Role of the Project Manager

The project manager's role, in a nutshell, is the overall responsibility for the successful planning, execution, monitoring, control and closure of a project.

Is Project Management a Good Career Choice?

Project management can be both challenging and rewarding, but what should you consider when thinking about a career in project management?

How to Perform a Project Handover

How to conduct a project handover to ensure continuity without the change of project manager disrupting the project.

Project Managers on Project Management: Our Favourite Inspirational Quotes

Learn about project management with sixteen inspirational quotes from well-known project managers that show how project management is on the ground.

What Does a Project Manager Do?

In this video, we talk about the role of a project manager and the skills needed for a career in project management.

Top 5 Things to Leave Off Your Resume as a Project Manager

Without a well-written resume, you can't get that project manager job you want. However, while you focus on what to put on your resume, information that can harm your chances of getting the job can slip in.

Psychology for Project Managers

Psychology is present in the everyday life of a project manager. This article discusses two models that can help project managers improve their interaction with project team members.

A Project Manager's Short Guide to Effective Problem-Solving in 6 Steps

For project managers, problem-solving remains an ever-important soft skill. A simple six-step process will help you master effective problem-solving.

How to Work Effectively as a Remote Project Manager

Ready to work as a remote project manager? Now is the time to take action. With an increase in remote roles, you may find it works better for you.

Make Me a Project Manager

Are you embarking on your career or considering a career change? Plenty of people want to pursue a career in project management. Where should you start?

The 5 Biggest Mistakes New Project Managers Make

The job of a project manager is no sinecure. Here are the five biggest mistakes new project managers make and what to do about them.

High Anxiety: Managing Projects With Your Pants Down

Imagine yourself as a project manager with sixteen projects on your plate. You are experiencing high-stress levels. What can you do in this situation?

Am I Doing What I Should Be Doing?

Are you stuck in the fireman role as a PM on projects constantly fighting fires? Brad Egeland has some advice for you.

How to Make a Killer Project Decision on the Spot

A three step process to step through making the best possible decision on the spot with little to no help or extra information from any stakeholders.

Knowing When to Call it Quits (and the 3-Step Approach for Doing It Right)

It's hard to throw in the towel. Leading something that means a lot to you is important. Quitting when you think you have more gas is like giving up, but is it really?

Oreos Are Smaller Than I Remember: Don't Under Deliver on Your Projects

Are you periodically under delivering on your projects. Are you going through the motions at times. How do you combat this? Try one or more of these steps.

Are You a Collaborating Project Manager?

Are you a collaborating project manager working alongside others to achieve shared goals. Almost certainly, yes. But what is collaborative project management?

Strategy vs. Luck: Managing Projects in the Face of Uncertainty

Whether you're playing a game involving luck or you're managing a project with unknown variables, always look ahead and plan for random elements.

Generating Momentum in a Project

The hardest part of a project is often just getting started. Next time you're struggling to get the ball rolling, try one of these ideas.

Seeing the Project Through to the End

Running a project from beginning to end uninterrupted is awesome, but what steps should you take when you're forced to hand it off part way through.

Starting the Project With Both Feet on the Ground

When you have a new project, what should you do to make sure you start with both feet firmly on the ground?

Looking for Blue Skies

There will always be problems with any project you work on. Looking for blue skies is learning to see the silver lining on the clouds that darken your day.

Getting In Over Your Head

Everybody gets in over their head at some point as a project manager. The question is, what can you do about it other than fake a panic attack?

3 Reasons We Say Yes to Impossible Projects

Superman. OK, he has his Kryptonite weakness, but that's it. Let's get one thing straight - as a group, project managers are not comparable to Superman.

Dealing with Problems on the Project

Problems come in all shapes and sizes on projects. So, what as a project manager must you do to deal with problems on your projects?

Being Prepared for the Unexpected

Project managers cannot create policies and procedures for every eventuality that might occur during a project, but they can prepare for unexpected problems.

Avoiding Project Failure: It's Not Rocket Science

Don't become the casualty of a failed project. Always put measures in place that address these five common problem areas to help secure your project success.

Giving Proper PM Oversight on the Project - Part 2

Brad Egeland continues his look at being all we can be as project managers to help ensure customer satisfaction and enhance our career prospects.

Giving Proper PM Oversight on the Project - Part 1

Customer satisfaction is critical. It is the basis of your livelihood. It is the difference between a referenceable customer and a dissatisfied customer.

Keeping Top Management Informed - Part 2

What should your status report contain, and how long should it be, to avoid overloading everyone with information and doing more harm than good.

Keeping Top Management Informed - Part 1

If your company does not need a project status report from you, it might be wise to suggest such a policy and produce one anyway.

