Elizabeth Harrin's Blog, page 8

MPlaza PRINCE2® Foundation exam simulator review

Are you considering buying the Mplaza PRINCE2® Foundation exam simulator? Don’t spend any money until you’ve read my review!

I’ve spent several hours reviewing the exam simulator from Management Plaza (MPlaza) and I can confidently say that it’s worth the investment.

In this PRINCE2 Foundation Mplaza exam simulator review, I’ll share:

Whether the tool is worth the investment (spoiler: yes, even if you are taking Practitioner as well)Why it’s a good choice for test takersWhat scores to aim for in practice exams so you can be confident in your real test.

There really aren’t that many sources of PRINCE2 sample questions, and you do have to be careful about the quality. The Foundation exam questions are straightforward, with short answers. The test is multiple choice.

It seems simple, but under pressure, you can easily make mistakes if you aren’t prepared.

Exam practice was the thing that helped me pass my exam, and I recommend you spend some of your study time going through mock exams and past question papers to get a feel for how the questions are written and how the answer mechanism works.

Who is the PRINCE2 Foundation exam simulator for?

This simulator is for project management students working towards the PRINCE2 Foundation exam. You may also be planning on taking the Practitioner exam in a similar timeframe.

EVEN IF you are planning on doing Practitioner, I would recommend the Foundation exam simulator. The question structure is completely different for both tests. You will feel more confident on your Foundation test if you know what to expect.

Note: If you are planning on taking the Practitioner version, I recommend that you buy the PRINCE2 Practitioner Exam Simulator as well. The objective testing style and case study approach is totally different to the Foundation exam, and you will need to practice that style of questioning.

I know people who have failed the Practitioner exam because they couldn’t get on with the questions, even though they knew the material really well and were excellent project managers.

The simulator is a good choice for people who have the time and discipline to self-study.

How the simulator works

The questions are designed to test your knowledge of PRINCE2 terminology, processes, themes, and principles. They are simple multiple-choice questions. You select the answer and move on to the next one.

You have the option to mark a question for review if you are not sure. Then you can go back to it later.

There are no marks deducted for incorrect answers, so you may as well guess if you don’t know.

The software includes:

865 root questionsInfinite Exam SimulatorTM formats those into 419,000 variations, so you have to pay attention to the detail as each time you see a question, it could be slightly different!Explanations for each question so you can learn from what you got wrongAccess to a trainer via email if you have any questions.

You get access to the simulator for 12 months. In my experience, that will be more than long enough, and it’s comparable with other project management exam simulators. The deadline helps focus the mind… otherwise you might never get round to taking the test!

All the questions are aligned to the latest edition so are fully up-to-date.

[lasso ref="amzn-managing-successful-projects-with-prince2-6th-edition-2022" id="34466" link_id="289595"]FeaturesFeatureDemo versionFull versionNumber of questions12865 root questions, 419,000 variationsDuration12 minutes1 hourResults savedNoYesFlag for reviewYesYesTimerYes, counts downYes, counts downExplanationsYesYesPenalty for wrong answersNoNoCoaching availableNoYesPass mark60%60%How to use the PRINCE2 exam simulator for exam practice

I suggest you practice each section until you consistently get marks around 80-85%. You only need 60% to pass the test, but it’s good to have a really solid grounding in the topic. This is the best approach for learning the course content and testing yourself.

When you are ready, move on to taking full exams, again aiming for 80%+ as a pass mark.

Use the PRINCE2 exam simulator in the weeks leading up to your test. Expect to do at least 4, preferably 6 full exams.

The PRINCE2 exam has 60 multiple-choice questions. You have an hour to complete the test. There is only one correct answer for each question.

If you do 6 full exams, that’s 6 hours of exam practice. I don’t think that sounds a lot, given that you need Foundation to move on to Practitioner. Practitioner is the certificate that employers value more for project managers. I would say that Foundation is more for people in project support or allied roles, but it’s not enough to evidence you can manage a project.  

