Showing posts with label project managers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label project managers. Show all posts

Interview with Yasmina Khelifi| Project Manager

Hello, todays interview is with Yasmina Khelifi. 

Yasmina Khelifi, PMP, PMI- ACP, PMI-PBA is an experienced project manager in the telecom industry. Along with her 20-year career, she sharpened her global leadership skills, delivering projects with major manufacturers and SIM makers. Yasmina strives for building collaborative bridges between people to make international projects successful. She relies on three pillars: her project management skills, the languages she speaks, and her passion for sharing knowledge.

French-native, she can speak German, English, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and she is learning Arabic. Yasmina loves sharing her knowledge and experiences at work, volunteers at PMI, blogs at projectmanagement.com, and PM Network Magazine. She is also the host and co-founder of the podcast Global Leaders Talk with Yasmina Khelifi to help people in becoming better international leaders.

Yasmina please tell us how did you get into project management and why were you interested?

As a telecom engineer, I began my career, by testing new value-added services at a French telecom operator. After a few years and with the sponsorship of my manager, I applied to a project manager position. It took me courage because I didn’t have strong self-confidence.  Becoming a project manager was a life changing decision. I loved it from the beginning: the variety of activities, being able to organize, to build human relationships, to improve the processes, to create new things. Since then, I’ve managed numerous international projects.

In the process, you also have a blog and a podcast, tell us about it?

During the lockdown, I decided to invest my time in an online self-paced course by Dorie Clark on how to become a recognized expert. As part of the course, I have access to an amazing Facebook community where many people have their websites and portfolio. It gave me the energy to develop mine: I wanted to have one place to share my experiences and ideas. During the lockdown, I've also discovered podcasts and thought: "why not try it out?” I was curious to know how it worked and to share my knowledge about international leadership.

In investing your time in trying to build a community with all of these, what has been your experience so far?

You’re right it takes time and effort. My main aim is to spread knowledge as I didn't have specific guidance when I began to work. If it turns out into a lively community, that would be great. So far, It has been an invaluable opportunity to meet global leaders, learn from them, and share their stories. I haven't met personally most people I’ve interviewed so far. I think my knowledge of project management helps me a lot: I explain the project, set the expectations, communicate the final product for go nogo, and define a communication plan in social media.

Beyond the nitty-gritty tasks, I’ve met incredibly generous people with their time and experiences, and I’m looking forward to sharing more stories from global leaders.

Do you have any suggestions for the new project managers getting into this domain?

I will focus on three points.

First, get the confidence to leap into project management: you’ll get the skills for life, useful in any job. Project Management isn't linked to technical jobs. As soon as you work in a team (and who doesn't?) you’ll need to define the roles, functionalities of the products, expectations, planning, and draw on lessons learned.

Second, don’t hesitate to ask people for help and advice. Sometimes we think we will see as incompetent by asking but that’s a way to move forward.

Third, take part in training about project management but also about leadership. Devise your learning strategy. Be a lifelong learner!

Where can the readers find you?

This is where you can find my blogs and podcasts. I have a monthly newsletter about global leadership and also write here. As for social media you can find me in twitter @YasminaKhelifi7 and LinkedIn

Thank You Yasmina.




Locked up: The New Age of Collaboration amidst WFH

Lot of people I knew over the years, looked down upon work from home. Being at work meant more engagement, interest, collaboration. So, why work from home?

Today we are redefining what collaboration means locked up in our homes. An estimated 16 million U.S. knowledge workers started working remotely due to Covid-19 as of March 27, 2020 

The same group who once scorned the ability to work from home now talked about how surprised they were being able to work from their own home and numbers started trickling in of greater productivity, more efficiency and everyone happier because of finally being able to get rid of the commute, spend quality time with family and some even working on their newly found hobbies. 


