Project Management, initiative, leadership

How many times didn't you feel like "Monday again", or "I haven't done anything today", "I'm swamped in work", "I feel so tired after my vacation", "I have no more energy for anything"? Burnout at work is too often a common topic amongst all of us. There is a lot of literature around work overload, burnout, energy management, and all these buzz words which in essence tell you that you have been working for too much, and too long, and too intense. Many of the authors I've been reading have various recipes to help us overcome the tough periods in our work or life, and get back to a normal and bearable status. While there is no common or single solution, the five points listed in the below video will definitely help to start from one point, and - moving gradually - you can get back in shape. From this perspective, I have also liked a lot a book I'm currently reading: The Way We're Working Isn't Worki...

Every now and then, depending on the company, a manager has to evaluate the people in the team. If you are a project manager, you might have it when the project is over, or when you release some of the people from the project. If you are a people manager, and have directs in your responsibility for the whole year, formal performance management will probably happen once or twice in the year. Either way, the performance evaluation process is the most official and an important step in providing formal feedback to your employees. It is a good opportunity to formalize the feedback that you provided along the year, to recognize progress or to take corrective actions. But how do you deliver an effective performance review? First of all, and the most important step, well known by all of us, is that the performance review should not be a surprise to the employee. As a manager, you have to provide feedback about the way the employee executes on the job during the whole year. Use every opp...

I will probably be in agreement with most of you, when I say that Apple has definitely re-invented the computer through their innovative design, characteristic colors, transparent plastic and cool shapes. After seeing such a great design , with an easy-to-use (although sometimes still cumbersome) interface on their OS, people might think: what could be best? Is there anything better than iPhone , could anyone innovate more than them? Beating a successful design, coming up with even greater ideas is not an easy task - lots of brainstorming happens, long nights spent in imagining other ways of creating a lot of practicality combined with a cool touch... And when I was thinking that all was said and done, I have seen this cool ad for Microsoft , and I felt that there is still a lot of great stuff to be brought to life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAhJTxC1C8w&feature=player_embedded Watch this video - I find it inspiring, and although it might match to other companies, ...

Yes, exactly: do you think this can help? If yes, by when should we expect to become obsolete? All of us, or... just the Project Managers, or just the People Managers, or only the CxOs? Let's take a step-by-step approach to analyse this idea. - what does a CxO do all day long? Looks at numbers, weighs ideas, run a lot of meetings, join in quite a few, and then decide. This is one job that even a robot could do, right? - what does a Project Manager do? Looks at graphics, numbers, tasks, activities, costs, weighs in the variables and probabilities of various risks, and then decide. A robot could do that as well, right? - what does a People Manager do? Looks at graphics, numbers, operational aspects, hire/fire people, give some random advices, and then decide. It seems simple, and straightforward, right? So... why are we still here? why isn't our place already taken by robots? Maybe in my logic I made some mistake... yeah, there might be a chance that - beyond numbers, a...

What do you know about company politics? Did you ever had the chance to stumble on them? I am very naive person, and I used to think that I could develop and progress in any company, provided the good performance is there, and there is some good reasoning on why some things are the way they are. And that I cannot change everything, like it or not. What I discover - and I say "discover", not know, because I keep discovering this in many organisations - is that there are always some backstage games that take place, with many different purposes: career advance, getting the easy project, lower targets, more power etc. It often doesn't matter who is wrong and who is right in these discussions, but how a situation is handled. And you might not agree with the politics, but they are there to stay - and in any organisation, be it small or big. What should you know about politics so that you can properly prepare and navigate in the troubled seas of office politics? Well, the...

As the Getting PMP certified article got so much positive feedback, I though I should also share some of the providers of free tests. I have also used them during my certification prep period as well, and I've found them really useful. You should simulate your exam at least 3 times before stating that you are ready for the BIG TEST, so the links below should help you a lot. Still, one word of caution: not all the questions seem to have the right response, and not all explanations are really in line with PMBoK - but if you have a good knowledge of the practice part of Project Management, and if you've read the books I've recommended, you can already discover them. Don't go for the real PMP exam if you don't score 80% in these simulations - they seemed to me a little bit easier than the real exam. http://www.pmhub.net/ PMSuccess offers via PMHub.net 400 questions to play with. Not an exam simulation per-se, but you can always try to do 200 questions in a row t...

I am still very surprised about the huge amount of focus that is put on general project management skills, and processes, and tools, and the limited attention that people management skills get. What happens when the PM has no people management skills? quite a lot actually: - attracting people to the project becomes very hard, as the line managers say no to letting their people handle other stuff - keeping the people on the project remains as well as challenge - conflicts inside the team grow unseen until they become uncontrollable - project meetings become wars - deadlines slip - people blame each other A climate of distrust is thus created, and instead of a productive environment for already difficult customers, the PM will also have to firefight each and every conflict. As I was mentioning in a prior post, while the PMP certification will not bring as a guarantee that the PM knows how to manage people, it does force every candidate to read through the Human Resource...

I am passionate about self-development and ways to improve yourself. Up until now, I can say that I have mastered one critical aspect: continuous learning. Let me explain. Business today requires us to always deliver great results, by providing decreasing resources to increase profit margin. Or, shortly put: MORE with LESS. I don't think this is actually possible if we continue to do the things the same way we did it in the past - what worked then, might continue to work today as well, or not... So you have to be prepared to adjust to the new requirements, to change based on how the world around us change, always dapt and discover new ways of doing things. My key learning was that I have to never stop learning, never stop reading about how others are doing things, how others achieve great results, and see how this might give me ideas on how to change. I might not apply it today, or not even tomorrow, but it does build a different way of thinking, it does open up your mind to ...

