Time Limit

"Trying to implement things from a framework, you've got to have expectations that you will need to adapt things, try things out."

Sometimes your process is rock solid and it just works. Other times, you find room for improvement. Whether you’re adapting formalized practices like Scrum or Waterfall, or crafting your own process based on what you know what works (or what doesn’t work) for you, your team, stakeholders, and project. But there will always be challenges and things to consider. In this episode, consultant digital delivery lead Suze Haworth shares her thoughts on crafting process, including:

• What leads teams to transform process
• What adapting Agile means
• What embracing Agile practices means to project management role
• The challenges you might encounter when adapting process
• Practical tactics to help you employ a new process

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“Ironically, a lot of these planning meetings are about planning a very well directed project, but often not a lot of time or preparation goes into planning for the meetings.”

If you’re a Time Limit listener, you’re likely stretched for time. And that means everything can feel rushed. But if there’s anything you can learn from this episode, it’s that taking the time to plan your work and your meetings will save you time--and anxiety--in the long-run of your projects. In this episode, we interviewed Rich Maltzman and Jim Stewart, co-authors of the new book How To Facilitate Productive Prioject Planning Meetings.  In this focused conversation with two very experienced project managers and educators, a vriety of topics around managing meetings is covered:

• Common barriers PMs face when creating plans
• The need for empathy, and its new inclusion in the PMBOK
• Helpful meeting facilitation tactics
• How to handle meeting “goblins”
• Tips to facilitate remote meetings
• How to pull a plan together even if you don’t have the time for a planning meeting

Resources mentioned in this episode:

•  How To Facilitate Productive Prioject Planning Meetings
• The Long Distance Leader by Kevin Eikenbetter and Wayne Turmel
• Debbie Downer

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Creating estimates and plans can be tough, especially if you don’t have the time to do them well. But, if you’re working on a team, you should leverage them. In this episode of Time Limit, Brett interviews best selling author, international speaker and CEO of Priceless Planning, Dr. Sidjae Price, about ways to get to well-rounded estimates and plans with teams. But it’s more than that. In fact, this conversation covers:

• Dealing with generational gaps while managing projects
• Taking human factors and cultural norms into consideration when estimating and planning
• Tips on creating a solid planning process
• Handling change

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Priceless Planning
• The Art & Science of Leading Projects

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“The more you think about how things look to other people and how might they see the world, the better you're going to work together as a team.”

There’s a lot that goes into making a team work well together. Of course there are those magical instances where you get a group of talented people together and it just works. But more often than not, you have to take a measured approach to make the magic happen. In this episode, Brett interviews Neil Vass, an agile delivery manager for Co-op Digital, about the complexities of leading teams. The conversation is productive and full of tactics and resources, and covers:

• Practices for staffing teams
• How to identify a teams’ strengths and weaknesses
• How to get teams aligned around organizational and project goals
• Ways to motivate team members, even when you are not a line manager
• Exercises to help with team building
• Low-effort, high-impact practices to help you keep the team feeling positive and productive

Links and resources mentioned in this episode: 

• Co-op Digital's blog 
• More on the role of a delivery manager 
• Resources on building empathy and communication in teams: A user manual for me by Cassie Robinson and Our Empathy Survey Says - Awesome Retro by Stephen Mounsey
• The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
• The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth

The quote Neil mentioned, which was by Dr. W. Edwards Deming

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Whether you’re a seasoned PMP or a brand new project leader with no formal training, you’ve likely thought about ways to level up your skillset to make you a better PM and your career. But where do you go to learn? Sure, TeamGantt is a great starting point for classes, resources, and templates, but there’s more. In this episode, Brett talked to PM trainer Rachel Gertz about PM education, and a few related topics:

• Focusing on the right things as a PM, not just your plans or process
• How to continue to learn and grow as an experienced PM
• The value of certifications
• Where project management is headed
• Managing risk, and not trying to control everything
• The advantages of being in command of facts, which allows you to be relaxed

The conversation went in a few different directions, but always came back to the value of being open and ready to learn.

Resources mentioned in this interview include:

• The Digital PM Summit
• Deliver Conference
• Interactive Project Management: Pixels, People, and Process by Nancy Lyons and Meghan McInerny
• Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions by John Kotter
• The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande

Project Management for Humans: Helping People Get Things Done by Brett Harned

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It seems like the natural project management career would lead to people management. But why? Managing projects is a far cry from managing people. And doing both at the same time? That sounds like madness. But people do it every day. In fact, this week’s guest is one of those people. Tera Simon works at Globant where she leads projects and project managers, among other things. In this episode of Time Limit, Tera and Brett discuss:

• Why people want to be managers
• The challenges of managing people
• Resources for new managers
• What it’s like to manage project managers

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• LeAP training: https://www.sarclearningcentral.ca/programs/LEAP

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”This is a part of our work lives, quite frankly. What I like Putting a label on is that it helps you to understand a framework and how you can navigate through it.”

You’ve been there: leadership doesn’t tell you things, rumors happen, ...Social politics are a part of our work lives, whether we like it or not. And did you know that there’s a positive aspect to them as well? In this episode, Brett talks to trainer, facilitator, and project manager Crystal Richards all about navigating the sometimes rough waters of social politics at work, including:

• How to detect good vs. bad social politics
• How to observe and navigate social politics as a new team member
• How to untangle messes created by social politics
• Ways to build relationships at work
• Using social politics to do good

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If you think running projects can be difficult, you should try running a business! On this episode of Time Limit, Shawn Van Dyke digs in to the many highs and lows of running a construction business. It’s a wide-ranging conversation that touches on a lot of points that will resonate for you, no matter your industry or whether you’re a business owner or a project leader. Topics discussed include:

• Challenges you might face on projects, particularly in construction
• Changing the way you act, work, and think when running a business
• How to use the Paperwork Punch List: 28 Days to Streamline Your Construction Business
• Achieving work-life integration
• Finding the time to keep up with project work and administrative work

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Ever wonder what it would be like to go out on your own? Imagine that: the free wheelin’ life of a freelance project manager. In this episode of Time Limit, you’ll get an insider’s take on what it’s like to run your own freelance project management business. This week’s guest, Patrice Embry, shares her path into her successful freelance career, as well as several other topics, including:

• How to quickly adapt to new teams as a freelancer
• How to motivate team members and make them accountable for their work when you have zero responsibility over them
• Challenges to look out for if you’re taking a freelance gig or hiring a freelance PM
• How to stay current
• How to keep yourself organized with several projects and clients

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It’s a fact: many project managers fell into their roles. Some more quickly than others, but the fact is: there are qualities that make a great PM and even better managers. In this episode, Sam Barnes, engineering manager at Marks and Spencer, shares his own winding path into PM and talks about where his experience led him. It’s a personal tale with unexpected twists and turns--one that you may relate to whether you’re an accidental PM, trained PM, or part-time PM. Along with his story, Sam also shares:

• Qualities to embrace in your career as a PM
• Growing out of PM, and what other areas you might explore
• How PM skills are transferable to other roles
• Advice for carving out your own career path

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