If you have bought the test questions, you might as well do as many of them as possible! If you start hitting results in the 90%+ range, then I think you could confidently stop taking mock exams :)

Free exam simulator trial: test before you buy

It’s important to feel that what you are buying is a good fit for you.

The Foundation simulator is not a standalone software tool. It’s accessed via the Mplaza website. Many other simulators are ‘separate’ software that you log into and use, but that isn’t the case here.

The benefit of that is being able to use it anywhere. The downside is that you should expect the interface to look different on your real test.

On the Mplaza website, you can take a free trial of the simulator to see what you are getting before you buy.

It only has 12 questions, but it’s enough to give you a feel for what the product is like and whether it will be suitable for your needs.

Pros

The main advantage of prepping for your exam with this particular set of test questions is that you get a detailed explanation of the answer. The straightforward language gives you exactly what you need to understand why the response you chose was wrong (or right, if you just guessed!).

Some other simulators just give you a page reference to their training material or the PRINCE2 manual, which is not as helpful. Even knowing the reference doesn’t mean you’ll get why you were wrong. Explanations take the mock exams to the next level.

You do also get the reference to the lesson to review and the relevant section of the manual.

The other advantages of the MPlaza PRINCE2 Foundation exam simulator are:

Access from anywhere. The browser access means you can do a few questions in the queue at the café or wherever you happen to be.Understand the areas where you need to revise more.Access to a real trainer via email if you have questions.

There are a lot of concepts, vocabulary, themes, and processes to learn with PRINCE2, so the simulator is perfect for getting going and structuring your self-paced study time.

Cons

I don’t think you can pass the exam with the simulator alone. You also need a PRINCE2 Foundation training course (I recommend this training, also from MPlaza).

You’ll need to make time to get the best out of it. If you are the kind of person who doesn’t believe in study plans, then you won’t get around to using it. You know if you don’t have the discipline to self-study and would be better off in a classroom course with the accountability that brings.

Recommendation: Should you buy this simulator?

I recommend this PRINCE2 Foundation exam simulator.

Of all the PRINCE2 simulators I have looked at, it is by far the most robust. It’s backed by a great time of experts, gets you access to real humans for help if you need it and it’s hard to find a negative review.

Students love it, and I do too. Let me know how you get on!

I should let you know that I am so impressed with Frank that I’m an affiliate for the Mplaza products, but I only recommend products I have tested out and am confident in.

[lasso ref="prince2-foundation-simulator" id="26240" link_id="289596"]

This article first appeared on Rebel's Guide to Project Management and can be read here: MPlaza PRINCE2® Foundation exam simulator review

Reflective practice on projects: 7 models to try

Reflective practice is something that project managers do regularly, although you might not label it as that.

We often take a reflective approach to project performance through the processes of lessons learned or retros. And you might do personal reflections as part of the performance review process, or 360-degree feedback.

What does the Body of Knowledge say about reflective practice?

The APM Body of Knowledge 7th Edition does not refer to any one particular model of reflection or theory. Instead, it discusses the need for practitioners to be reflective (section 3.3.6) through a range of techniques that support continuing professional development.

In particular, the BoK points out that reflective practitioners do not wait for knowledge to be presented to them; they seek it out from learning opportunities that arise during daily experiences and work. 

There are some great theories and techniques for that support personal growth and evaluating experience that are relevant to the workplace and in this article I’m going to share a few of my favorites.

1. Kolb

The next model of reflection, and the one I use most, is Kolb. Kolb’s cycle of reflective practice is based on four stages, aimed at helping you deconstruct an experience to learn from it.

The stages are:

1. Concrete experience: You experience something, for example an issue at work. I believe it helps to write the experience down or describe it to someone so that you have a clear recollection of what happened.

2. Reflective observation: Consider the feelings this experience brought up. This can be related to skills and past experiences you have (or don’t have).

3. Abstract conceptualism: In this step you do the learning. It’s the lightbulb moment; the opportunity to form takeaways that come from the analysis of the situation. This could involve thinking through different paths not taken that might be worth doing next time this situation arises.

