PM Resolutions to Ponder

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

  Career Development   Communications Management  

Happy New Year! Yep, we made it through despite Sandy and the Mayan Apocalypse. Now it’s time to turn our gaze toward 2013 and beyond. If you are like me, no matter how many projects you complete and no matter how many frameworks and methods you master, there always seems to be room for improvement. So, in the spirit of New Year resolutions, what do you say to making a few in hopes of enhancing our PM prowess?

To help get things started, here are my top 10 personal PM resolutions for 2013. Maybe some will resonate with you:

1. Become more empathetic with stakeholders
Human nature seems to embrace empathizers--those people who demonstrate that they care about and understand what others think and feel. When people believe you understand their needs, wants, situation and issues, they tend to open up more, trust more and share more. As a project manager, the ability to empathize is something I am continuously trying to improve.

Being able to understand in a way that others see that you understand goes a long way toward building credibility and winning support. In his article “What is the Secret to Project Management?”, Peter Marci puts it this way:

“Through the use of empathy, a project manager increases his/her ability to communicate in a manner that often times guides the client or team member to the best solution for the project given…

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