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The Money Files

A blog that looks at all aspects of project and program finances from budgets, estimating and accounting to getting a pay rise and managing contracts. Written by Elizabeth Harrin from RebelsGuideToPM.com.

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Goal-setting for project managers who don’t like big goals

I think I’ve written on here before that I’m not against anyone who wants to use January for SMART goal setting for new year’s resolutions, but personally, it’s not for me. Not everyone wants the public stretchy goals that the new year seems bound to bring.

For me, goals are more about direction, not pressure. I want to set boundaries on my work/life, not targets. I do have a personal fitness goal which I’m definitely not going to share in public, but mostly my aims for the year is to just do everything to the best of my ability.

If you’re also feeling the pressure of goal setting, especially as we’re all facing into annual reviews at this time of year, here are 5 alternative goal styles you can use.

“Stop doing” goals

These are goals for things you are not going to do any more.

Over time, you’ve probably picked up tasks like reporting, meeting handling, processes that made sense but now seem like ticking a box. These are the things you could drop. Could your weekly report be a monthly summary?

Could you decline a regular meeting? Could you stop chasing updates where there is already a process to submit them, and then call out people who don’t comply rather than trying to help them look good?

Effort-based goals (not outcome-based)

If you (or someone in your team) has an effort based goal, think about how it could be reframed to be outcome-based instead. This is about how consistently you show up, not what the end result is.

It could be spending 10 minutes each week reviewing risks or blocking out thinking time and sticking to it. It’s about making new habits and doing the thing you said you would, even if the end result is imperfect.

Capability goals (what you want to get better at)

My personal fitness goal would fit in here. This type of goal is about building skills, judgement and confidence, not just completing things on your To Do list.

You’re looking for an improvement in performance. For quite a few people I know this year, it’s about becoming more confident at facilitating difficult meetings. Perhaps for you it’s estimating, scheduling or something else.

Energy goals (what you want more/less of)

For me, this one is working late in the evenings. Energy goals protect how you feel about work, or how you want work to feel for you. It’s about consciously changing damaging habits to avoid burnout.

It could be going to the gym each week, getting a walk in at lunchtime, having a massage booked every month or something more work-y like avoiding back to back meetings and finding the mental space to close down open tasks before you log off at night.

Decision goals (what you’ll decide faster)

Finally, decision goals are about how you make decisions. We looked to buy a new car recently, and I did a lot of research (thank you, ChatGPT). But when it came down to the final two brands, we drove them both in a morning and made the decision that afternoon. I’m sure there are plenty of other cars out there that fit the brief, but I can’t expend effort on driving them all.

In project terms, delays are often caused by not having a decision. What can you do to speed things up?

You don’t need all 5 types of goal to start 2026 strong. Just pick one, and add to it as the year goes on. After all, there’s nothing to say you can’t set goals at other times of the year, right?

Posted on: January 19, 2026 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

New Year, same projects: 5 smart questions to ask in January

Categories: Decision Making

It’s a fresh year, fresh budgets and a big long list of management ‘must dos’. However, I don’t know about you, but all my projects are the same. In my experience, most Januarys aren’t clean slates, they’re continuations. Most of my colleagues aren’t starting shiny new initiatives either. We’ve still got a lot to finish off!

January is a reset point, not a restart, so here are 5 questions that help you re-orientate when you open your laptop on some half-finished work.

What has quietly become harder since last year?

Constraints creep in gradually. Processes get…sludgier. There’s more organisational noise. Look for tasks that are taking longer than expected. Dependencies that feel more weighty. Decisions that seem to involve more people than ever before or that are struggling to get made at all.

This isn’t about blame – it’s just about surfacing some of the tricky stuff so you can tackle it head on.

What assumptions are we still working from?

Look back at that assumptions list. It’s probably shifted a bit, right? Once it’s baked into your plan, it’s hard to see that assumption at all.

Some of my commonly-used assumptions include:

We’ll have business support and stakeholder engagement
The team will be available
Funding will be made available.

Hmmm…. Maybe time to revisit and replan around those!

Who is more (or less) influential now?

Obviously we are not going to be calling people out by saying they are not influential to their faces, but it’s worth some quiet reflection individually or with trusted team members. Some people shift in roles, or their role definition shifts. Organisational influence shifts faster than org charts, so your key influencers might have moved.

Look for the people who block or unblock decisions, stakeholders whose opinions now carry more weight and any informal influencers.

What’s draining effort without adding value?