Ninety-four percent of 800 employers surveyed by Mercer, an HR and workplace benefits consulting firm, said that productivity was the same as or higher than it was before the pandemic, even with their employees working remotely 

Has this era of pandemic broken the traditional idea of work and collaboration? Has this led to taking a modern approach of being able to collaborate remotely bringing in the flexibility of being able to work from anywhere globally. Has this opened up the global market for the talent pool? Does this encourage a lot more women to come back to work or continue with work?

Forbes mentioned “The fastest growth in remote work has been in computer-related occupations, with business, financial, and management occupations also experiencing rapid growth in teleworking” 

I know this first hand, I have friends who have moved to other cities or travelled back to their home states rented apartments and are working from there for months now. All of them mostly working in IT. The Facebook groups of home stays are flourishing with a steady growth of members everyday which only can vouch for the fact that everyone is enjoying the newly found freedom of being able to connect remotely.

These changes have steadied few things:

  1. The market has changed for good- remote working is here to stay. With all myths of remote working being debunked, more and more companies are opening up to the  option of continuing with remote work. It might be one of the positive changes left behind by this deadly pandemic.
  2. Improved communication skills will be required- flexibility and remote working will mean better and more communication skills to gap the loopholes created by not being able to meet face to face. Building teams and camaraderie over zoom calls might reveal new skill sets everyone needs to bridge the gap of real face to face conversations. Team connects will just not be for a stand ups or town halls, it can simply be a break with colleagues or used to welcome a new team member.
  3. Self-motivation is essential and so are the tools- working on your own schedule and on your own might also need more willpower and self-motivation to get things done on time. This is more challenging with kids at home for the longer run with online from home schools. To be able to get deep work done that require more attention might need setting up rules and boundaries even at home. Tools that allow team to collaborate and work together will likely be more in use.

So, does this mean more remote project management positions openings up? While sites like Upwork who have always flourished on remote work model has 1,223 Project Manager positions tagged and open to hire right now, Fiverr has project managers ready to set up collaboration software for teams amongst other things from Monday dot com to Trello.

Change at any level as it turns out is not easy and this concept of locked up collaboration seems to be just a start to slowly settle down as a  mainstream way of working.

What do you think?


(Pic courtesy: Pexel)

Giveaway: Free PMO Ebook +Exciting Announcement

Hello October! 

So, lets just say this Fall is starting with some exciting news.  In collab with Toronto based Parwaaz Consulting Corporation, we are bringing you some great stuff meant for anyone interested in PMO or entrepreneurs working towards your scaling business goals.

So, lets say you’re a project manager, portfolio manager, or an operational manager that’s had an amazing opportunity fall in your lap. 

You might be thrilled to have the opportunity to head up a PMO in your company. Its said that 60% of PMO managers have had someone question their value in the company and 50% of project management offices are shut down within three years. 

Hussain Bandukwala of  Parwaaz Consulting Corporation; has run Project Management Offices responsible for multiple eight figure projects  He hasn’t just done it, he’s taught it, and helped establish them for small and mid-sized organizations. And in doing that, he’s seen the best and the worst of the PMO world and made some amazing contacts. 

So now, he’s is giving way the knowledge that took him years to get all for free.

Take a look at PMO Success: Under The Hood -  a free e-book that has over 20 Project Management Office experts, collaborating to give the strongest possible start to anyone interested in being part of PMO. 


Inside the ebook, you will find:
  1. The one skill you MUST master before getting the top PMO role - and the one that’s entirely overrated
  2. How “three cups of coffee” can make your job as leader so much easier (Hint: don’t drink them in the morning!)
  3. The very first thing you should do when you’re on the job officially
  4. How to respond when someone says “show me the value!”
  5. There’s no PMO tool at your organization (or the current one is really bad). Which tool would you get?


He is also coming up with the PMO Virtual Summit (details coming soon) that brings in experts from all over the world. 
Information about All Access Pass and tickets coming up.

