Skye Dodd, PMP’s Post

I've been managing a team of enterprise PMs for 4 years. Here's what I wish I'd known 4 years ago. ~~~ 1/ Enterprise projects are largely about change management. Hire team members who know this, and have a proven track record. 2/ Most "IT projects" could be better described as operational projects masquerading as IT projects. 3/ Willingness to learn will compensate for just about every technical deficit. 4/ Curiosity is a superpower--hire for it, foster it, encourage it. 5/ Cultivate a culture where people question the notion of '𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘵'. 6/ Empathy is almost impossible to train for, but it is critical for a leader of change management. 7/ Trust is built over years, but can be destroyed in seconds. 8/ Project managers are often blamed for things out of their control, and overlooked for things they directly accomplished. Be generous with both grace and praise. 9/ Mismatched expectations are at the root of 80% of poor performance. 10/ Most of the remaining 20% of problems can be explained by poor processes. 11/ Only after expectations are set--and processes are improved--should you point to the individual's poor performance. 12/ There is no substitute for written expectations. Don't leave room for assumptions or interpretations. 13/ When dealing with performance issues, temporary change is relatively easy. Sustained change is hard and therefor rare. 14/ When someone complains about one of your team members, first seek to understand the circumstances. 15/ Assume good intentions on all sides until proven otherwise. 16/ Involve your team in process redesign to ensure buy-in for the final product. 17/ Enthusiastically celebrate wins. 18/ Never underestimate the power of good training. 19/ Investing twice as much of your time in onboarding a new team member will 10x their productivity in the first 6 months. 20/ The highest performers will show themselves in the first 2 projects they complete. 21/ Everyone is capable of growth, but not everyone is capable of the next level.   ↳ Identify rising stars and invest heavily in them. 22/ There is no better sign that you're doing things right than seeing your team members promoted to higher positions. 23/ Learning to delegate well is the single greatest lever you have in improving your own productivity. 24/ Building processes that are anti-fragile is the best way to reduce your stress and risk of burnout. 25/ Trust people until they give you a reason not to. 26/ If they give you a reason not to, examine everything closely, and document everything. 27/ Expect people to succeed, and often they will. 28/ When they don't succeed, examine whether they had sufficient support before assuming they did something wrong. 29/ Assume that by the time you're sick and tired of saying the same thing over and over again, some people are just hearing it for the first time. (So say it again.) ____ ♻️ Repost if this resonates.

This post from Timothy Morgan is brilliant, listing many reflections from his project management career. Many of these are about #culture and #mentality. Understanding the wisdom Timothy shares will help propel you to greater success as a project manager. Timothy Morgan shares his insights and knowledge several times each week. If you're interested in project management topics, I encourage you to connect or follow Timothy! _________________ 🔔 Ring the bell to follow me on LinkedIn for topics on hashtag #ProjectManagement, #ProgramManagement, #PMO, #BusinessTransformation, #CareerTips, and #Leadership. #ProjectManager #ProgramManager #BusinessAnalysis #BusinessAnalyst #ProjectManagementProfessional #PMOLeadership #PMOLeader

Are you applying to a People/HR Program Manager role? These are 6 questions you cannot leave your interview without asking: ➡️ Are you replacing for this role or is this the first time the organization is hiring for a Program Manager? ➡️ The volume of projects and programs will require the use of a PMS (Project Management Software) to keep proper track of tasks. Is the main team familiar with the use of PMS for distributing tasks and tracking progress? What PMS are you using? [This one is especially important ⚠️ if the organization is globally distributed. For local teams it may not be that critical]. ➡️ Every new hire, in a way, is an investment the company is making and every investment is to leave a return for their contribution. When do you expect for this role to reach the breakeven point and what does that breakevenpoint look like for you? [Note ‼️: if the team you’re going in has never used a PMS before make sure to bring it up and explain that time for training on Program Management needs to be allocated and considered within the timeline. Also, negotiate any expectations you may deem not feasible]. ➡️ What’s the level of autonomy I’ll have within the role? What decisions on programs can I make directly and what decisions you’d like to make yourself and which ones are to be consulted? [Note‼️: this one is critical because it serves to assess the type of manager you’ll be reporting to. My personal preference is to avoid managers who answer ‘I don’t know, you tell me’ or ‘We’ll figure it out as we go’. Why? Because everybody has expectations for the new role coming in. And expectations that aren’t communicated will have you walking on eggshells. You cannot negotiate something you don’t know of]. ➡️ What’s the most critical program you’ll need me to take on once I’m in? [Time to ask about your 👫👭👬 key partners: does the team currently have a professional in People Analytics, Product Experts you’d like me to consult with, or a Change Management Squad in place?] These are key allies to the success of your function. Depending on the amount of programs you are running you won’t be able to absorb their functions, so if you’re lacking support staff you may need to negotiate on the scope and volume of the programs assigned. ➡️ How are communications ran within the team? Do we have a communication specialist within the People Team? Are comms more informal? Is there a style guide or does the process need to be created from scratch? [Note 🚧: Comms, even if AI-assisted, are extremely time-consuming without a style guide. If the process needs to be created from scratch, suggest a style guide and make sure all comms match the parameters. People's preferences and word choices will vary broadly. Stick to the guide to stay objective]. Are you ready? Now go nail that interview. You are choosing the company as much as they are choosing you. #peopleprograms #hrprograms #hr #interview

