People And Projects Podcast: Project Management Podcast

Download the episode "I don't have enough time!"It's a common refrain. Whether from participants in a workshop or over a cup of coffee with a coaching client, I'm constantly working with people who are struggling to stay on top of their commitments.Though I help others on the topic all the time, managing my own time is a continual challenge. The interview you'll hear in this episode was recorded a month ago. It's taken until now for me to carve out enough time to bring it to you.It's a universal challenge for most professionals today: How can we get everything done when there's just not enough time to do it?When I'm looking for insights on managing my time, I head to my friend and colleague Jason Womack. Jason is a great source of inspiration and fresh ideas for me when it comes to personal productivity.To learn more about Jason, I invite you to visit his website at http://www.jasonwomack.com/. Or just Google Jason's name and you'll find helpful articles and videos online.At the end of this cast you'

  So take a look around you. How engaged would you say the people are in your organization?Each workplace is unique but here's a dose of reality: Some research shows only 29% of North American employees are fully engaged. That's a lot of productivity being left on the table.Particularly during challenging economic times, it's essential for our teams to be fully engaged and committed to project and organizational success. But how are they going to go the extra mile if they aren't engaged?One of my heroes in business over the years is Kenneth W. Thomas. If you've sat through any of my leadership or conflict management sessions, you've likely heard me refer to Ken. His research and writing on managing conflict has significantly impacted me. Ken is a co-author of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI).Ken is also the author of the new book Intrinsic Motivation at Work: What Really Drives Employee Engagement, published by Berrett-Koehler and ASTD. This book is an easy read: informal yet packed with grea

Download the episode You're presenting in a meeting or perhaps in front of a group. What is it that makes you more believable? More engaging? More trustworthy? The topic for today's cast is the key to charisma. Many people think you either have the charisma gene or you don't. Tony Robbins? He got it. Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Not so much!But is it purely a matter of genetics? Is there hope for those of us whose family tree didn't bless them with the charisma gene?After coaching hundreds of executives I'm here to tell you there's hope for us all! Charisma is not two-state: you either have it or not. There are practical skills that you can develop to improve your ability to develop rapport and trust with people.And let's face it. This is a critical skill to develop. As I often say, the "dirty little secret of business is that it's all done on relationships." To succeed we need to be able to convince our boss, key stakeholders, or customers to support our ideas. Being authentic, engaging, a

Download the episode Clearly we are a culture of jugglers.Whether working with my executive coaching clients or talking with participants in our keynotes and workshops, without a doubt most people are feeling overwhelmed with too much to do and not enough time to do it.So we multitask. Or so we think.One of my favorite books from last year is Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, by John Medina. I'm a card carrying geek in a number of categories, one of which is learning about how the brain works.Just think how much better we could learn, communicate, influence, and more if we really understood how the brain operated. That's what Brain Rules is all about.One of my favorite lines from the book says, "If you wanted to create a business environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a cubicle!" Though you can find plenty of pundits that will pontificate about the collaborative benefits of cube

Download the episode How important is executive support to your ability to deliver? The answer is: probably even more important than you realize!Nearly every list of contributing factors to project success or failure has some mention of the importance of executive support or project sponsorship as a key factor.The idea is that if you have the support of your sponsor (or management chain), you're much more likely to deliver successfully.Of course that is often easier said than done. Effective project sponsorship is often rare in most organizations, which is why I'm looking forward to you learning from this episode's guest: Alfonso Bucero. Alfonso is the founder and Managing Director of BUCERO PM Consulting (www.abucero.com), based in Madrid, Spain. Alfonso is a frequent speaker at International PM Congresses and Symposiums and has authored multiple books.In this episode we talk about insights shared in his recent book (co-authored with Randall L. Englund) entitled Project Sponsorship: Achieving Manage

Download the episode A common theme across my executive coaching clients is related to networking. Often it comes down to the sense there's not enough time to network."Nice idea but I'm too busy!"But when I, as a coach, push back on this bias, here's what I find: It's not a time issue. Rather, it's a perception issue. We prioritize those things that we perceive will provide the best return for our attention.Bottom-line: networking is often not perceived as sufficiently valuable to justify the investment of time. Social networking tools provide a technology to facilitate networking. But what are some ways to use these most effectively? How can I make sure I don't waste my time with them? This podcast discusses strategies to help you more actively leverage the power of social networking to enhance your career and improve your ability to lead and deliver.If you're listening to this prior to January 29, 2009, please join us for the free webcast entitled It's All About Relationships: Strategies for Lever