Project Management

I've Learned, Too...

From the PMI Global Insights Blog
by ,
Whether it’s in-person or virtual, PMI events give you the right skills to complete amazing projects. In this blog, whether it be our Virtual Experience Series, PMI Training (formerly Seminars World) or PMI® Global Summit, experienced event presenters past, present and future from the entire PMI event family share their knowledge on a wide range of issues important to project managers.

About this Blog

RSS

View Posts By:

Cameron McGaughy
James Turchick

Past Contributors:

Kimberly Whitby
Johanna Rusly
April Birchmeier
Nikki Evans
Dalibor Ninkovic
Dr. Deepa Bhide
Morten Sorensen
Tao Chun Liu
Jonathan Spiteri
Chris DiBella
Nic Jain
Tyler Norman
Nicholas Sonnenberg
Tam Abaku
Klaus Nielsen, MBA, PMI-ACP, PMP
Karen Chovan
Jack Duggal
Catalin Dogaru
Priya Patra
Josh Parrott
Scott Lesnick-CSP
Antonio Nieto
Dimitrios Zaires
Ahmed Zouhair
Carmine Paragano
Te Wu
Scott Bain
Katie Mcconochie
Fabiola Maisonnier
Erik Agudelo
Paul A Capello
Kiron Bondale
Jamie Champagne
Esra Tepeli
Renaldi Gondosubroto
Joseph Musiitwa
Mel Ross
Laura Lazzerini
Yonela Mfeya
Kim Essendrup
Geetha Gopal
David Summers
Carol Martinez
Lisa DiTullio
Tai Cochran
Fabio Rigamonti
Archana Shetty
Geneviève Bouchard
Teresa Lawrence, PhD, PMP, CSM
Randall Englund
Kristy Tan Neckowicz
Moritz Sprenger
Mike Frenette
O. Chima Okereke
David Maynard
Nancie Celini
Brantlee Underhill
Claudia Alcelay
Sandra MacGillivray
Vibha Tripathi
Sharmila Das
Michelle Brown
Gina Abudi
Greg Githens
Joy Beatty
Sarah Mersereau
Lawrence Cooper
Donna Gregorio
Seth Greenwald
Bruce Gay
Michele Mattera
Wael Ramadan
Fiona Lin
Somnath Ghosh
Yasmina Khelifi
Erik Rueter
Joe Shi
Michel Thiry
Erika Kiely
Heather van Wyk
Jennifer Donahue
Barbara Trautlein
Julie Ho
Steve Salisbury
Jill Diffendal
Yves Cavarec
Rose James
Drew Craig
Vinay Babu Tarala
Stephanie Jaeger
Diana Robertson
Zahid Khan
Benjamin C. Anyacho
Nadia Vincent
Carlos Javier Pampliega García
Norma Lynch
Heather McLarnon, CSPO
Lissette Indhira Pimentel Sosa
Emily Luijbregts
Susan Coleman
Aneliya Chervenova
Michelle Stronach
Sydni Neptune
Louise Fournier
Quincy Wright
Peace Opuruiche Echeonwu
Nesrin Christine Aykac
Ming Yeung
Laura Samsó
Lily Woi
Jill Almaguer
Mayte Mata Sivera
Prof. Éamonn Kelly
Marcos Arias
Karthik Ramamurthy
Michelle Venezia
Yoram Solomon
Cheryl Lee
Kelly George
Dan Furlong
Kristin Jones
Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin
Olivia Montgomery
Carlene Szostak
Hilary Kinney
Annmarie Curley
Dave Davis

Recent Posts

Presentation Recap: Sustainability in Project Management

Presentation Recap: Measuring and Managing Enterprise Portfolio Health

Elevating Leadership Through Community: Reflections from the PMI Global Summit 2025