(Pic courtesy: Google Images and Parwaz Consulting Corporation)

Happy Weekend: Giveaway (10% Off Coupon)

Hello there, I hope you can take some time off today and relax.

If you are looking for updating your certifications for learning, adding to your resume or looking for a new job, try the 10% off coupon. 

You can use the coupon for both the trainings via SprintZeal. 

1. PMI- ACP (6755 students currently enrolled)
2. Scrum Master (2737 students currently enrolled




Offer available till Sept 30, 2018.
(Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links)




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Aug Wrap Up

I hope you have been doing great this month, mine has been a mish mash. While work has gotten me busier and happier with more challenging stuff everyday; my personal life has become more and more difficult to manage. My son started day care and he falls sick more often than before.


I have been trying meditation and some quiet time (if I am lucky to manage some), trying to keep sane. I think often to connect with my mentors, honestly, there’s barely anytime to even write emails. However, I have signed up for more learning (via Coursera-Standfords- Organizations Analysis), reading more books and even as a joke and dare I recorded my first YouTube (its so awful that I won’t even link it here). However I know there’s more learning coming up as I dabble in editing and understanding how to make a YouTube video and very proud to put myself out there when I know it isn’t going to be perfect.

To wrap up this month for you, here are some of the highlights, I hope you enjoy.

Good Reads (Blogs)

 New Books:


Finally, a book that changed me: When Breath Becomes Air

(PicCourtesy: Soma Bhattacharya)

3 New PM Blogs to Follow This year

If you are looking forward to refresh your reading list this year, look no further here are 3 new one's to choose from:


What's new on your reading list? 

(Pic courtesy: Canva)

December without Snow

I am in the mood to celebrate life and December is my favorite month.

So, I have ordered a few more books and my Sundays are mostly about trying to cut down the clutter and soaking up the sun. 

 I am trying to get back to my original self, being more grateful, trying out new hobbies and hoping that this month is where I get to be creative again.

Last month I traveled, planted some more plants in my tiny balcony and started posting in Instagram. I also sprained my left ankle.

I have so much stuff coming for the blog and I am positive that my new change of routines and way of working will ensure I actually can get them done. So, it’s just not a concept running around wild in my head!

For some random links that I have been browsing recently:
  • Let’s start with the gifts: click here 
  • How about unwinding for the year by doodling and learning about its benefits: click here
  • Thinking about starting your own and finding out the latest in the tech world journalism: Click here
  • If you follow a end of day or beauty routine, ever heard of the capsule format: click here
  • Why Scrum is a scale free architecture: Click here
  • How about some serious reading on how social media and mental health are connected: click here
Anyone interested in browsing through the top 50 project management blogs (By Feedspot). can look up here.


(Pic Courtesy: Pinterest)





What I have been reading and why it matters to you

I wanted to share with you some random links that makes sense when you look at it from your personal development point of view.

For success, life not only has to be organized, you have to be in a very stable mental space and none of them just happen to happen. I hope you find something in these stories that helps you find that zone. 
And looking for a real pick me up, don't miss this. Malcolm Gladwell being interviewed by Tim Ferris.

"For one hour of writing, there's three hours of thinking". 

This is How I Work- Peter Taylor


Peter Taylor is a PMO expert currently leading a Global PMO, with 200 project managers acting as custodians for nearly 5,000 projects around the world, for Kronos Inc. - a billion-dollar software organisation delivering Workforce Management Solutions.  He is also the author of the number 1 bestselling project management book ‘The Lazy Project Manager’.

In the last 4 years Peter has delivered over 200 lectures around the world in over 25 countries and has been described as ‘perhaps the most entertaining and inspiring speaker in the project management world today’. More information can be found at www.thelazyprojectmanager.com  – and through his free podcasts in iTunes.

When do you wake up every day? What’s your alarm set to? 
I don’t have a pattern since I am moving regularly between the UK and the US, plus a few other countries in between just to make it interesting, but I am a morning person so wake up easily and can adapt to whatever time zone I am in.