4. Active experimentation: The learning is put into practice when the situation arises again. The theoretical and thinking stages are turned into experiential learning, practice and action.

Step 4 creates a new experience as different actions are taken (or the same actions are taken if they were successful). It’s a cyclical model and the cycle begins again as reflection on the new experience continues.

You can use the reflective process to consider your own contribution as a project manager and make changes to your future actions.

2. Peer-to-peer

Peer reflection is talking to other people who have similar experiences and roles to you (peers) about a situation. It’s quite a wide-sweeping description of the conversations we have in the workplace every day for example, chats with my manager or other project managers.

The reflection aspect is using the time with a colleagues to specifically discuss a particular event and think through what came from that. for example, it could be sharing good practice and providing tips to someone else, or it could be asking for an opinion of what could have been done differently.

Peer reflection could happen one-to-one (like mentoring, or a meeting with your manager) or it could happen as a group (a facilitated conversation or a team meeting).

The experience of talking and sharing about a situation is how the learning happens. Even if the person says nothing much of value back and really acts in the capacity of listener, the act of thinking through the situation in a way that allows you to describe it and consider it fully is where the learning can happen.

3. Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick is a 4-level evaluation model, created by Dr Donald L. Kirkpatrick in the 1950’s. It was based on work by Dr Raymond Katzell and applied to a workplace environment. It is a way of evaluating the effectiveness of training classes, using reflective learning to uncover what behaviour change and results are seen after a delegate has attended training.

Level 1: How relevant, favourable and engaging delegates find a training course.

Level 2: How much learning is taken away from the training course in terms of knowledge and skills but also confidence and commitment to what they have learned.

Level 3: Back at base, how much of the learning is applied to their day job.

Level 4: What results are achieved as a direct follow through from the delegate attending the training and applying it at work.

Kirkpatrick seems to me that it would be best in situations where there is formal training taking place so you could use it to inform how you support a colleague who is doing project management certification or an apprenticeship. Ask them about how they will translate what they learned in the classroom or on their course into action at work.

4. Boud

Boud is the simplest of the models I have looked at so far. It covers experience, reflection and learning so only has three steps in the cycle, with the expectation that at each step you can move forwards or backwards depending on what is required.

It’s not very didactic in that there is little detail on what to do at each step, but I like that – what to do at each step might look very different for each experience and each individual may prefer to reflect and learn in different ways.

There is little point in me requiring a mentee to create a written description of an experience, for example, if they are a visual thinker who would prefer to draw out a timeline.

At the reflection step we should be reflecting on what happened with the knowledge of hindsight or more up-to-date information, and that’s a useful step to specifically call out.

When I facilitate a lessons learned meeting, this cycle is the closest to the experience I try to facilitate in those sessions for people.

Other reflective cycles

I found a resource from the University of Hull that described other reflective models:

Schon (1991) is different from the other models as it prompts you to think about reflection during the event and reflection after the event and how these are different. In a project setting, and in mentoring, we would often have time to reflect during the event by taking a pause to consider what to say next.

Rolfe et al (2001)’s model was one I liked because the language is simple:

What? (descriptive step, similar to Kolb step 1)So what? (theoretical step, similar to Kolb step 3)Now what? (action step, not similar to Kolb because it is about creating an action plan, not necessarily carrying out the action)

The ERA cycle (Jasper, 2013) seems like a modern, simple take on other models and cycles. It stands for Experience, Reflection, Action. It is very simplistic and doesn’t, in my opinion, add much to any of the others. It’s very similar to Boud with only a small change of the word from ‘Learning’ to ‘Action’. I’m quite an action-led person, but I could interpret Learning as also ‘putting learning into practice’.

All of these require personal experience on which to look back, and none require any reflective writing, although I know a lot of people do choose to do that. Recording your thoughts can turn the exercise into more of a deliberate reflection instead of something that is hurried, and can be useful as part of your professional development log and continuous learning.

Do you use any of these in your professional practice as a project manager?