Why the PMI Global Summit Series Africa Is a Classroom of Urgency

Presentation Recap: Women in Project Management - Breaking the Glass Ceiling

Categories

Agile, Agility, alignment, Ask the Expert, Benefits Realization, Best Practices, Bonding, Business Analysis, Calculating Project Value, Capital Projects, Career Development, Change Management, Cloud Computing, Collaboration, collaboration, Communications Management, Complexity, Congress 2016 Ask an Expert, Construction, Curiosity, Digital Transformation, digital transformation, Documentation, Earned Value Management, Education, EMEA, EMEA Congress Reflections, Engagement, engagement, Ethics, Events, Extra Info, Facilitation, forecasting, future, Generational PM, Global Congress 2016, Global Congress 2016 - North America, Global Summit, Global Summit 2023, Global Summit Series, Good News, Government, Healthcare, Human Aspects of PM, Human Resources, Identity, Information Technology, Innovation, Kickoff, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Mentoring, Metrics, Networking, New Practitioners, Nontraditional Project Management, organisations, Organizational Risk, PM & the Economy, PM Think About It, PMI, PMI Congress, PMI Congress NA 2016, PMI EMEA Congress 2018, PMI Global Conference, PMI Global Conference 2017, PMI Global Conference 2019, PMI Global Congress - 2016, PMI Global Congress 2012 - North America, PMI Global Congress 2013 - EMEA, PMI Global Congress 2014 - North America, Pmi global congress 2014 - North America, PMI Global Congress 2015, PMI Global Congress 2015 - Ask the Expert, PMI Global Congress 2016 - EMEA, PMI Hours for Impact, PMI PMO Symposium 2013, PMI Pulse of the Profession, PMI Training, PMI Virtual Experience Series, PMIEMEA17, PMIEMEA19, PMO, PMO, PMXPO, Portfolio Management, Procurement Management, Professional Development, Program Management, Project Delivery, Project Failure, project kickoff, Project Planning, Project Requirements, Reflections on the PM Life, Risk Management, Risk Management, ROI, Roundtable, Scheduling, SeminarsWorld, Social Impact, Social Responsibility, SoftSkills, Stakeholder Management, Strategy, Sustainability, Teams, Techniques, test, The Moon, Tools, Training, Translations, Videos, Virtual Experience Series, Virtual Teams, Volunteering, war

Date

linkedin twitter facebook Request to reuse this  


I thought I would add to David's post "I've Learned..." because I feel it's always nice to have some key takeaways from peoples' experiences to, shall we say, leap-frog past those things ourselves? We don't want to learn EVERYTHING from our own mis-steps along the way...

So what can I share that might help a few souls out?

I've learned...

- that you can ALWAYS learn something new from another person, no matter their age, education, background, or experiences.

- that diversity matters - diversity in all ways - when it comes to assessing challenges and finding their solutions.

- that in times of change and uncertainty, the best thing you can do for the people around you is to be open, honest, and to help them see why and how they still matter - how they've contributed to what once was, how they can help shift through the change, and how they will continue to provide value moving forward.

- that if you trust and give people the opportunity to step up to higher expectations, and provide them the necessary support they need (tools, training, moral support, backing, or other), they will rise to the challenge.

- that it's okay to be wrong, and

- that it's better to say no when your plate is full, than to think you can do it all, AND that people will understand, especially if you open up and choose to tell them why.

For this last point, I find it can be one of the most difficult ones to stick with. 

I am passionate about so many things, and I love to see positive change, in our working environments, and in the world too. So, when people ask me if I can volunteer to help them do something, my heart and mind are often quick to say "YES"...

Not only is this not healthy, it is not a reality when we have family, when we would like to care for ourselves, and when we still need to pay the bills. So, be careful with what you say yes to, and balance that volunteer time with everything in your life. 

I've deliberately said no to many things of late, and a few more where I said, maybe - in a few months...when (and if) the waters calm!

I'll be sharing other lessons around engaging your teams, collaboration and lean processes that will increase the performance within your organization, when I present on Sunday, Oct. 29, 4:45...you can find more details about my session here.

What have you learned that you might share?

...

If you'd like to discuss anything in particular with me, please book an appointment with me at the Ask the Expert booth during the following times. (And if you miss this chance, or won't be there? Book a time with me anyways...)

Saturday, Oct 28th: 3:00 to 4:30

Sunday, Oct 29th: 10:00 to 12:00

Monday, Oct 30th: 9:00 to 12:00

Looking forward to meeting you there!


Posted by Karen Chovan on: October 11, 2017 08:56 PM | Permalink

Comments (5)

Please login or join to subscribe to this item
avatar
Stéphane Parent Self Employed / Semi-retired| Leader Maker Prince Edward Island, Canada
Like you Karen, I found I have something to learn from each and every person I encounter. I learned that the worst thing for a person, including myself, is to be indispensable. Finally, I learned to be comfortable with discomfort.

avatar
Rami Kaibni
Community Champion
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten Associates New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Thanks for sharing Karen. I’ve learned not to raised mu expectation in order not to get disappointed and to accept what I have.

avatar
Eduin Fernando Valdes Alvarado Project Manager| F y F Fabricamos Futuro Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia
Thanks for sharing

avatar
Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD Senior Project Manager| Infosys Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
When a problem seems to large to handle, I have learned to think of the universe and it's trillions of stars, and soon enough the problem doesn't seem so big anymore. And with the paradigm shift, the brain thinks more clearly, and finds a way to resolve the issue.

avatar
Dave Davis Senior Project Manager| Cincinnati Children's Hospital Springboro, Oh., United States
Every interaction with every person is a learning opportunity. You learn because you listen, are open to exchange of thoughts, and you value others.

Thanks for sharing and looking forward to collaborating in Chicago.

Please Login/Register to leave a comment.

ADVERTISEMENTS

"How much deeper would the ocean be if sponges didn't live there?"

- Steven Wright

ADVERTISEMENT

Sponsors