Tea or Coffee? 
Coffee, most definitely coffee.

Any rituals to set the tone for the day in the morning? 
I like to get ready for the day, then check emails, deal with anything urgent and then take some time to go out for, and enjoy, a coffee, before returning for the working day.

When do you feel most productive? 
Well I said I was a morning person, which I am, but creatively I develop a lot of ideas on flights and also at night so productivity happens at various times.

Where do you work? 

I am based at home and have a pleasant first floor office in my house, but I also work out of various offices and customer locations as needed – as long as I have my phone and laptop work can happen.

Three must have items in your desk 
A clean writing pad, pens and laptop – phones come next on the list – oh and a webcam (visual engagement is so much better than just audio) – I know that is more than three items but I do need them all.

What do you listen to while working? 
A wide variety of music, in fact when writing one of my books you will often find a credit to a band or singer who ‘helped’ me on the journey to completing a manuscript. I find that if I ever get stuck on a problem or in the middle of writing them something ‘heavy’ (Metallica for example) somehow frees my mind and gets me going again. That said my music library is extensive and varied so there is always something good to listen to (well I think it is good but we all have different musical tastes).

What are you reading currently?
I usually have three or more books on the go at any time, something on my Kindle, and an audio book for when I travel, and a business book (printed) for education. Right now I am about to start ‘How to Lead a Quest: a handbook for pioneering executives’ by Dr Jason Fox.

How do you organize? 
‘Productively Lazily’ since it is the mantra in my bestselling book ‘The Lazy Project Manager’. I apply the 80/20 as much as I can, focusing on what really matters, daily sorting through what is most important and most impactful and working on that first of all – it works, well it works for me. Just remember the great quote ‘Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something’ Robert Heinlein

Any hacks you prefer for work?
It is not really a hack but I do inject fun as much as possible in my work, surprising my team sometimes with some unusual activities or ideas – the ‘hack’ is to throw people off path to think more creatively and be more productive

What are your favorite gadgets?
I guess it has to be my iPhone for various business and personal uses but generally I am not a gadget person – just give me the laptop and phone and I can work

What apps can you not live without?
Because of my travel activity I use the various airline apps a lot along with my travel company app, but I do love Audible for audio books so that is probably my number one

Any new addition to your routines? 
Always open to changes, apart from the coffee part, but nothing recent

How do you recharge? 
Writing. I always find that being a little creative allows me to relax and recharge.

(Pic courtesy: Peter Taylor)


This is How I work- Lindsay Scott

Lindsay Scott is a Director at Arras People, the programme and project management recruitment specialist in the UK. She’s also founder of the PMO Flashmob and PMO Conference. She is PMI’s PM Network career columnist and writes for TwentyEighty Strategy Execution and Project Challenge. Lindsay is also Co-Editor of the Handbook of People in Project Management

When do you wake up every day? What’s your alarm set to? 
Unfortunately my alarm goes off about 7.15am each morning, which is not necessarily the time I get up! I’m a real night owl so don’t like early mornings at all. I’ve often wondered if I would be better suited to the night shift but my work relies on being around when most other people are.

Tea or Coffee? 
Definitely tea – Yorkshire Tea, decaff with milk. Almost impossible to get in any other part of the world and always appreciated when I return from travels abroad. Us English certainly have a thing about tea 

Any rituals to set the tone for the day in the morning? 
Oh yes, bad habits too – tea, a cigarette and a look at the Times cryptic crossword. If its summer, sat outside overlooking the garden – or if it’s typical Manchester weather, rain, then its quickly out the door to work.

When do you feel most productive? 
I actually feel most productive mid morning and then later on in the evening so I tend to do different types of work at those times. In the morning I do a lot of writing about project management careers for various outlets, the first being the Camel blog. Later in the evening its more about research and reading.

