Saving the world is a heavy undertaking. That’s probably why many of us leave it to the superheroes of cartoon and screen to take on. Or the men and women of the armed forces, taking on the impossible while wearing blue berets. Whatever your preferred form of superhero, real or imagined, it probably isn’t you. But maybe it’s time to go get a cape…
“Governance” is one of those words that consultants and managers like to throw around to make it sound like they know what they’re talking about. It is also one of the most widely misused words–if not concepts–currently employed in organizations. Why this is, what it means (and doesn’t) and what it should represent are what this article explores.
We don’t like to talk about failure. Failure is the dark secret hidden in the back of our subconscious. It is the unwanted guest lurking behind the door. The ever-growing pile of detritus swept under the rug. Failure, for most of us, represents the things in our past that we would much rather forget than actually deal with. And yet… failure is how we learn. If we can embrace failure, we can grow and improve.
Few of us set out to become project managers. Where formally developed skills are earned, they generally take the shape of process-based training. Taken as a whole, however, they don’t make up the full set of tools, skills and abilities that a project manager needs to survive–and thrive–in the long term. Thankfully, this well-considered guide to life skills for project managers is here to help.
Risk management tends to focus on the downside of things. ‘Risk’ is viewed as ‘what can go wrong’, and our risk management strategies are all focussed primarily on attempting to avert disaster. But what might go right? And what might we need to do differently if we want things to go right? A different perspective on how we think about risk.
One of the most overused terms in business is ‘best practice’. Just calling something ‘best’, doesn’t make it so. In fact, there is no one ‘best’ way to do anything — there are only better ways in specific situations and contexts. How to think about better practices, rather than best.
Project management is a stressful gig. For many of us, that’s actually the reason that we took it on—although we would never describe it in those terms. This article explores the impact of stress on the project management role.
Projects are all about people. And yet, we often approach dealing with people as if they will all approach situations in a consistent, rational manner. Evidence amply demonstrates that people are far from rational at times, and ignoring this makes for some major management challenge. How to rethink thinking about people and teams.
As project managers, we are often thrust in a leadership role. We need to face and deal with the challenges. There are some models and tools that provide the project manager with great insights into becoming an effective leader.
Politics is an inevitable reality in organizational life. Neither good nor bad, it’s how things get accomplished. We need to understand our approach to politics to understand how we best get things done.
