Knowledge workers will work with others that are not in the same location most of the time — It does not matter if you think people should work from an office or not. It does not matter if this is an interim stage while phasing in a return to the office, or a more lasting change. It does not matter what the “right” HR, safety and security policies…

This talk explores how #projectmanagers can use the #covid19 crisis as an opportunity to redesign their projects for a post pandemic world. Specifically; - How the role of the Project Manager must evolve to increase clarity, purpose and connection - How to incorporate #talent from anywhere - How we can be more purposeful in designing an environment for #inclusion of all voices Full video of a talk on Hybrid Work presented in April 2021 at the University of Maryland Project Management Symposium.

Let’s not forget some of the things that were not so great about office life. — As COVID-19 cases are dropping and vaccines are being rolled out the discussion to return to work will intensify. Being able to connect with people in real life is one thing we all miss about the office. But, we should ask ourselves “Was the Pre pandemic way of working really…

A LinkedIn search reveals 2.64 million profiles that refer to themselves as “data driven”. I believe a true data driven decision is about as common as getting struck by lightning. We are human beings. Our decisions are shaped by our beliefs, biases, and emotions. We use data and logic to justify our decisions. Not convinced? Let’s say you agreed to make a decision based on data; 60% or higher we move forward, otherwise we stop. The data comes back as 59.7%. What is you initial gut response?

How to get your team to open up about what could go wrong — Getting your team to have an open and constructive conversation about future risks and challenges is hard, even for the best of teams. Consider the case of Adam (not his real name), a VP for a large global healthcare company. He built a new team with a mission to streamline…

Inspiring stories sell books, but they unintentionally reinforce the myth of the Hero leader that has all the answers. As human beings we are drawn to great stories. They inspire us, connect us, and are a great source of learning. Narratives focused on the cult of success and the admiration…

Success Theater means hitting short term goals while burning out your people, burning bridges, or eroding longer term business prospects. It means reporting “Green” status while things are going off the rails. When Alan Mulally joined Ford as CEO in 2006 the company was in bad shape and Success Theater…

I believe that 95% of people come to work to do a good job and do the right thing for the company. I call this the 5% @ssshole rule, since some people just seem to take pleasure from being difficult and making others look bad. The second part of the…

We had a great discussion on unlocking the potential of a team, the importance of understanding your context and maintaining situational awareness. Full podcast link; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/project-teams-in-a-vuca-context-from-the-2020-umd-symposium/id912787200?i=1000503202252