PMcrunch

As leaders and project managers or program managers, we are subject to the ups and downs of what we could call the “project or program work cycle”. While sometimes things seems to be flowing forward and progressing well, like a well-oiled machine, at other times it seems that no matter what we do, progress is slow and difficult. I leadership positions, this experience is inevitable, as everything is not “black and white”. How can we handle these situations?

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As Project Managers, it is our charge to maintain high ethical standards. Strong ethical standards are a key ingredient of great leadership. The responsibility of ethics leads me to think about 2 immediate dilemmas or challenges:

Do we ask ourselves whether or not we are doing the right thing?
Do our team members and stakeholders ask themselves that same eithical question?
These 2 questions cover the basics of ethics, but there is a broader organization challenge we must consider to ensure these ethical questions are being handled.

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How does the emergence of Web 2.0 collaborative capabilities and networks effect the organizational landscape, and how does that effect project and program managers? I think the key to answering this question is to look at what is happening to interpersonal relationships, power centers, and influence within organizations to see how this is changing as a result of this emerging development. I find that we can gain insights into this by observing from the following point of view: a. Organization charts are the way the organization is “supposed” to be, and b. Web 2.0 collaboration reveals relationships, and hence organization structure, as it really is. Let’s explore…

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There has been a tremendous amount of buzz more recently about PMOs, otherwise known as Project Management Offices. Here is what a select group of experts are saying about PMOs today.

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As Project Managers, we are called upon to be leaders much of the time – and really should be thinking about it all of the time. Rather than suggesting that we merely “think outside of the box”, I am suggesting that we “think outside the project”, because, that might be a little more appropriate for the world we as project managers are traveling in. The keys to better leadership performance – and this is a very individual thing – probably lies in our thinking outside of our project.

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Building the Work Breakdown Schedule is a lot of good hard project management work. While it is fundamental to the practice of professional project management, often it is soft skills – including plain old determination and leadership – that in the end produce a strong WBS.

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Podcasting has become very popular, and there are several project management podcasts available for review. Here we list 7 of the more popular PM Podcasts found on the internet.

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Daptiv, formerly eProject, has changed its name effective November 12, 2007, reflecting its desire to cast a wider net within the enterprise. The name eProject reflected a strict project management focus, whereas Daptiv – with connotations of fast, adaptive, dynamic, modern, futuristic – leaves behind that more singular focus. In fact, CEO Jeff Pancottine has reported that the new branding reflects the on-demand, flexible style and wide range of uses for the software beyond the scope of traditional Project Portfolio Management (PPM). The capabilities of web services surely figured into this marketing move.

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Sometimes – more often than we like – a “circular reference” enters the scene, and it can threaten the success of your project – or even the success or an entire portfolio or organization. As a Project Manager and leader, you need to stop circular references by intervening strongly and showing the way!

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Making mistakes is not only human; it is an immutable law of nature. No matter what anybody does or says, mistakes will happen along the way – by you, me, and others. It is how we accept this fact and handle them that provides us the opportunity to show our character and skill as leaders.

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