How to make 2022 a successful year for your projects
Would you like to see 2022 as a success year for your projects? I’m sure you do. Not surprising, considering 2021 was not a stellar year for many (and 2020 wasn’t either).
But how do you get there?
I asked project management experts to tell me what they should know as they enter the new year in order to have their best year yet.
This article summarizes their responses.
Mark Phillips
Ranjit Sidhu
Ben Aston
John Estrella
Mike Clayton
Helena Lui
Sarah Parsons
Bill Dow
Jonathan Norman
Monica Borrell
Colin Ellis
Soma Bhattacharya
Vasily Klimko
Brett Harned
Nicole Nader
Andy Kaufman
Louise Worsley
Robin Burk
Ray McKenzie
Cristian Rennella
Scott Perry
Joe Pusz
Leigh Espy
Susanne Madsen
Amy Hamilton
Sarah Coleman
Traci Duez
Jonathan Clay
Linky van der Merwe
Todd Williams
Gary Lloyd
What do you think?
Their collective wisdom is invaluable. I’m certain you will take away some tips and ideas to make this your best year ever managing projects at work.
It’s a lot of reading, so here are some spoilers based on common themes I heard in interviews.
Agile: If you don’t have enough knowledge about it, you should start learning.
Soft skills, interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence are all crucial for stakeholder management and communication.
Leadership: Authentic, ethical leadership is what sets you apart from your peers and helps you get work done.
Ready? Let’s get started. We’ll start with this in no particular order:
Mark Phillips
Mark PhillipsExceptional vision is what motivates high-performing teams. Together with your stakeholders, create a strong vision for your project or the phase you are in. This vision will serve as a guidepost for your team and can be used to guide them through difficult discussions with stakeholders.
The way software is built has seen incredible changes in the past few years. With the increasing capabilities of machine learning, AI, and data pipelines across enterprises, we will see a new wave in software’s capabilities over the next few years.
Mark Phillips is a consultant that focuses on high-performing projects. He is the author of Reinventing Communication, Routledge’s book on how to lead, design, and manage high-performing projects.
You can find Mark’s book and all the other books by experts on Amazon here.
Ranjit Sidhu
Ranjit Sidhu
Caring for others is an extension of self-care, which is also important for project management and change management. You can spark enthusiasm, overcome resistance and make change happen by connecting with people, collaborating, and partnering.
Although it seems counterintuitive to traditional project management thinking, we have found it easier to follow the flow. We focus on our larger purpose and values while being agile every day so we can adapt quickly. It’s how we help people and organisations adapt to fast-changing times.
Ranjit Sidhu is ChangeQuest’s Managing Director. He is an authority on change management and behavioural skill development. You can find her on Twitter.
Ben Aston
Ben AstonIt may seem that we could just let our multi-disciplinary, agile, and collaborative teams get on with their work. You could be forgiven for thinking that you will be fine if your role is to be a glorified project manager.
We can do better. Successful project managers will embrace leadership.
This begins with a solid understanding about success beyond cost, schedule, and scope. Consider how you are delivering the project’s strategic goals. How will you be able to do this?