There is a fundamental difference between Project Management and Product Management. Product is looking into the big picture and the long term future. A project lasts until is finished or no longer relevant, whatever happens first. However, and this is a key fact, your main priority as a Product person is to keep your product moving forward and sometimes, in order to do that, you need to get a project done. If your product is just a bunch of projects, then you got a problem. If your product needs a project here and there, roll your sleeves up and get it done.

Whoa! It has been a wild few weeks, and everyone I’ve talked to from all different types of industries has been feeling the same - stretched and stressed. So what’s going on? What I have noticed, is how quickly fingers start pointing to failures in project management — and admittedly it’s been hard not to consider the same. But I woke up this morning, and had an epiphany — is remote work the actual cause? Let me explain: When I started my project management career, there was a general belief that as you grew in your career the more projects you should be able to manage (this applies mostly just to the digital space). A new PM might only be able handle one or two small ones but a Sr PM should be able to juggle at least 4. Once you moved into Program Management it would depend on the size of programs you were overseeing. And most PMs managed. We’d plan out our weeks ahead of tims as much as possible including carving out time for any likely required admin time - and still had time to socialize with peers (though some days did still require lunches at desks and a bit of work in the evening). This workload seems to be impossible to keep up with now. Balls are dropped, deadlines missed, tensions high and finger pointing is at an all time high too. But the work itself hasn’t really changed. It’s actually what’s made it easier for me to do my jobs over the last decade, so I can apply what’s worked for me in the past to every new engagement. There might be new teammates, new clients but the outputs are the same and the processes to deliver are the same. Or are they? One of the biggest challenges I’ve heard the number of meetings required to move projects forward fills up the days leaving very little time for admin and future planning. And since, mostly in digital, we’ve applied more of an iterative approach to planning, doing away with project charters, replacing BRDs with JIRA boards and acceptance criteria — a lot of planning is now done just-in-time instead of ahead of time. Is it just more meetings? Post-covid burnout? Have we gone too agile? Or is something else going on? I feel like I’ve had an a-ha moment, and would genuinely love to hear how you are feeling, what you think might be happening and what solutions you might have. Feel free to respond here (no finger pointing), DM me or let’s grab a coffee (virtual or IRL).

👨💻 In software development, Project Manager is not a role you can eliminate. PMs are an important piece of the puzzle that is a development team. Project Managers act as mediators, harmonizing the efforts of developers, designers, and stakeholders. They need to have a deep understanding of both the development process and the client’s industry specifics in order to be an effective link between all parties. 💡 Identifying potential risks and developing contingency plans is at the core of a Project Manager's responsibilities. Their foresight helps in averting obstacles and keeps projects on track. Efficient time management is essential in meeting project deadlines. Project Managers plan timelines, allocate resources, and monitor progress. They oversee the whole development process to ensure timely delivery. 👥 Keeping stakeholders updated — both the clients and the employees — is probably the most important part of PM’s job. They provide updates and gather feedback, doing this in a clear and efficient manner to eliminate all potential miscommunications. Everyone should be on board with the project’s flow. There are always challenges to navigate, and PMs are the ones to do it. Project Managers navigate complexities and adapt to changes seamlessly. Their problem-solving skills are instrumental in overcoming challenges. Hiring leadership roles such as PMs may be seen as excessive, just an added expense to the development cost. However, their contribution saves money in the long run as they streamline and navigate the development process, making it quicker. 🤝 Want to hire a dedicated team with 5Blue Software? Contact me! #5bluesoftware #softwaredevelopment #projectmanagement #softwaredevelopmentcompany