Look for things that you are still doing as a team because it got started last year and hasn’t been looked at since.
For me, that’s weekly team meetings. We have shifted them to fortnightly because that works better.

What decision are we postponing?

Avoided decisions often create more problems and delays than bad decisions. January exposes the decisions we didn’t make at the end of last year because we said, “let’s circle back in the new year”. Suddenly, the new year is here and those decisions still aren’t made.

Look for trade offs between scope and timelines, resources you need but haven’t asked for, issues that you should be deciding about escalating. Decide what info is actually missing or what the decision is and go out and get it. Remember, you don’t necessarily need every tiny piece of the puzzle before you move forward and most decisions can be undone if they turn out to be too wrong.

You don’t need a workshop or a slide deck to chat through these with a colleague. You don’t even necessarily need to talk to anyone else – mull them over while you get a coffee at the machine or in the 10 minutes between calls when you can’t really start anything else.

The point is to tidy up and feel aligned on these questions to help you see clearly where you are and what you can do to prevent months of friction later. Perhaps just pick one and see how you get on?

Posted on: January 12, 2026 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

7 Project habits worth re-starting this year

Categories: Career Development

January is here, and with it the pressure to plan the year and Do All The Things. In my view, January work doesn’t need a radical reinvention. Sometimes it’s about returning to what already works, and I’m sure there are some habits you know you should be doing but have stopped being so proactive about. This is your reminder that maybe this time of year it’s all about doing what works instead of trying to do something big.

Here are 7 things you probably used to do and maybe don’t focus on so much anymore because the pressure of Q4 got in the way.

Writing things down properly (not just holding them in your head)

I know several project managers who pride themselves on having the information in their heads – and a project sponsor too. Unfortunately, when you are off sick, no one else can pick up the workload. And there are a lot of bugs around at this time of year.

Write it all down. Add tasks to an action log. Update risks, issues and tick off milestones as complete. Document the changes that Steering approved somewhere other than just the minutes.

Clarifying expectations early

You know what you are doing, but does everyone? Don’t assume that they’ve all been around the work as long as you and know what it all means.

Ending meetings with a clear “what happens next”

Good meeting practices mean having an agenda, running a tight meeting and doing the notes, but I know I got a little bit lazy towards the end of the year. Team meetings turned into holiday chat instead of focused discussions, and the ‘what do we do with this information’ part of the meeting that led clearly into action steps and expectations for what happens next kind of fell away.

No more – I’m bringing that back for 2026.

Keeping decisions visible

Documenting decisions in your project management software is the best thing – it covers all the angles and provides auditability. Just make sure that you’re writing them where everyone can see them.

Updating plans little and often

I did a big sweep of my plans at the end of the year, and honestly, I was surprised at how much had happened even in 2 weeks. This year, I’ll be focusing more on little and often.

You can have your project management software open during a team meeting and make the change live.

Saying no (or “not yet”) earlier

The end of the year is always a massive squash to get everything done. If you know you can’t do it, or don’t want to do it because it’s bad for the project – let’s just normalise saying no as soon as it makes sense instead of pretending we are going to investigate and think about things.

Taking five minutes to think before reacting

When everything feels rushed and stressful, it’s too easy to react without thinking. This is your reminder that it’s better for everyone if we all take a pause before reacting to a new situation. Whether that’s a big conflict at work, a new boss changing the parameters of your project or the introduction of (yet another) project management process tweak or tool.

Which one habit would make the biggest difference if you restarted it? It doesn’t have to be something on my list. Let us know in the comments what you are committing to this year!

Posted on: January 05, 2026 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The role of leadership in fostering a resilient team culture

Categories: resilience

I’ve written a few articles now on resilience because I think it’s really important. Now is the time of year when it feels like we’ve just got to keep on pushing until year end, and those projects get over the line before the year closes out.
At the same time, I know that ‘just pushing through’ isn’t the best approach for wellbeing and mental health, so there’s definitely a balance. Resilience is how you help yourself (and others) get through the tough times.
As a project leader, it’s important that we understand how much resilience plays into the success of a team, and what we can do to influence it. Here are a few things that we can do as leaders – even if you don’t have a traditional leadership-y job or staff working for you.

Lead by example

Leaders set the tone for the team. By demonstrating resilience yourself (which looks like having a positive attitude, perseverance, and being adaptable) you can inspire their teams to do the same. And I’m not talking big inspirational speeches, or people applauding your work in the corridor. It’s small-scale inspiration, tenacity and showing your professional values – those things rub off on the people around you.