Ten Key Project Issues to Avoid - Part 3

What do you find to be your key project issues or common problems that can get in the way of overall success? Check these 10 project issues to avoid.

Ten Key Project Issues to Avoid - Part 2

Avoiding the icebergs of project management is not easy, but avoid them we must, before they sink our projects. Keep these areas in mind during your next project.

Ten Key Project Issues to Avoid - Part 1

No matter how well prepared we are, there are icebergs out there waiting to sink our projects. Review these 10 avoidable issues and be ready to manage them.

Teaching Your Team to Deal With Deadlines

Deadlines are ever present in project management, which does not mean that the team working on the project can deal with those deadlines very easily. The following concepts will help the team deal with their deadlines.

Better Coaching Using the GROW Model

How to improve your coaching skills using the GROW Model, including 40 example questions for aspiring coaches.

What it Takes to Lead - Part 2

In Part 2 of this series, Brad Egeland looks at three more ways that project leadership is set apart from normal project management participation.

What it Takes to Lead - Part 1

What does it mean to lead? If you've led a large project, you know that project leaders do a lot more than plan, organise, control, coordinate and budget.

Facilitating a Summit

If you want to have a successful summit meeting, then it is time to practise your people skills and learn to play well with others.

Why Project Managers Should Coach

Can you be a good project manager without being a coach? How to unlock your team's potential and maximise their performance with coaching.

When Project Management is a Four Letter Word

As project managers, we can add considerable value to any project engagement, but what do you do if your customer is not project manager friendly?

How to Run the Most Productive Project Meetings Possible - Part 2

Brad Egeland's final four key concepts for highly productive project meetings. How we plan for, execute, and follow-up on our meetings says a lot about us professionally.

How to Run the Most Productive Project Meetings Possible - Part 1

Seven rules for planning and conducting meaningful project meetings, the ones that will help you better manage your projects and provide your attendees with information on issues that matter to them.

Praise Loud, Blame Soft

We all need more praise than correction. Why? Because a happy, positive team with a basic plan will outperform a miserable team with a brilliant plan every time.

The Proactive Project Manager

How to remain in control of projects, rather than always being in reactive mode to the issues that arise and threaten to knock us off course.

Ensuring Accountability on Your Projects - Part 2

You can't guarantee accountability from everyone on your projects, but the key to keeping them involved is to let them know exactly what is expected of them.

Ensuring Accountability on Your Projects - Part 1

How to serve the project and everyone working on it well, by ensuring everyone remains accountable for their responsibilities to us and to the project.

What Your Project Customer Expects From You

There are a few basic and specific expectations your project customer has of you; their project manager, as you embark on leading their project toward success.

11 Things You Must Do to Prepare for the Project - Part 2

Brad Egeland's final six 'must-dos' to prepare for a project engagement. How to cultivate a solid relationship with the project sponsor and his team.

11 Things You Must Do to Prepare for the Project - Part 1

Brad Egeland's 11 things you should do for every project engagement to prepare for a successful project experience, or put another way 'doing it right'.

Will You Take Over My Project? - Part 2

Now you've decided to offload that troublesome project, what must happen next to make the change a reality? Brad takes you through the steps.

Will You Take Over My Project? - Part 1

Ever had one of those projects that doesn't gel well with the rest of your project workload? Not sure what to do? Brad suggests taking the following actions.

Project Management: A Marathon Not a Sprint

Are there similarities between running a marathon and managing a project? You might be surprised how alike they are. Just remember, neither is easy.

When is a Project Manager not a Project Manager

It seems that these days everyone claims to be a project manager. But are these 'true' project management roles? Let's find out what makes a project manager.

Get SET for Project Control

How much control is enough on a project? Consider applying the 3 key controls for your next project - Stakeholders, Expectations and Team (SET).

Top 10 Soft Skills for Project Managers - Part 3

Part 3 of 3 looking at soft skills for project managers. Skills needed to be a successful PM and confident strategiser for your teams and projects.

Top 10 Soft Skills for Project Managers - Part 2

Part 2 of a 3 part series looking at soft skills for project managers. Having all 10 soft skills I cover in this series will definitely help project success.

Top 10 Soft Skills for Project Managers - Part 1

Part 1 of a 3 part series looking at soft skills for project managers. What are the top 10 soft skills PMs should have in order to succeed more than fail?

Conducting One-on-Ones With the Project Team

When starting a project, there's more to it than just the formal kick-off. One-on-ones should be used to clarify priorities and to discuss schedules and plans.

How to Become an Accidental Project Manager

Many people have fallen into project management to fill a gap and found themselves a career. This article looks at how to increase your chances of becoming an 'accidental' project manager.

10 Ways to Become a Better Project Manager

Advancing your career in project management requires more than acquiring the right qualifications. Focus on 10 key areas to become a better project manager.