Co-Sell Orchestration goes nowhere if it does not include change management. That’s because co-selling with partners involves changes in people, process, technology and programs that are by definition externally facing (us with partners) but even more challenging is changing (us with us). So once revenue and partner teams are aligned internally on startegy and you’ve got some clarity on which partners and which sales motions, its time to execute to drive the change. Our experience working with clients tells us that there are 5 best practices that really make a difference in standing up and optimizing a Co-Sell program: 1️⃣ - Marry Project and Program Management. Make sure to have a project manager who can drive the From-To aspects of standing up your program. While the program management (typically shared between the revenue and partner organizations) owns the on-going program execution. 2️⃣ - Drive change through empowered Project Management that can lead the charge. Teams often assign a junior Project Management resource to ‘heard the goats’ and this individual does not have the credibility to lead the project. Proper leadership is where Project Management meets Change Management. We often play this role for our clients. 3️⃣ - Start with the end in mind. Every Co-Sell Orchestration program has a near term end-state, e.g., pipeline growth by end of Q3, that should act as a forcing function of goat hearding process. Good Project and Program Management works backwards from that end state with dependencies, RACI, and hard deliverable dates to keep the program on track. 4️⃣ - Don’t forget the partner. Sales programs are typically internal affairs, so its not immediately obvious to Revenue and RevOps leaders that the partners are part and parcel of the sales program. How, when and where to include the partner RACI and deliverables into the process and program is key, so set expectations internally and with the partner if you want to end up orchestrating music vs chaos. 5️⃣ - Keep it simple, and plan for course correction. With an eye toward the prize (the end state deliverable by a specific date), its key critical to keep things simple, especially in driving a brand new motion (which co-selling often is). If its not simple and close enough to the existing process, the motion will not stick. So you have to pair the process down to the essential elements. Don’t forget to keep track of the nice-to-haves as you’ll want to fold these into the co-sell program as you progress from crawl, to walk to run. I hope this helps you manage the change management process of standing up your co-sell program and processes. #cosellorchestration #partnersassists #gotoeco

Greetings Friends, 2 years ago, I exited my 23-year corporate journey to establish my own operations + project management consultancy, SHIFT. I decided to focus on what matters most: being more present as a parent, while making an impact in how we lead as human beings. Over the past 24mths, I’ve collaborated with top leaders and teams in various sectors, i.e. government, advertising, travel, non-profits, and chambers. We've also supported small businesses in their growth + scaling efforts. I am so thankful for our client’s trust, vulnerability, and the numerous partnerships we have formed. Those who've worked with me know that project management, team leadership, strategy, client services, and agile problem-solving are my strengths. Listening intentionally, authentic connections, and delivering high-quality results quickly have been pivotal to SHIFT's success. As we approach the end of the year + plan for 2024, let's talk about how I can help you achieve a healthy workload, 5-star client ratings, get your projects moving, and boost your team's confidence. 🔴 Executives + Team Leaders, here’s what working with me + my team at SHIFT will look like: + Killer Project Management Support.  We understand how challenging the holiday season can be juggling multiple projects, client expectations, + managing PTO schedules. Don’t pass on that New Biz opportunity. Hire us to take on the extra load + keep your team happy at the same time. + Project / Client Management Training.  Let us level up your team by offering training tailored to their strengths + your client’s needs while building a more resilient team. + Business Development Support. Your BD team should focus on high-value client engagement. Let us help with the administrative tasks, ie CRM management, + data entry, creating, managing, and organizing sales + marketing materials. 🔴 Benefits of Hiring Us: + No stressful long interviews. No high long-term salaries. No perks, benefits, or special training. We’ll make the onboarding process easy for you and your team. + Allow your high-value teams to focus on their core responsibilities and overall organizational growth, reducing the risk of burnout and the potential loss of talented employees. + No tough conversations with your staff about taking on more projects when they’re already stretched thin. + We are a low-risk, high-return alternative to hiring FTEs. This means you won't have to worry about difficult conversations when the project is over. We will come in, complete the job, and leave (but we’re happy to stay as long as you need us to! 🙂) We are excited about what’s on the horizon for 2024. SHIFT could not have made it this far without my team’s trust, talent, love, and dedication. We are ready to extend our love for making things happen to you. ➡ PM me if any of this resonates with you and I will personally contact you. Thanks for the ❤️ + Happy Growing! Carolina Founder, Principal Consultant, SHIFT