Where do you work? 
I work in different places. We have an office in North Manchester, that’s the main office for Arras People. It’s in a small town, nothing fancy but I have a large desk and lots of in-trays. It looks like chaos but there is a system honestly! I work in London a lot too so there’s time spent working on the train, which I love, two hours of no interruptions because the phone network is so bad. In London I work in an apartment I rent, or grab a desk at the Institute of Directors in London’s Pall Mall (the pink one in Monopoly!). I tend to like working in different places because I’m a firm believer in a change is as good as a rest, especially when you’re trying to be creative in writing articles and suchlike.

Three must have items in your desk.
A cup of tea, lots of pencils and my day workbook.

What do you listen to while working? 
Nothing other than the general chatter of those around me at work or on the train. I’ve never been one for music or the radio playing in the background but can work well if there is. I just tune out.

What are you reading currently? 
I’ve got about three books on the go at the moment. For fiction it’s The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, set in London, an intriguing read so far. For non-fiction but not work related its The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons – I did a Psychology degree many years ago and still pick out books related to that. I’m also dipping in and out of The small BIG: Small Changes that Spark Big Influence. A good interpersonal book for any project manager. I’m a big reader so tend to have books on the go on Kindle and the real thing!

How do you organize? 
I tend to use the calendar a lot – Outlook Exchange so it works on every device I have. I’m also a sucker for a good old-fashioned list. I use a workbook – just a jotter from the stationery store and a “5 days a week” list. It’s standard stuff but I tend to list what needs to happen in the week on certain days then add in the activities I need to complete day by day. I often spend 5 minutes at the end of each work day updating the list, moving things around and doing that really satisfactory thing of striking a line through the things I’ve completed.

Any hacks you prefer for work? 
Because I’m working in different places all the time I totally rely on Dropbox to keep everything filed and easily accessible. I can’t bear not being able to lay my hands on things when I need to, plus Dropbox is also great for managing my photos taken by phone which I use for blog articles.

I use social media a lot for work too and I love reading and sharing great blogs. Dlvr is great for managing multiple social media accounts plus I love its Curator tool which allows me to save my favorite feeds, read blog articles and quickly share them across different platforms.

Finally another great tool if you use a lot of imagery in your work is PicMonkey  Although I use Adobe products a lot (Photoshop and Illustrator) you can’t beat Picmonkey for quick and easy image creation.

What are your favorite gadgets?
The usual I think – iPhone, iPad and laptop. I’m Apple on the mobile gadgets and good old fashioned Microsoft on the laptop and PC. I think that’s a Gen X thing! And I love the Kindle for being a good old workhorse of a gadget that withstands some serious knocking about. I’m also doing a lot of filming of sessions for the PMO Flashmob too so now camcorders have become a thing for me. Sennheiser wireless microphones are the best thing I’ve ever bought

What apps can you not love without? 
Oh wow, where do I start. Dropbox, Echofon (for Twitter), Facebook, Times newspaper, Daily Mail newspaper (guilty pleasure!), Weather app from the Met Office (we’re obsessed with the weather!), BBC iPlayer (TV on the go, great for the train), Anagram solver and the Thesaurus app (can’t do the crossword without it). I also like sketching when I’m at a conference – doing basic mindmaps, so I like basic drawing apps for those but no particular favorite (using Paper and Brushes at the moment)

Any new addition to your routines? 
Yes I’ve starting organizing an annual PMO Conference in London –  which has meant I have a whole new type of work to do. I love it. Especially the part where I get to choose what topic areas we’re going to cover and talk to potential speakers about their passions. It’s also meant I get out and about more listening to others speaking at conferences, like the PMO Symposium in the States. I suppose it’s like a big project for me – doing the project rather than writing about project management or recruiting for project managers like in the day job at Arras People. I like to have new things to do – to set new challenges – to blend with the work I’ve been doing for a while (it’s coming up to 15 years at Arras People!)

