It’s always good to use a great title to lead into an important topic. I first came across this one (the great title) in “Reframing Organizations” by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal. They in turn were referencing “The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First” by Jeffrey Pfeffer. Regardless of the origin [...]
With the holidays fast approaching I thought this would be a great time to address the subject of volunteerism. Volunteering is rewarding on many levels. On the personal level it provides an opportunity to pursue areas of interest and to help others. On the professional level volunteering allows those of us who are more experienced [...]
Most managers aspire to lead a highly motivated, high performing team. The challenge is that many things influence the motivation of a team. In addition, the team is made up of people having individual personalities. Each team member may respond differently to various motivational approaches. One thing that works consistently with many people is autonomy [...]
Something that I used to hear regularly in the workplace was “I didn’t get anything done, I’ve been in meetings all day”. I always found that a little humorous since as mangers or leaders “meetings” are what we do. Still there is a difference between participating in a productive meeting and enduring one that is [...]
One unfortunate reality in the world of project managers is that many of us are responsible for managing multiple projects simultaneously. There are likely a number of reasons why this situation is so common. As is true with many things, there are benefits and costs associated with taking this approach. Today we’ll examine costs and [...]
Six Degrees of Separation. Most of you have probably heard this phrase before. Some of you may remember a game from your college days involving this phrase and Kevin Bacon. For those who don’t fall into either category we have some information. The phrase basically promotes the theory that we are all separated from one [...]
Have you known people who seem to take forever to get to the point of their conversation? Do you think people have noticed that about you? Don’t panic, you’re ok. We all have general tendencies regarding how we think and communicate. These tendencies are neither good nor bad They are not carved in stone. Understanding [...]
Project managers know that a typical workday can be filled with “exciting” events. While these events make the day pass quickly, they tend to put the PM in a “reactive” rather than a “proactive” state. Dealing with a steady parade of crises leaves little time for project management. Lets take a closer look at the [...]
You’ve probably had the experience where your boss has asked you to do something but no matter what you produce, it doesn’t seem to be acceptable. You then fall into a less than productive cycle of redirection, rework, and redirection until the task is eventually accomplished to the boss’s satisfaction. Let’s look a little deeper [...]
We all suffer setbacks at work (and in life) from time to time. Have you ever noticed how some people seem to bounce back quickly while others fall into a tailspin and take much longer to recover? Understanding how you react to setbacks will enable you to put yourself in the group that recovers quickly [...]
