For experienced PMs, sometimes the hardest job is to go right back to the very basic stuff. So how can you maximize your chances of success? And how do we manage team members who have absolutely no experience or understanding of project work?
With more competition for jobs has come an increased interest in how companies want to invest in their workforce. This means that companies are improving their school reimbursement programs and promoting them as a way in which to both attract and nurture talent and enhance skills. Are you?
It is becoming increasingly difficult for project professionals to maintain a healthy work/life balance, given an increased focus on lean and just-in-time processes and a growing reliance on virtual workers who are expected to be on call. This article features four project professionals discussing how they solved the work/life balance conundrum without sacrificing success in either sphere. One project manager explores how personal and work schedules should complement each other, not compete with each other. Also, a PMO manager examines the role of discipline to maintain work/life balance. Prioritizing and making project goals and objectives a collaborative effort helps to effectively manage projects as well. Finally, a project management discipline expert explains how delegating may result in more spare time and suggests making a list of all weekly tasks you do on projects and picking the one that you must really do yourself. Then delegate everything else. Accompanying the article are two sidebars: the first sidebar identifies ways to handle overload; the second sidebar examines how to say "I'm unavailable" when necessary.
Just as project managers have some fundamental expectations of team members, they have some fundamental expectations of you. These should be the minimum we strive for on both sides. Here we take a look at some of the important expectations on both sides of the equation.
As project management leaders we are accountable to our organizations, our stakeholders and our teams. We have to deliver short-term results, but we also need to develop our teams to create long-term benefits. How do we ensure we focus on the right areas at the right times?
It's vital to never forget the significance of stakeholder management. This chapter from Project Management: Influence and Leadership Building Rapport in Teams presents a discussion about stakeholder management and the notion that stakeholders differ in their perceptions, and also offers strategies for influence.
The average project manager has a challenge, and a large one at that. Most of us don’t have a career development plan. In fact, most of us didn’t necessarily pick this as a career--it picked us. But now that we’re here, the challenge is to figure out exactly where we go with it. To understand how our careers progress, it helps to have a model with which we can associate. Find out what important trio awaits inside...
Regardless of the terms and your place as a consultant, you are there to help others overcome challenges. Over the years, this writer has compiled a list of the key concepts that have helped him help his clients.
While it is possible (and necessary) to be a friendly project manager to your team, being a friend isn't the best idea. But an organization that has good camaraderie within the body of its workforce can increase employee satisfaction. How do we strike a balance? Here we look at building a friendly work environment.
Just calling a practice “best” does not make it so. But for many PM practitioners, the term “best practice” appears to represent the business practice equivalent of a “get out of jail free” card--wave it around enough, and critical thinking seems to be banished. It's time for a new outlook on this misused term and concept.
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Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. - Will Rogers |