How do you recharge? 
I’m the queen of chilling out when I need to – or want to – I enjoy watching TV and movies – anything period drama wise and you’ve got me! Love reading of course and at a weekend I love visiting places. In England we have so much history on our doorsteps and under our noses that you just have to get out and explore. Recent weekends away have included the castle where Harry Potter was filmed and the Plague Village. If there is a magnificent garden to visit I’m also right there, and a chance to combine them with a city visit even better. The Real Jardín Botanico de Madrid was a recent visit.

(Pic courtesy: Lindsay Scott)

To read the last interview of this series, please click here.

Giveaway: Project Management 2.0

Here's another Giveaway for you: Project Management 2.0 by Harold Kerzner

Project Management 2.0To read the review of the book, click here 

The give away is applicable only in India (no international shipping for now). Here' what you have to do:
  • Let me know you are interested to partcipate in the giveaway by adding a comment
  • OR you can tweet  about it and use the hashtag #SIPM
  • Last date is Aug 30.
I will pick a winner and announce it in the Blog on September 1. 

Have a good weekend!

Decision Making: what you should know about it.


Long ago when I was in school in US, I remember one of my professors talking about how he was teaching his toddler about choices and decision making.  He said, today we decided to have both milk and orange juice at the table during breakfast. And we asked Josh- Milk or juice? Josh said- milk juice. He wanted both. They finally couldn’t get Josh, the toddler to decide but he said perhaps tomorrow.
I sat in the class thinking, wow ... I wouldn’t even have thought of that. Growing up in India, decisions were mostly made for you, especially about food.

While options are great, sometimes having too many aren’t as easy to decide....
  •  Like when you have couple of job offers in hand
  •  Wardrobe decions every morning
  • Too many goals
  • Multiple decisions to make in a very short period of time

  1. Make your decisions in the morning\
  2. Eat first
  3. Cut down your choices
  4. Open the windows
  5. Use a foreign language

And  if you worry too much about making the right decision, click here 

(Pic courtesy: Google images)
 The winner of the Giveaway is Sudharshan from Hyderabad. 



You are Not Limited by your Location- SIPM Connect

If you thought your opportunities are limited by your location- think again.

 You can be located anywhere in the world and yet to connect to continents apart. So, if you are new to project management and what to know more, why limit yourself to your locality. Be bold. Be brave. Reach out to anyone.

The most difficult part of reaching out to someone in the PM community is:
  • You might want to network or work with the best; however you don’t know how to reach them
  • If you reach out, you aren’t sure if they will be open to it


Why SIPM Connect:
  • You can choose a mentor or someone to connect with anywhere in the world (choose based on country, city)
  • You can also choose them based on your domain of work and location (in case you want someone local, for example if you work in projects within advertisement, mass media who might want to connect with someone local or within your country)
  • They have already agreed to be the mentor (they have signed up as experts and chosen to be a mentor), which means you don’t have to pursue them as much to mentor you.
  • Best part, its free. Login from anywhere in world to anyone.  And you will never get bombarded with emails. Never. 



(Pic courtesy: SIPM)

SIPM Connect- The Benefits of Being a Mentor

SIPM Connect is the Community of Project Managers that allows the Newbies and the Experts to interact. Oh and it’s free.









  

3 top benefits of being a mentor in SIPM Connect:

1.You get to share your experience with someone- the greatest of satisfaction is to help someone our and see them grow. It makes you a better person and professional and it add a boost of positivity in your life. In SIPM Connect, you can choose to be a mentor.  This allows newbies to connect with you easily from all over the world. Mentors can be sort out based on their location, domain or profile insight.

2.You learn from the millennial’s (born between 1980-2000)- Most of the younger workforce who are looking for mentors are probably millennials. 3 things you didn’t know about millennials  
          •       They are motivated (source
          •       They crave coaching (source
          •       Open to change (source
     3. You can earn credits- In most formats, informal coaching or mentoring can be counted as learning or discussions,  so if you are involved you might be able to get adequate credits. Please check with your local chapter of PMI or Scrum  Alliance for more information.


