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I read a Reddit post this week from a project manager who’s frustrated by spending half their time trying to get their teams to make updates in project management software, only to end up having to get most of the information from these people in meetings and make the updates in the software themsel...

This week I’ve been working on a reset plan for a multi-year project. Its goal is to get multiple external websites, internal websites, and other miscellaneous data off an old web server and onto a new one. Because the project has been so long and included multiple pivots, entropy has set in and mad...

As project managers, we’re constantly in scenarios where we don’t have all the information we need. Sometimes this is just because we’re in the initial process of gathering it—in this case, keep asking questions and collecting requirements.

But what about when information isn’t forthcoming? What if...

Recently I heard a coworker use the phrase, “a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.”

I definitely resonated with this idea the first time I heard it, because I love planning and I love good boundaries. But over time I’ve come to realize its merit is mixed.

On ...

There’s a tough conversation I’ve been meaning to have with a coworker for several months, but I put it off.

I put it off partially because I wanted to ask her to change how her team does some things. My reasons are noble: I want her team to do things more consistently with standard project managem...

Projects regularly have setbacks, problems, or need some other type of update or regroup. When that happens, how often do people come to you with this information, or how often do you need to find the disconnect on your own by digging through project software, records, etc.?

As project managers, we...

Last week, I asked my boss for help.

I’ve written extensively about the techniques I’ve used on my own to gain back capacity and reduce stress in my job as a project leader. I’ve implemented mindset shifts, practical tactics, and everything in-between. And it’s all made a difference.

But unfortuna...

In the last year or two, I’ve started supporting projects in areas of my company that do technical work I don’t understand well: software, data, and finance. I add a lot of value to these teams with my skills in leading people through a process. But understanding the steps that need to happen in thi...

I don’t know that I thought too much about decision-making growing up, because it wasn’t until I reached adulthood that some decisions started to feel genuinely hard. Maybe that’s because as a kid, I found myself within a structure that generations of adults before me had created to guide me toward ...

The job of a project manager can be described in many ways. One of those ways is “problem solver,” as we are constantly solving problems on multiple levels. In the course of monitoring the progress of our projects, we solve problems to keep them moving. In the course of developing project plans, we ...