Provide emotional support and guidance

Your organisation might have mental health first aiders, or wellbeing champions or other people in a role that means they’ve had some support and training about how to support their colleagues. So I’m not suggesting you take on any role that you are not comfortable with or trained to do. This is more about emotional intelligence and being able to notice when things are ‘off’.
Leaders should be tuned into to the emotional needs of their teams, offering support during tough times. ‘Support’ might look like knowing when to take a break, inviting everyone to the canteen to eat together, celebrating small wins or taking someone aside to check in and see if they are OK.
Providing regular feedback, coaching and mentoring (when invited to) can also help team members stay focused and motivated.

Empower teams to take ownership

This works both ways – firstly it empowers teams to make decisions and solve problems on their own, which builds confidence and ownership in the project. And secondly, it takes work off of you, and I’m sure you are busy enough not to need extra decisions or troubleshooting to do.
Trust them to manage the challenges, and be there in the background if needed.

Encourage open communication

This one is a bit of theme, I know I’ve spoken and written about it before. Transparency is important for helping teams stay connected. They are more likely to raise issues, talk to you about the risks they see or flag other areas of concern.
When they feel like it’s a safe space to voice their concerns (and hopefully solutions), that brings a sense of collective responsibility for overcoming challenges because you can work on making things better together.
Building resilient project teams is a given for any modern leader – it’s just something that we have to do, especially as there is so much going on inside and outside of the workplace at the moment, all of which can feel pretty heavy at times.
Project managers might not have direct reports, but you can foster a culture of adaptability, collaboration, and support, guiding colleagues where it helps to do so, and stepping back where it’s more appropriate to let them lead the way. In fact, that sounds like servant leadership, and a resilient leader would certainly take that approach when the time (and the team) are right. A resilient team is ready to get that project over the line, whether you’re counting down to a year end deadline or looking to deliver at another point in the year.

Posted on: December 16, 2025 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

5 Ways to Spark Creativity During the Darkest Months

Categories: virtual teams, team, workflow, Teams

Here in the northern hemisphere the evenings seem to be starting earlier and earlier, and the mornings are much darker. I don't know about you, but I do certainly start to feel less inclined to bounce into work when the sky is grey and it feels like I'm not spending any time in daylight.

On reflection, I think I'm most creative during the lighter months because I can go for a walk in nature. I can have the windows open, I feel like there's an abundance of fresh air and space for thinking. Somehow, being wrapped in my warmest clothes and sitting in my shed/office wearing fingerless gloves doesn't quite give me the same conducive environment for creativity.

If you are feeling the same, here are 5 suggestions that I am going to try to help me feel more creative and to inspire some creativity in my team.

Host a mini idea jam

What about hosting a 30-minute brainstorming sessions on process improvements? You could take part of your regular team meeting to pick a process and talk about the kinds of things that work and don't work and what you would like to do differently.

Revisit the backlog

Turn “someday” ideas into real experiments. I have a very long To Do List of ideas that I keep in my personal project management software and it's about time I clear them out so that I either take action on one or two or delete some things.

You could do the same at work with your development backlog.

The other thing I'm going to try to do along the same lines is to revisit my pile of books that I have not read and pick something that I'm going to start reading. This year I've read a lot less management and leadership books and a lot more fiction and while I love fiction, I do still need to stretch my horizons by challenging myself with new ideas.

Learn something new together

Try an online course or skills swap. Perhaps your organisation has online courses that you can take or access to a subscription service where you can work through online training materials. I know that learning online is not quite as good as meeting up and having the whole in-person experience but it is a fast and simple way to take yourself out of the day-to-day and into a new world of skills and put your brain to use.

If online training isn't your thing, consider signing up to attend a webinar or go to a conference.

Change the scenery

Move meetings outdoors (warn people so they can wrap up warm!), or just change your virtual background for fun.

Reflect to reset

Use retrospectives for deep learning, not just quick check-ins. How could you re purpose these sessions so that you get to the bottom of a real problem? Use tools like the 5 Whys to dig deep into one particular problem instead of skimming over everything quickly and highlighting lots of issues. Maybe offer to run a retrospective for another project manager or another team so that you can see if their challenges are the same as yours.

It might be harder to kickstart creativity during the winter months, but your creative skills are still there. You just have to create the opportunity for them to shine.

Posted on: December 14, 2025 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)