    What is SIPM- Connect?



    SIPM (Stepping into Project Management) is a community for Project Managers. While this is a blog, the SIPM community is called- CONNECT.

    You can be a newbie in the field OR someone who has been in the domain for years and is an expert. This is an open platform where you can interact within your own group, find a mentor to consult and learn from or simply network.

    Best of all- its FREE!

    The image above is a sneak peek, post login. You get:

    • to maintain your own profile
    • get updated within your network (if you have joined as an expert, you get to see all the experts registered with the site and start a conversation)
    • you get to see the other group as well (example- I can see the newbie list too)
    • My notes allows you to scribble your to dos and things to remember.
    • And of course based on your registration type (Expert or Newbie) you get to see the relevant advertisements, which hopefully add value to you. Ads re not globally placed n the site, its based on your group. 
    Its an active site with a lot going on, so if you are already part of it- a big THANK YOU. If you have been thinking about joining it, please try it out. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to reach out to me.

    (Pic courtesy: SIPM)

    What does project management mean to me?

    A Brief History of Project ManagementProject management for me as with everyone else is all about managing projects.

    Obviously how projects are managed and how you want to reach your goal depends on how you look at it.

    Project management has always been a journey for me, where I have learned every single day from my work, from my team and from my mentors. It’s been more about people for me than managing work through tools.
        

        
    When I started working in project management for the first time, I was part of a small service based IT organization in Chicago (US). I soon learned that people management skills were the most useful because it helped me create the connection with my clients and more trust I had from them, I could understand the expectation and always deliver more. I also knew that it also helped me work better with my offshore team, one I knew the local language and second I ensured everyone felt I was one of them. This allowed me to get to know of the real problems and not sugar coated facts when required. In return I could manage my requirement, delivery and clients better.

    The way you treat your team always is the way team will treat you. When we worked under tight deadlines, team members took the initiative to stay back and get the work done. Not because they had to because they felt they were part of a bigger picture. Plus working in a small organization also means there is lesser capacity and always more work to be done. Handling situations specially tough ones, teach you a lot more because you are forced to think out of the box.

    Agile project management which has gained much popularity talks so much about the transparency, efficiency, collaboration, cultivating team environments and adapting to the need- this is how I have always run my team and projects. And definitely this is the way I have learned from my mentors.

    Project management for me is being successful and helping others become successful at what they are doing. It’s about understanding what makes everyone click and create amazing team dynamics where everyone grows and trusts each other.

    It’s about taking the stress, so your team feels secure. It’s about creating an environment where there is lesser politics and more appreciation. It’s about supporting your team members no matter what. And it is about accepting the challenge and knowing that it won’t be easy and get up every morning and be happy to take up the role. It is about the stress, the tight schedule, the pressure to deliver, to handle problems, to be responsible, to be accountable for all failures, to work on weekends, to have sleepless nights, to smile and assure even when you are paranoid, to be there when all you want is to go home and still keep the role.

    P.S. This post is published as part of a first ever project management related global blogging initiative to publish a post on a common theme at exactly the same time. Seventy four (74!) bloggers from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, UK and the USA have committed to make a blogging contribution and the fruit of their labour is now (literally NOW) available all over the web. The complete list of all participating blogs is found here ...so please go and check them out!

    (Pic Courtesy)

    Agile Managers- what should you do?

    Aug 19, 2013 | | 2 comments |
    “A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: We did it ourselves.”  -Lao Tzu

    Simple things create the greatest impact. As Agile Managers, the goal is to ensure your team is groomed, mentored and ready to take up any challenges.

