consider building a house without plans, would you?  Then why start a project without a detailed business case and requirements?  You are setting yourself up for failure.

You probably think I'm crazy, right? You hate conflict and for me to say it's great, I must be crazy. Hear me out. When you have conflict do you notice that people are speaking up and telling you what they think? That's why I say it's great. From that place, the place of them speaking up, you can find a mutual way forward. And what I love is that usually what they have to say is important. It might raise issues or risks that others haven't voiced. So listen up as to my reasoning why I say having conflict on your project team is great and see if you can consider approaching it differently next time it erupts on your project.

Risk Management can be easy if you come at it from the right way. Engaging everyone on the team in risk management, for one thing, will help. Start considering risk right from the process of Business Case writing. It's then easier to track and work with them during your project journey.  Build a culture where risk discussions are allowed and valuable. The sooner you know about any risk, the sooner you can put a mitigation strategy in place.

Having your Project Sponsor fully on board and supporting you and the project you are managing is key. There are a number of things you can do to engage your sponsor and add value, so they become your number one ally and supporter, no matter what is happening on your project. Here are the way's I've managed this with great outcomes.

How long does it take you to prepare your weekly or monthly Project Reports?  I'm guessing quite a while if you follow the standard reporting procedures which is to provide lots of detail. How much of what you produce is ever fully read?  I'm guessing not a lot. Why then don't you use the 'Exception Reporting Method.'  You develop a one-page report that just highlights things that aren't working or you need a decision about.

Change management is all about getting people on board with a change. And given that the project you are managing is all about making a change for the business, it makes sense to have someone support you to get people to accept the change you're making.  How else are you going to show the ROI that was stated in your Business Case?

People take in information in different ways. Have you thought about that? Having a conversation with one person might have them clear and understanding what you want of them.  For another person, you would need to draw it out and let them see it visually, so they get it. For someone else, they might need to experience it. Don't consider that delivering a message one way means everyone gets it.

Do you think that by undertaking our PMI training you have all the skills necessary to be a great Project Manager?  That's not quite true. There are a number of other 'core' skills that are even more important than what you learnt in your training. Let me point out some of them. And if you want to undertake a Skills Assessment to see where you might need support with other skills, then grab this free 'Project Managers SWOT Analysis' and fill it out. It might help you understand which skills it will be valuable to learn.