If you’re a traditional project manager who recently joined the army of newly remote workers, trying to shepherd projects to completion can feel disorienting. In-person meetings where you can observe body language? Gone. Dropping by a colleague’s cubicle for an impromptu status check? Kaput. Taking the team out to lunch to celebrate a milestone? Not happening.
Project Management
Let’s face it: Workplace disagreements are never fun. When those disagreements boil into overt conflict, though, they become downright excruciating. Unchecked conflict can rob your team of its morale, destroy productivity, and create permanent workplace rifts.
Human Resources, Project Management, Leadership & Management
The coronavirus pandemic has left millions of well-trained managers the world over wondering if the rules of leadership designed for a collective workplace still apply. Like the times we live in, the answer is not straightforward. Some things about managing personnel remain the same, but many new challenges, both operational and emotional, have erupted in the work-from-home ecosystem. If you’re an executive or boss in charge of off-site employees, we invite you to embrace the conversion to distance-leading with our tips for managing virtual teams successfully.
Project Management, Leadership & Management
You wear so many hats in your organization, you’re starting to look like an Alice in Wonderland character. Now, a new one has been placed on your head: project manager. You may feel the urge to go mad and start hosting nonsensical tea parties. Stay calm. We’ll help you take the reins on this important task and steer it to success. With a little practice, you can harness the top four qualities of a good project manager.
Project Management
If you’re a project manager, or planning to become one, chances are your future employment will include independent contract work. According to a study published in January 2020 by Business Talent Group, project management is the top gig-worker skill employers are seeking. Here’s why now is a great time to move into independent contract work and get in on the outsourcing boom to become a freelance project manager.
Are you considering a career in project management, but think you’re limited to roles in tech, engineering, or construction? While those three industries have been the foundational fields for project managers, you’ll find your career options are wide open now, with challenging roles for generalists and specialists in creative, governmental, and science-based industries. You never know where you might find project management jobs and career opportunities, so let’s job-hunt!
Project Management
Adjusting to work from home or returning to the real world of doing a job in an actual workplace could tax anyone’s ability to concentrate. As we struggle to maintain or improve our output, we all have urgent questions about working more efficiently in the midst of distractions and upheaval, such as “I need productivity tips: Does music help you focus?” Read on for answers.
Professional Development, Project Management, Process Improvement
What’s in a word? “Agile,” for instance? Lexico.com, an online dictionary/language tool, says “agile” means the ability “to move quickly and easily” and/or “to think and understand quickly.” In business, “Agile” is a proper noun that’s an approach to project management; or, per Lexico.com, “relating to or denoting a method of project management … characterized by the division of tasks into short phases of work and frequent reassessment and adaptation of plans.” Suffice it to say that Agile is a process or philosophy defined by agility. If you’re thinking about going Agile, the foundational question is whether Agile project management is the business solution you need.
Project Management, Process Improvement
How popular would you be at your kid’s school career day if you were a project manager for Spaceport Operations? That’s a real job, posted in October. It’s also a great example to use if someone asks, “What jobs can you get as a project manager?”
When you’re in Rome and need directions, ask a Roman. If you’re taking the Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam and want directions on how to prepare to earn the prestigious and lucrative designation, look to the Project Management Institute (PMI) for a simple and productive road map. That’s why PMI, the not-for-profit organization that developed the certification exam, is the source for our top 5 tips for PMP exam prep.
Project Management