I have been in a nicely called training, entitled "Strategic Thinking". I must admit I was a little bit disappointed that it was a "back-to-basics" of management, i.e. Mission (or Statement of Purpose), Vision, Strategies (Initiatives), and Action Plan (I would rather call it an "actionable plan"). But it's a great refresh actually, as we are always so much dragged into the day-to-day operational business, that we hardly remember that we have to set time aside for thinking about the business, and not only performing it. Of course, you cannot afford to lose the focus on the operational part, as this is core - but you DO have to stop from doing at some points in time, and start THINKING. And this was the main idea behind the whole training: STRATEGIC THINKING means THINKING. Something that we don't always do, but the biggest strategists and the biggest achievers do often. In your busy calendar, find half a day when you plan to regularly think abo...

I've talked some while ago about communication styles in different cultures - but diversity is still on top of my mind even if I speak about people grown in the same culture, working together to a common goal. Looking at the big picture, you see a team performing at the highest levels . But when drilling down, even in the small teams you can find so many different personalities, so many views about the world or how things should go/be done which is still amazing. You will have a star, or at least someone believing to be a star, or going into that direction. You will have the quiet do-er, sometimes called the silent hero. You can also find the "always complaining", and hopefully you will have an always happy guy (annoying everybody else with a positive attitude). It's a nice mix, and it's also a great challenge to have. But how do you get to have such a team? Would you like one? How would you manage it? Well - getting it is really easy: you just hire good ...

Incremental development is one technique used in Project Management to progressively develop your project scope and work, while the project is running. So rather than spending a lot of time and effort in the beginning of the project to discover all the requirements, and do all the estimates, and uncover all unknowns, you decide to start with something that allows you to begin working, and then - as project details uncover - you update your project plans accordingly. Well, here is the great idea: why not use the same technique when developing yourself? Why not use it when coaching and developing your people? Rather than saying you need to become somebody else in one year, or two years, or more - you can start the transformation today with one first step. You cannot expect that the transformation happens over night - you have to gradually work on you in order to change one thing, then another, and then another... and while experimenting a new style, or applying a new lesson, yo...

This was the first lesson in my most recent management training, done under the umbrella of the Gustav Kaser Training International (GKTI): ask yourself every morning why are you enjoying yourself (WAIEM). It might sound like a dumb question, but... think a little bit: if you had at least one reason to be happy that day, wouldn't you feel better? It could be anything: your baby saying the first word, winning the lottery, one award that one of your employees received, or just because it's a late summer day, with some bright warm sun in the sky. And... if you can't find a reason to enjoy yourself... just make up one ! Think about the challenges of that day, and how you plan to attack them, and the results you expect - you might already feel better just because of that! So... WAIEM every day, every morning, and during the day. Be happy and smile - and the people around you will also feel the joy. Why? Because happy people are contagious (well, when they are not stepping...

More and more often I hear that one can only earn respect and power only if one can use the NO word as needed. NO is the most fearest word - it is said to close doors, to shut down opportunities, to bring sadness into one's heart, to make both parties suffer from the consequences of a NO. BUT... it's also a differentiator, in a world where people are more and more discussing about leadership and how to manage expectations, and how to achieve more with less. NO means making the right choices, in the right moment. I find it really difficult to use, and I've found one great resource to give me power to use it. I've learned that the NO can also be POSITIVE, and it's really surprising when you hear about this at first. How can a NO be positive??? Yet, if you say it correctly, if your NO is for the specific situation, and not to a whole relation, if you deny only the possibility of that opportunity, but you stay true to your ideals, to what you value most, and k...

I've got a lot of friends asking me about how to get certified. Each time, I had to remember how many hours of experience one had to have, and how many hours of learning, and then which where the links that were most useful for me, as well as all the books and software I have ever used. In terms of specific requirements for getting certified, the best resource will always be pmi.org, with a direct link to the requirements: PMI site - Obtaining the Credential . The site lists a credential overview, and then there (currently) 5 handbooks for the 5 available certifications. There is also a page with how to prepare for the exam, from an administrative point of view. If you are new to project management, then you will have to go with the CAPM certification. Then, the rest of certifications are for more and more experienced PMs. I only know well about the PMP certification, as it's the one I've got. First step is to ensure that you meet the elgibility requirements. At the t...

Women in IT is one of the hottest topics - it's actually been for a while, and it continues to be. Working in the IT industry all my life, it's really interesting to see how the idea of Women in IT progressed. Well, I never felt that people make a difference whether it's about a man or a woman who applied for the job. Yes, the hopes that the candidate is a good one are lower for a woman: but then in the recruitment interview you have to pay even more attention to what the candidates know, but can or cannot demonstrate on the spot. In the past, you had to search a little bit more in-depth with a woman, as they were more shy, more introvert, and less keen to show off. But in the last few years, I have noticed that the women have made a great progress and started to impose themselves as important values in a company. In the interviews they are more bold, a lot more self-confident than some men even, and show not only a good level of knowledge, but also a stronger will to e...

Yes, you should care about your people, especially when they give in too fast! I had one situation today that was really amazing: one of my people said they won't pursue an opportunity, although the most fervant demandeur for it! What would you do in this situation?? As you are in the fast forward area, where everything has to happen yesterday, today does not exist, and we are always building our future... the most logical reaction would have been: fine, let's see who else would be interested. But I did one surprising thing: I've asked: WHY do you want to not give it try? And we had a chat about it, and then a face-to-face discussion, where I've listened to the other, trying to understand what was going on beyond the "I don't want it anymore", and asking a lot of questions. At some point of the discussion, and not even too far into it, the other asked me: why do you even bother with me? I'm a bad person, and I've just changed my mind after ...