Possibly, like me, you have been hooked on an outstanding summer of sport. Regular readers of my blogs will know that I take inspiration from all manner of experiences and walks of life and I bring them back to use in my IT Project Management efforts. Inevitably, I have been immensely motivated by the athletes […]
Six lessons that IT Project Managers can learn from the world’s best athletes Read More »
I recently had the pleasure of working with two IT Project Teams who are paradoxically both very similar and very different. The first, I’ll call them ‘Team X’ was struggling to deliver projects within agreed parameters and the second, ‘Team Y’ was hitting targets but was asking ‘what else can we do to add extra
Is your project team made up of puppets or pioneers? Read More »
As we all know the problem with good practice is it slowly slips away as we respond to time pressures and expediency and bad habits take root. We know what’s supposed to be done but settle for a comfortable second best until it’s too late. Well, this is a New Year and a new opportunity
Practical Stakeholder Engagement Read More »
Project stakeholders can be helpful, obstructionist and almost anything in between – but for most stakeholders, how you deal with this is largely up to you! The only certainty is your stakeholders are not about to go away and ‘leave you in peace’…… There are three basic ways to deal with stakeholders: Crisis management: you
Stakeholders – from confrontation to engagement Read More »
Just as each project is unique, so is each of its stakeholders! Whether as individuals, groups or organizations, every stakeholder, and every stakeholder community has a unique and evolving set of cultures, expectations and perceptions. To effectively engage with, and influence, this diverse community the traditional approach to project communications of regular reports and other
Targeted communication – the key to effective stakeholder engagement Read More »
The short answer to this is question is ‘Yes’; and to make matters worse, your opinion of your stakeholders, your team and yourself are also affected by bias. Complete objectivity is nearly impossible to achieve especially in the realm of stakeholder, and other interpersonal, relationships. We are all innately biased, the best that anyone can
Are your stakeholders biased? Read More »
A Level 5 Leader (L5L) is an individual who blends extreme personal humility with intense professional will. The characteristics and success of these leaders were first identified by Jim Collins in 2001 and formed a central plank in his best selling book, ‘From Good to Great’. The Level 5 discovery derived from a research project
Level 5 Leadership Read More »
Most issues and points of difference and even bad events are resolved without conflict. Negotiation, discussion and helpful 3rd party input resolve the issue. Even when the issue is stressful and damaging (eg someone runs into your car…) most of the time people deal with the situation without descending into acrimony. But at other times
Why are they (you) fighting? Read More »
The PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition recognizes the importance of organizations realizing value from their investment in a project. But what exactly is ‘value’? The PMBOK® Guide (1.6) suggests value is a concept that is unique to each organization and encompasses the total sum of all tangible and intangible ‘value elements’. Determining the tangible elements is
What is the value of value? Read More »
Your ability to successfully contribute to a project team depends a lot on your ability to relate effectively to people. Managing relationships is the core to managing; managing your managers, managing your team and managing other stakeholders. There are no neutral relationships; every relationship you have influences you and can lift you up or weigh
Dealing with difficult people Read More »