Knowing Your Limitations

If you've reached the point where you're concerned about failure if you add more to your workload then you have to stop and take stock of where things stand.

10 More Quotes That Make You a Better Project Manager

These quotations are the compressed wisdom of many years experience. Keep them in mind and let them help you navigate your way to a successful project.

Starting Projects on the Right Foot

Preparation is a key part of project management. If a project is not started correctly, it will end up with problems such as rework and scope creep.

Honing the Edge

How often do we spend time making sure our pencils are sharpened and our edges honed? Here are some ideas to help project managers keep their edges sharp.

A Project Reality Check

Every project manager needs to ask a few important questions in the middle of a project that will give everyone a reality check on the project's status.

20 Questions All Project Managers Should Ask

One of the many skills required of a project manager is the ability to ask searching questions and persevere until a clear answer is obtained.

Understanding the Project Management Triple Constraint

All projects are carried out under constraints - traditionally cost, time and scope. These three factors are commonly called the triple constraint.

10 Quotes That Make You a Better Project Manager

Over the years, management experts have come up with pearls of wisdom in the form of quotations that when given some thought, have a lot to teach us.

Don't Just Tell Them…SHOW Them!

The ability to demonstrate your capabilities to others comes in handy in an interview, but is also an essential skill needed throughout your career.

Nine Keys to Successful Delegation in Project Management

Successful delegation is crucial to successful project management. Many people involved as leaders in project management are, however, afraid of delegation.

How Do You Deliver Bad News About Your Project?

Delivering bad news about your project is an inevitable part of our jobs as Project Managers. It takes discretion, skill and good judgment.

Don't Be An Anti-Social Project Manager

In today's world, socialising the work management process makes sense. What are you doing to democratise project management and engage your project teams?

When in Doubt…Leave it Out

Make your decisions when the time is right to make that decision and not before. Tune into how and when you make your best decisions.

12 Tips for Being a Good Manager

Keeping a project management team running smoothly can be a challenge, especially when budgets are lean and expectations are high.

Six Clichés That Make You a Better Project Manager

Just because something is a cliché doesn't mean it can, or should be, ignored. Here are six clichés we can use to help us become better project managers.

14 Ways to Be the World's Worst Web Project Manager

There are a great number of ways to manage website projects, but regardless of your management style, there are behaviours you should learn to avoid.

Trust Me, You Are in Good Hands

Savvy project managers have radar and can sense and predict events and circumstances. Their brains are gigantic magnifying glasses. They see what others don't.

10 Things Every Manager Should Know

What's important for managers to ensure they are successful? Here are 10 things every manager should know to be successful in their management role.

5 Things Project Management is Not

Five things that Project Management is not, to help answer that age old question; 'What is it, exactly, that you do?'

Project Managers: The Enemy Within?

Who would be a Project Manager? There are times when it is akin to being a referee at a particularly fractious soccer match.

Project Managers Need Leadership Skills

Many project managers have strong technical skills, but are sometimes lacking in the critical soft skills necessary to be truly effective.

What Makes a Successful Project Manager?

Like any good leader, great project managers understand that successfully leading people is half the battle to successfully managing a project.

Improving Project Success Rates with Better Leadership

Factual and anecdotal evidence confirms that IT investments are inherently risky. On average, about 70% of all IT related projects fail to meet their on-time, on-budget objectives. Why?

Four Keys To Successful Project Management

Four skills a project manager should establish as a solid foundation and continue to enhance with work experience, continuous learning and personal development.

The ABC's of Project Management for Project Managers

The seven ABC's of project management. Derived from the competencies of project managers, this article reviews areas that make project managers successful.

The Ideal Project Manager Specification

The ideal project manager specification, including general requirements along with the attitudes and behaviours that we should look for in our project managers.

So You Want to Be a Project Manager - Part 2: Getting the Skills You Need

In this article, I look at how you can acquire, learn or improve 6 key skills, in order to become a more successful project manager.

So You Want to Be a Project Manager

Not sure what skills it takes to become a Project Manager? This article lists the six key skills required to be a successful project manager, and explains why these are more important than qualifications.

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The Role of the Project Manager

A project manager is a person who has the overall responsibility for the successful planning and execution of a project.

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The Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership

The seven deadly sins of leadership, a sure fire ways to alienate and demotivate your team on your project journey.

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10 Rules of Highly Successful Project Management

A successful project manager is one who can envision the entire project from start to finish, and has the prowess to realise this vision. These ten rules will help improve your projects.

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The Role of Project Managers

A project manager is one who looks into the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to describe, organise, oversee and control the various project processes.

