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October 15, 2012
Political Advice for Project Managers: Navigating Office Politics
Four Tips to Achieve Your Goals & Overcome Workplace Opposition
By Ron Montgomery, Management Consultant & Owner, OnPoint, LLC
Project managers go through extensive professional development to prepare for the job. They study scheduling, budgeting, team dynamics, communication, and change management among other subjects. Conspicuously absent from the typical project management syllabus is the study of company politics. This is unfortunate because projects are to great extent political activities.
Why are they political...Continue reading
By Ron MontgomeryPosted in Project & Process Management on October 15, 2012
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October 14, 2012
Success Tips For Middle Managers
How can Middle Managers develop their skills?
Your organization counts on you to get things done. So how do you ensure your influence, as a Middle Manager, is enough to lead the charge? Are you doing the right things? Here are six important tips to create an environment that sets you, your staff, and your company up for success.
Gain the respect of your employees by knowing how to do their jobs well.
Managing an employee is not only about delegating, but guiding, supporting and helping them to get better at their...Continue reading
By Lisa WoodsPosted in Management on October 14, 2012
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October 7, 2012
Adventures of an Expat: Defining Basic Needs
International Management requires understanding individual logic that may not be your own.
By Debbie Nicol, Managing Director, 'business en motion"
I often reflect on one of my earliest overseas postings, when I moved from my native Australia to Malaysia, a move I now see as simply ‘next door’, yet at the time literally turned my life upside down. I was invited to join an international hotel chain and hence live in the hotel whilst also working in it.
As it really was my first expatriate position, I look back now in awe at the level of curiosity and...Continue reading
By Debbie NicolPosted in International Management on October 7, 2012
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September 27, 2012
A First Time Manager’s Guide to Building Self Confidence
What can you do to build confidence when you don’t have all the answers?
By Emilie Shoop, Creator and Leader of Shoop Training & Consulting
Being a first time manager can be very overwhelming. What should you do? What should you avoid? What systems do you want to put in place? How should you organize everything? What is first? Where is your office? Who is on your team? How do you stay on top of it all?
First of all, take a moment to pat yourself on the back. Becoming a manager for the first time is a great...Continue reading
By Emilie ShoopPosted in New Employee, Promotion on September 27, 2012
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September 24, 2012
Successful Project Managers - The ‘Ninjas’ of Influence
What behaviors define successful project managers and the people who sponsor them?
By Ron Montgomery, Management Consultant & Owner, OnPoint, LLC
It’s a common complaint among project managers; “I have the responsibility, but I don’t have the authority.” It’s true that project managers rarely have formal authority, and the lack of such authority makes it difficult to meet project objectives and ensure that issues are resolved in a timely manner. However, successful project managers still manage to get the job done without formal authority. ...Continue reading
By Ron MontgomeryPosted in Project & Process Management on September 24, 2012
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September 18, 2012
Four SMART Principles of Project Management
Learn how better planning can improve project efficiency.
By Gina Fedeli, President GCF Consulting, Inc.
In today’s economy, most of us wear more than one hat, and “project manager” may be only one of them. How can you meet all your commitments without burning out?
Be Strategic
First of all, throw out that treadmill and take responsibility for the use of your own time. If you’re being bombarded with changing or conflicting priorities, talk to your manager. Be prepared with details concerning your workload and ask for clarification on...Continue reading
By Gina FedeliPosted in Project & Process Management on September 18, 2012
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September 15, 2012
Lost In Translation: Survival Tips for International Managers
When the art of leading in other cultures may be foreign to the leader himself.
By Debbie Nicol, Managing Director, 'business en motion"
‘Lost in Translation’ normally applies to a context of vocabulary and conversation. It strikingly, and sometimes hilariously, results in misunderstandings, undesired outcomes and unintended reactions of shock and horror. Could ‘Lost in Translation’ also apply to international management, the art of leading others in cultures that may be foreign to the leader himself?
Three common areas can have a huge...Continue reading
By Debbie NicolPosted in International Management on September 15, 2012
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September 5, 2012
Workplace Bureaucracy – Learn to Break Through the Red Tape!
What does your company value most, your employees or your processes?
Workplace Bureaucracy can leave your company stagnant & demotivated. As a leader, a manager and an individual contributor, you should be looking to create a balance between creativity and consistency. Each one of us has the responsibility to improve our work environment.
Procedures, systems, controls, processes….we all complain about them or hear complaining from others, but they serve a purpose. Structure is good; it keeps our business consistent, helps us track our...Continue reading
By Lisa WoodsPosted in Operations on September 5, 2012
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August 13, 2012
THREE Reasons People Regret Taking a Job & FIVE Actions You Can Take to Fix It
Do you regret taking your new job? Does your new employee?
You were so excited for this new opportunity, happy to move on from your last job, and ready start the new one. Soon after taking the new job, you realized the grass is not greener, nor is the job what you thought it would be. Do you leave, live with your new reality, or try to change it? What would you do if you were on the other end of this dilemma…the person who did the hiring? Making the effort to understand your new employee after the interview can ensure your...Continue reading
By Lisa WoodsPosted in Career Change, Job Search on August 13, 2012
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August 6, 2012
Communication Guidelines for New Graduates and Their Employers
What can you & your manager do to start things off right?
…You are fresh out of college; you made it through the interview process and got your first break into the workforce. You want to do great things and believe you have a lot to offer.
…As an employer you have given this recent graduate their first break, an opportunity to get started in their career, to learn, and grow.
What can you both do to start things off right? What are some things to consider when getting familiar with one another?
Generational gaps...Continue reading
By Lisa WoodsPosted in New Employee, Promotion on August 6, 2012
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