Common Pitfalls of Effective Management Work can be a very frustrating place. According to a recent Hay Group study, one-third to one-half of employees report work conditions that keep them from being as productive as is possible. These employees slowly disengage and limit their work potential due to increased frustration. I believe frustration often comes…

“Of course, we’re going to follow best practices,” our Project Manager (PM) said, for the fourth time in an hour at our weekly team meeting. Upon hearing this, I looked across the table at my colleague and watched as she rolled her eyes. She wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to our PM, but it wasn’t…

Trust Building between Stakeholders and the Project Team Is a Powerful Asset The following statement made by Dr. Gary L. Richardson, University of Houston, is one of the most commanding I ever heard related to project management and one that all project managers (PMs) should be aware of: “Projects are natural breeding grounds for conflict…

At work, it’s likely that your concentration is probably on hard skills that give tangible results and allow you to perform your job. Technical skills help you maintain deadlines and keep you effectively multitasking on all of your different projects. People skills, also called soft skills, are less tangible. Unfortunately, they become much easier to…

  Project Management Institute (PMI)® Professional Development Units (PDUs): This Webinar is eligible for 1 PMI® PDU in the Leadership category of the Talent Triangle.   Event Description: Too often, we establish communications styles and processes that are “one size fits all”. Nothing could be further from the truth. In dealing with management, steering committees…

In addition to the dozens of other hats I wear, I occasionally serve as a technical manuscript editor for a major publisher. In reading the work of others, I’m reminded how profoundly we miscommunicate without realizing it. Some of you read the title for this article, recognizing the non-spellcheckable glaring typo in it.  Think about…

No matter the industry or size of the project, every project manager is tasked with juggling multiple day-to-day operations. Even small-scale projects can be complex, comprised of hundreds of cross-functional activities that need to be executed under tight timelines with budgets at stake. As a project manager, you’re a change agent working with your team….

With many forms and faces and with a variety of roles, stakeholders are a valuable part of any project. Based on a recent article by Robert Youlker, stakeholders comprise people both inside and outside of an organization who have an interest in a problem and its solution. Fractured relationships with stakeholders can create a fragmented…

Dear Elizabeth: I work on a remote team that’s spread all over the world practically! Both coasts of the U.S., Europe and Asia. Even though we have a cloud-based project management system that anyone can access from anywhere, there’s still a lot lost in translation. Sometimes I feel like we spend more time trying to…

If you’re like most project managers, in addition to the administration of your project, you likely have a multitude of daily activities that distract you from essential tasks. These distractions can impact the overall success of your project. Dr. Gloria Mark, an associate professor at Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at the…