With outstanding leadership comes great responsibility. For example, suppose you are a project leader, whether a project manager or team lead. It's up to you to communicate clearly with your team and manage their expectations. Luckily, there are some things that you can do as a leader to make...

I frequently receive questions such as how do I get started as a project manager and how do I learn more about project management.  It takes time to learn.  You will also need to learn not just best practices but the practices your organization already employs.

This post is not about...

Emotional intelligence (aka EQ) is recognizing, comprehending, and responding to our own emotions. As with leadership, there is much debate over whether EQ is learned or occurs naturally. But despite the controversy, project leaders need to develop and expand their EQ.

Why is EQ important for...

While the role or job title might be project manager, project managers also need to act as leaders. They need to help set the vision for the project and motivate the team to work by influence. Here are six tips to improve your leadership skills to lead project teams better.

Be self-aware...

While the global pandemic meant many started working remotely as early as 2019, the idea of remote teams is not new.  In fact, I've been working with remote teams since the 1970s and found these next 5 tips to be helpful:

Respect differences. The diversity of teams becomes more apparent in...

To be successful, project managers need many different and diverse skills, ranging from expertise in their industry to business, and of course, project management technical skills.  Someone recently asked my what major skills project managers need.

To respond to this question, I grouped the...

You’ve gotten your business off the ground - but now, you want to take your company to the next level by running a tighter ship. You might be wondering which projects and process improvements you should prioritize first. From working with PPC Group to establish efficient project management...

The best project managers learn to say “no” without actually using the word “no.”  “No” has an air of finality and dis-empowers the team.  It is also a good idea to avoid phrases like “Yes, but …”  There are some better ways to...

As a project manager, you need to manage your team by influence and motivate them to complete the project.  How can you do this?  First and foremost, get to know your team very well. Find out more about their interests and aspirations and use this information to make better assignments...

Predictability helps organizations more effectively and efficiently manage people, cash, and other resources.  And predictable projects usually finish sooner than others as well.

I often hear talk about how unpredictable projects are because <insert any excuse here>. By following some...

A natural outcome of project management is increased team creativity and innovation. But some projects will need more than others.  For example, if you are a creative marketing team or have complex problems to solve as part of the project. 

Want your project teams to be more creative...

Last week we looked at 4 Steps to Diligently Delegate.  There are five very common barriers to enacting a successful delegation. Good project managers understand what these are and avoid the pitfalls.

1.  The project manager may have a personal interest in the task. While you may have a...