by Cindy Coan Escalate early and escalate often Poor escalation practices can kill a project. There is an art to finding the perfect balance for when and how to escalate. “Crying wolf” can cause your project stakeholders to lose faith in the escalations and ignore them. Escalating too late may not provide enough lead time … Continue reading Escalating Issues Before the Explode
I love quotes…and motivational quote and a cup of coffee are a good way to start the day. Here are 10 great quotes to get your day started. 1. "Action is the foundational key to all success." --Pablo Picasso 2. "If you don't pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more … Continue reading 10 Quotes to Get Your Day Started
This book reaffirmed what I believe from a design perspective. Simplicity, simplicity. The book itself is beautiful, just what you would expect from a book on design. Gorgeous pictures and lots of white space. Living in the world of corporate IT, there is a constant push to put complex diagrams and a exhaustive text on … Continue reading Presentation Zen
Having healthy relationships with co-workers can increase job satisfaction and help boost morale in the office. Here are ten ways to build rapport with co-workers. Show empathy. Demonstrate you understand how the other person feels and can see things from their point of view. Openly share when you agree with the other person, and say … Continue reading Healthy Relationships – Building Rapport
New managers struggle frequently with delegating tasks. As former contributors, it is difficult to step up and manage the contributions. It is likely that they have been promoted to a management role because of their superior skills, which means they are most like better at doing the job than their staff. New managers are apt … Continue reading The Art of Delegation
What do you do when you have someone on your team who is not pulling their weight or creating challenges? How do you address these issues in a way that will be perceived in a positive light and will inspire change? It happens to all of us, people challenges consume a great deal of time … Continue reading Dealing with People Challenges
A good project manager does more than simply delegate and track tasks, they must possess some true leadership skills to be successful. Here are four skills to think about when hiring a project manager or anyone in a leadership role. Filtering Skills Knowing what is important and what to ignore comes from experience. Even without … Continue reading 4 Critical Leadership Skills Needed to Successfully Manage Project, or anything for that matter
How to Maintain a positive environment with your team. 1) Listen 2) Believe in your people, trust them. 3) Be optimistic and positive. 4) Insist on respectful treatment of others (call people by their names, show trust, people are not disposable, monitor you mood) 5) Don’t play the power card. As the leader you don’t … Continue reading 10 Ways to Maintain a Positive Environment
To be a good leader, you will need to inspire other, to motivate them to go above and beyond. Communicating your vision clearly, leading by example, and setting reasonable expectations are a few great ways to be inspirational. Here are 5 more ways to be inspirational. 1. Enthusiasm Being positive, finding the silver lining will … Continue reading 10 Way to Inspire Others
Years ago I was told to prop up a small mirror on my desk and to look in the mirror when I talked with people on the phone. The thought was; you are more likely to smile at your own reflection and when smiling the happy and pleasant tone could be heard on the other … Continue reading Happy Employees = Productivity
Small business owners, students, and working professionals, often play the role of a project manager, even when they are completely untrained. For all you poor souls thrown into managing projects, I’ve got a few tips to help you stay on track. Know your goal. All projects by definition have an end goal. A project is … Continue reading Project Management for non-Project Managers
