… especially on projects that must create and apply complex knowledge. Good leaders facilitate more than they bark orders. They share power and information. They build an environment where teamwork, trust and prudent risk-taking are the norm.   But when it is necessary, a good leader also drives accountability, makes hard and unpopular decisions, and pushes […]

I’ve seen high performance teams do amazing things. Don’t misunderstand me. Process and tools are important, too, when they enable good people to work together to use their skills “at the top of their certification.” People and process are inextricably intertwined and absolutely necessary in any project environment.

Striving for perfection is often the enemy of being good enough. Especially when upgrading organizational capabilities, a theoretically elegant and correct solution often fails. The change required to implement it is too large and intimidating, so buy-in suffers and adoption falters. A less perfect but simpler solution actually works better.

Recently I was flummoxed during a discussion of current trends in management. Several core beliefs guide my thinking about the best ways to manage projects.     They are so deeply held that I rarely stop to think about them explicitly.   In the discussion, I rashly took it for granted that other people held similar underlying beliefs, […]