    To do so, you also have to lead by example- you should be able to:

    • Inspire
    • Be supportive
    • Be empathetic
    • Be honest
    • Be objective

    So, your focus is always to keep the team out of crisis so they can function at their optimum velocity.  Deming in his “14 action point guide” points at how one can get anyone out of the crisis mode. If you look at them, the main things to consider would be:

    • Creating constancy of purpose- it’s important during any time or during any transformation process to let your team know about the purpose and why what is happening. This avoids the most important confusion of team members being insecure, going through a loss of direction and not being comfortable with the change. 
    • Improve constantly- managers role is crucial here in keeping the theme of improvement going always. If you can inspire them in a one of a kind way, it has to be by dispersing the common message that every team member collectively has to improve. You can measure improve in various ways- by seeing team velocity, by seeing quality of the deliverable, seeing the team dynamics or seeing the happiness index of teams. 
    • Drive out fear- encourage people to express freely in your organization and team. Even if the feedback is negative- against the process, against the team or may be against you- it allows you to know the reality. You can only know how to respond to and what strategy to implement if you know the genuine problem. 
    • Remove barriers that that rob people of their pride to workmanship- inspiration for any work when intrinsic is way more productive than when its extrinsic. If you can find out what motivates them, what keeps them going, it’s just way easier to know their intrinsic motivation. I have worked with teams, who at some point got bored with the same kind of user stories in their backlog and wanted a change. In such situations just ask what they would like to work n, or what motivated them, One team wanted to take more risks at their work because they thought otherwise it gets boring; they did risk in one of the sprints against their committed stories and still finished really well.  The team member just find it motivating enough. 
    • Recognition for their efforts for some is very important- just by simply saying  a ”thank you” or recognizing them during daily stand ups is enough to keep them happy and it doesn't take a lot of time or money! This point actually came up in one of my happiness index surveys with a team and since then I have always tried to recognize members for their efforts, no matter how small they are! So, during retrospectives, we make a point that the team thanks other team members by simply writing n sticky notes about them and then we tack it in the cubicle walls. 
    • Put everyone to work- because transformation is everyone’s job; especially if you have adopted agile very recently. No one should feel that their part is for granted or not important. Keeping everyone involved is the most tricky part when going through transformation. And this is something only managers can do. You can work with your Agile consultant/coach on these scenarios, however you have to make the final call.  As a manager you have to let everyone now how they can be involved, contribute actively and help management make decisions.  
    (Pic courtesy: Google Images)

    Accidental Project Manager

    It’s July and I am back!

    Yesterday one of my friends came over to talk about project management. He has been working as a developer for a while now and suddenly is the project manager overlooking a co located team of 36.

    Obviously, he is nervous. Doesn't know where to begin. And wants to know what project management is and if he can actually pull off being one.

    So, here are 5 tips for you if you are in similar situation like him.

    • Analyse the situation- If you have been pushed to the role and you are not ready for it, give it a try. There’s no harm in trying it out. If you are very confident, that is isn’t the career path you want to take- be clear about it. Like my friend wants to be an architect, but is ok to give this opportunity a try. To look for inspiration hear what other project managers are saying.
    • Prepare- The sudden push can get you into a panic attack, however, getting in touch with someone who has been doing this for a while is the best solution you can have. Plus have a mentor to guide you through the process. 
    • Read up- Certifications might be important if your organization wants you to have one, however before you even go into it, research the what’s available in the market and the finalize it. Don’t rush into certifications. Instead look into blogs and websites which provide you with a plethora of options to learn up easily from.
    • Learn about expectations- Find out why you have been chosen to take up the role, find what your team expects from you along with the primary stakeholders. Your knowledge of the expectations and role might give you a clue to better direction. 
    • Take a risk- Don’t be afraid to give it a shot. Turns out, it will also make you happier  
    Get some free goodies from here, if you already haven’t .



    To know more about project management read my book Stepping into Project Management (Welcome to the #PMOT World). To connect with experienced Project Manager's from all over the world, get mentored or shadow for a day see the SIPM Community.