Responding to a crisis
Agile techniques can also help government teams in short term crisis situations. Here’s the second example I gave. Tim Nolan is a senior applications manager for Collin County in Texas. […]
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Agile in government
I work with several government agencies. Recently I was discussing Agile techniques with a group of government project managers. One person said that he’d heard that Agile does not work […]
How good is good enough?
Occasionally I speak to a master’s class working towards a Master of Science in Global Leadership degree. Recently I was asked to comment on a student’s analysis of his organization’s […]
A delegation dilemma
John is the visionary and articulate chief executive at one of my clients. Unfortunately, he gives vague directions to his teams, believing that he is empowering them with freedom. When […]
Make your sausage behind closed doors
You may enjoy eating sausage, but probably less so after you watch the messy process of making it. Similarly, the week to week progress of even successful projects is filled […]
Uninformed sponsors
“Uninformed sponsors – sponsors in name only – are of little help to project managers when obstacles arise.” So says Eric Verzuh, one of my favorite authors on projects. Verzuh […]
How to create an environment of accountability
Often leaders ask me how to improve accountability within their project-based organization. However, that leader may actually be contributing to the accountability problem without realizing it, often because he communicates […]
A controlling or micromanaging leadership style doesn’t work well
… 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, […]
People and relationships trump methodology and tools
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 […]
Plan (enough). Flex (a lot).
Projects are in the middle of constant change. Without some degree of planning, they will get swallowed up in the resulting tumult. However, being able to flex and adapt to […]