Dealing with fools with tools: Have them document it
Following up a previous post on “fools with tools” I was recently asked what I would do if a team member does not want to use a standard tool or template, let it be, for example, a change request form or an issue table in…
Sacking a non-performing team member – this, too, can be a sign of leadership
I have recently worked on a project which consisted of several sub-projects. Most of them were running smoothly, i.e., milestones were met, deliverables were generally of good quality. Unfortunately, there was one project which continually was running late. The project objectives were clearly defined, there…
All work is project work
Well, not all work but most. I have recently come across an article which states this. The article can be found at http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/24/wowproj.html is an excellent read. It is entitled “The Wow Proejct”, yet goes way beyond project work. “Wow Projects”, the author, Tom Peters,…
Interview on effective leadership and creating a Team Norming workshop
I am proud and happy to announce that an interview I gave last month in Denver for the Project Leadership Podcast (http://www.projectleadershippodcast.com/ -> go to Episode 2) has just gone live. In this featured Interview I talk about leadership and creating a “Team norming” workshop….
Project vs. Product Management
There are important differences between project and product management as well as commonalities. The project manager: The project manager is responsible for managing the assigned project in time and in budget. Whether or not the project manager is eventually accountable for the deliverables depends on…
Effective Leadership: 3+1=4 It is
In a previous post I was contemplating about whether DELIVERY becomes a part of my definition of effective leadership. It does as it has to. For, how can you be an effective leader without delivering results?! You can’t. At the end of the day you…
PMI Global Congress – Reflections, Part I
Wow, what a conference! I cannot remember any conference or professional meeting I ever attended where there was such a wealth of knowledge, interesting people, inspiring ideas. It will take a time to digest all the information. All I can say is that I highly…
Effective Leadership = 3+1
Yesterday I met Robert Urwiler, CIO of Vail Resorts. We also talked about my definition of effective leadership. Robert pointed out that he would add a fourth dimension: DELIVERY. This is true and has been a missing piece. Thank you, Robert, for pointing this out!…
Leadership in a complex world
Today I have (re-)learned a lesson of complexity theory with respect to vision, the critical success factor of any effective leader according to my belief and experiences: (1) „A vision without a system is as bad as a system without a vision.“ (2) „Simple rules…
Executing effective leadership
Responding to a comment on the 3 pillars of effective leadership and how to execute them I have written the following lines (see page and comments on the page „Leadership“): This depends on the environment and the role and responsibility of the “leader”. If we…