Are You Keeping Track of Being Tracked?
Last week, I decided to review my professional social networks to figure out which ones to keep and which […]
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Leadership
The Importance of the Pre-Meeting
If there is one thing I hate at work, it is being caught by surprise on one of my projects. As a Project Manager, I should not be surprised by anything that comes up in my Status Meetings. To avoid getting side-swiped by any news, I do my best to keep an eye on all aspects of my projects, at least on a high level.
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How to get your Project Plan to Work for You
‘Project plans’ as utilized in a business function, are used as a communications tool and a form of checklist of tasks. Keeping that in mind, the best place to start with creating your plan is to start with the high level deliverables of your project, and then break each of those deliverables down into the tasks that it will take to get them completed. I tend to treat this part of my project plan as my ‘brain dump’. I put in the high-level deliverables, then ask ‘then what?’
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Working within the System – is it keeping your project stuck?
I have seen many project managers fight the system within their organizations. They believe it is too bureaucratic, has too
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An Integrated Approach for a Successful Project Launch
To get a new project rolled out and build a positive momentum from the beginning, it’s important to use an
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From Mentor to Colleague
Some mentoring relationships last a single meeting, but others last a lifetime. Sometimes a mentoring relationship will turn into a long term relationship. (No, I don’t mean that you sleep with your mentor, or marry them.) I mean that they will come to value and enjoy the mentoring relationship as much as you do. This has happened in several of my mentoring relationships. Because we enjoyed our mentoring sessions so much we continued them beyond the point where I was seeking advice and guidance from them. Eventually they started to ask me for advice.
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Mentoring Circles – Better Leveraging a Mentor’s Time
If you’d like to benefit from mentoring from an expert who’s truly extraordinary, but you feel a bit daunted by their presence, consider gathering two or three people who’d like to share the journey with you. While you might like to keep them all to yourself, having a bigger audience could increase your chances of landing a highly skillful mentor, make the experience less awkward, and you might also learn a lot from the other people in your mentoring circle.
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It’s Just Lunch – Asking an Executive to Mentor You
Some of the best mentoring I’ve ever received is from executives. Ask your executives to spend some time sharing their vision with you. Here’s how: “Jared, I’ve been working here for just about 6 months, and I really like the way you’re leading this division. My manager has shared your strategic plan with our team, and I’ve read all of your messages about our direction, but I’d love to hear your vision from you directly. Would you be willing to spend 15 minutes or so over a cup of coffee sharing your view of our future with me? I promised I’ll make it worth your while by making sure my work is aligned with the direction you’re setting.”
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Are you a goal-driver or a crank-turner?
There are two types of project managers in the profession — those who expect tools and methodology to automate their
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Manage deliverables, not tasks
One of our most basic tools for regaining control of a project that is at risk is the deliverables list
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Focus on the path to the goal, not on the hazards
I was mountain biking recently along a lovely canyon path when I rounded a curve and suddenly found myself on
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