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Top 10 Qualities of an Excellent Manager

What are the most important qualities of an excellent manager that allows them to tap into talents and resources in order to support and bring out the best in others.

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Project Leader, Manager, or Monitor?

This article looks and the differences between project leaders, project managers and project monitors. What type of project manager do you need to have for the best outcome on a software development project?

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Leadership for Programme and Project Managers

When starting up projects, it's important for leaders to establish their presence and their credibility. To do this, it's vital to create the impression that we are competent to lead others.

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The Hardest Word in the Project Management Vocabulary

For project managers 'NO' is often the toughest word in the English language to deploy. We often prefer the classic PM strategy of Yes, but…as the softer, kinder, gentler alternative.

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Successful Projects Are Led Not Managed

Project managers must become leaders instead of managers by taking control and the responsibility to do what needs to be done to ensure their projects get delivered.

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The Top Five Project Management Traits to Master "the How"

It's the approach, or the how, that separates great projects from the merely good, and lets great project managers rise above the rest.

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If The Lord of the Rings Was a Project

Let's assume for a moment that the great quest in The Lord of the Rings was a project. Then just who was the project manager?

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The Next Generation Project Manager

Are you tired being an average project manager, working on average projects, being passed over for promotion and getting an average performance review?

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How to Become a Project Manager

If you're new to project management don't be bamboozled by all the jargon. This article sets out the skills needed to become a competent project manager.

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Top Seven Questions for Starting Projects More Effectively

Here are seven questions you should ask (and answer) when initiating a project, regardless of its size and complexity.

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Good Project Managers are Hard to Find!

If a person has at least eight of the ten attributes required for a project manager then they should seriously consider re-training in project management.

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Five Ways to Turn Small Projects into Professional Success

There have always been projects, but never before has it been so important for every person to be able to lead, manage or participate in projects.

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Legitimising the Project Manager Role

This article is dedicated to a better understanding of what a project manager is and what a project manager does. Just as important, we will also be talking about what a project manager isn't.

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Project Managers, Trackers and Hybrids

If a project manager is going to be held accountable and responsible for project outcomes, they must have the authority to lead and make decisions, otherwise they're just a project tracker.

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The Difference Between Really Effective Project Managers and Those Who Muddle Through

What does it take to be a great project manager as opposed to one who muddles through and delivers late and over budget?

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How To Get Your Project Approved

What do you do when you have a great idea? You know how to save your company a ton of money or you've thought of a way to really improve a product.

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Establishing Your Project Management Authority

It's been a tough climb to your project management position. How do you establish your authority and inspire respect?

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7 Habits of Brilliant Project Managers

Project management is a complex and demanding role. Starting to work on these seven habits can take you to the next level.

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Five Goals of Every Project

Project goals keep the focus on what is most important. However, on some teams these primary goals are lost in their meeting's activities.

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Project Leader or Project Manager, Which One Are You?

Management is distinctly different from leadership - project leader or project manager, which one are you?

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6 Key Tips For Running Effective Project Meetings

Project meetings are one of the most common ways of measuring progress and addressing issues, so how can you ensure your project meetings are effective?

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Ten New Rules for Project Managers

These ten ideas will help improve your projects. Are these ten rules the top ten? You decide.

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Project Management Confidence

Obsessing over our personal and organisational shortcomings traps us, when what we really need is project management confidence.

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Project Management Excellence

Project management excellence goes beyond producing project charters, detailed schedules and colourful status reports.

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Be a Smart Project Manager

The key to being a smart project manager is to remember how you are going to manage your project, to know what to do if it does not work and to win and keep the support of all of the project stakeholders.

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Manage Your Project On Time Every Time

An introduction to some of the most important best practices which will enable you to plan and manage your projects on time and within budget.

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Managing Small Projects

Project management best practices can easily be applied on small projects to enable you to plan and manage your project successfully. This article looks at how to apply these practices without creating too much paperwork or overhead.

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Project Management Success with the Top 7 Best Practices

This article summarises seven key project management best practices to help you achieve project success.

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Intelligent Disobedience: The Difference Between Good and Great Project Managers

Intelligent disobedience requires taking risks. Take a risk and consider executing intelligent disobedience as you approach difficult project situations.

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Top 10 Qualities of a Project Manager

What qualities are most important for a project leader to be effective? With the unique opportunity to ask some of the most talented project leaders in the world on their Project Leadership courses, ESI have collected a running tally of their responses.

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Using Feedback as a Tool

Using feedback as a tool can help to motivate people, help with a persons development, uncover risks and issues and solve problems.

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Tips and Reminders for Project Managers

Here are some essential tips and reminders we have compiled for those new to project management or in case you need to refresh your memory.

People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. John C. Maxwell

The key to successful leadership today is influence not authority. Kenneth Blanchard