Are Leaders Really in the Driver’s Seat?

When leaders make decisions, we pay attention. Their decisions have very public impacts, both strategically and culturally. We hear a lot about executive decision-making, which is why it’s logical to assume that leadership teams are in the driver’s seat of organizations. But is that really true? Having worked with organizations large and small, across the […]
Should Project Managers Become Scrum Masters?

If this question isn’t on your mind already, it probably should be. According to PMI’s 2021 Pulse of the Profession report, the highest performing organizations are “gymnastic,” which means they select the best ways of working (e.g., traditional, agile, hybrid) for what the outcomes they want to achieve on a particular project. If you’re a […]
How to Apply for the PMP® Exam : Application Tips and Requirements

How to Apply for the PMP® Exam : Application Tips and Requirements Are you ready to begin the journey to becoming a certified Project Management Professional? Before you can take the PMP® certification exam, you’ll need to complete an application so that the Project Management Institute (PMI) can validate your years of experience and education […]
Outcomes-Driven Leadership: Put an End to Action Without Progress

Outcomes-Driven Leadership: Put an End to Action Without Progress Struggling to move the needle on your strategy? It could be the result of a faulty “goals-first” approach. Our culture pays a lot of attention to goals. SMART Goals, BHAGs, OKR’s, and many other frameworks are dedicated to giving your organization clear, measurable direction. But by themselves, […]
5 Surprising Strategies to Advance Your Project Management Career

5 Surprising Strategies to Advance Your Project Management Career Demand for project managers over the next 10 years is expected to skyrocket relative to other career paths. But despite the growing need, project managers across industries report they are struggling to stand out in what they perceive to be a crowded field. As project management […]
7 Things Dynamic Organizations Do to Build Agility

7 Things Dynamic Organizations Do to Build Agility, Move Faster, and Work Smarter The only thing predictable about change is that it will occur—rapidly and often without warning. When business change is incremental, organizations and teams with well-understood processes and solid discipline may perform extraordinarily well. But when organizations try to apply these same approaches […]
How to Repair a Troubled Stakeholder Relationship

How to Repair a Troubled Stakeholder Relationship Strained relationships can have a devastating impact on your work, to say nothing of the toll they can take on your personal well-being and satisfaction at work. That said, it’s perfectly normal to find yourself faced with a broken or strained relationship at some point in your career. […]
A Lesson in Authentic Leadership: How to “Show up” in a Crisis and Emerge a Stronger Leader

A Lesson in Authentic Leadership: How to “Show up” in a Crisis and Emerge a Stronger Leader I had recently been promoted to leader of a $2 billion business. Given the size of the promotion, I was struggling a bit with my confidence. But I was learning, and this particular day had been a good […]
Common Obstacles to Thinking Strategically (And What To Do About Them)

Common Obstacles to Thinking Strategically (And What To Do About Them) Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” The ability to thinking strategically is an essential skill in today’s fast-paced business environment. We weren’t surprised to see it listed as one of the Twenty […]
How to Develop Your Project Leadership Philosophy

How to Develop Your Project Leadership Philosophy What kind of project leader are you? What is it like to work on a team with you? What do you see, that others often don’t? The more experience we gain as project managers, the more important these questions become. There is no tool, template, or manual of […]
BLUF: How These 4 Letters Simplify Communication

BLUF: How These 4 Letters Simplify Communication We spend the majority of our time communicating. A study of U.S. workers revealed that the average person spends nearly 30% of the workday reading and answering emails. A separate study showed employees spend another 40% of their time in meetings, a portion that has risen steadily since […]
How to Use the “Knowns” and “Unknowns” Technique to Manage Assumptions

How to Use the “Knowns” and “Unknowns” Technique to Manage Assumptions This is the final installment of a three-part series on managing assumptions. In our first post, This Ain’t Freakin’ Texas, we discussed the three types of assumptions project managers encounter most often. In our second post, we examined the conditions that cause us to […]