This article first appeared on Rebel's Guide to Project Management and can be read here: Reflective practice on projects: 7 models to try

Do you want a project management mentor? Read these tips first!

Mentoring is one of the top enablers that improve project performance, but only 48% of organizations have a mentoring or coaching scheme in place to support professional development, according to PMI’s Pulse of the Profession 2024 report.

So how do you build a professional relationship with a mentor, and where do you even find one? I’ve been mentoring project managers for over a decade, and I’ve worked with in-house colleagues and independently to support their career development, so I know what it takes to be a good mentor. And I know how people find me!

The best way to find a project management mentor

Spoiler alert: The best way to find a project management mentor is the way that actually results in you getting a mentor, and you might have to try a couple of different ways (and mentors) before you find one that fits.

The most common routes for finding a mentor are in-house schemes, workplace arrangements, professional bodies or independent mentoring programs.

1.     Use an in-house formal company scheme

If your company has a formal mentoring or coaching program, then the best approach is going to be applying to be partnered with a leader from that.

Find out what the eligibility criteria are and talk to your manager about applying. Be aware, though, that there are normally more people who want mentors than there are mentors available.

2.     Find your own mentor from within your company

Let’s say your company doesn’t have a mentoring scheme. That doesn’t stop you from going out and finding a mentor yourself.

Look at the people in jobs a couple of levels above yours, and preferably in a different directorate or department so you have a bit of distance.

Junior project managers might benefit from building mentoring relationships with senior project professionals in different teams, with PMO leaders, or other people who have industry experience in the field.

Ask if they would be prepared for a workplace arrangement where you schedule some mentoring sessions for career coaching. You might be surprised at what they say!

3.     Use the mentoring scheme for your professional body

Another option is to check out whether your professional body provides a mentoring program.

APM has a mentoring program that is housed within its community center and is for fee-paying members. You can read through the profiles of people offering their professional experience as a carer mentor, and make an application.

Then the mentor will contact you via the platform and arrange a chemistry call to see if you would be a good fit. Mentors are volunteers, and they might not be able to take on a mentee at the time, but it never hurts to ask.

PMI Chapters also have locally run mentoring programs.

4.     Seek out an independent mentor

For full impartiality, you could look for an independent project management mentor, like me.

One of the reasons my mentees ask me for support is that they don’t want to talk about their work challenges with people from their workplace. Perhaps they are worried that the conversation might get back to their boss if they confide in a colleague in the same office. Perhaps they want to know what other people do, as their in-house process doesn’t seem to be working optimally. Or perhaps they simply want an impartial opinion.

Mentoring platforms or individual professionals may offer project management mentors in your area or online, but be very careful before giving your personal details to someone you met on the internet!

Check the credentials and work experience history of the mentor you are considering approaching to see if they have the project management skills and practical experience to offer you advice at this point on your career path.

Regardless of how you meet your mentor, you need to be clear on what you want from them.

Set expectations about what mentoring can do for you (both)

Mentoring should provide the opportunity for both parties to get something out of it. Think about what you have to offer and set out what you want from the mentor. Managing expectations at the early stages will help you both.

Here are some tips that work for me and my mentees.

1.     Know your career goals

If you don’t know what you want, you can’t expect your mentor to magic up a development plan for you. Think about your career goals. They don’t have to be big and lofty, or part of a 5 year plan. They could be simple like:

Feel confident managing project initiation meetingsOrganize a lunch and learn session for my teamPass my Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam.2.     Arrange meetings – they really don’t have to be regular

With an in-house program, you will probably find some guidelines that say you should meet your mentor monthly. If that’s the approach everyone uses and is comfortable with, great. I build long-term, successful relationships with the mentees I talk to regularly.

However, project management is a bit different. You might be fine managing this project, but feel like you need some support when you’re kicking off a new piece of work.

You might have had a great career, but are now facing redundancy or want to get a promotion – and there simply isn’t the opportunity to stay where you are.

Those are ad hoc, life/career moments, so with my independent mentees, sometimes we go 6 months without talking and then will have a couple of calls in a month. Sometimes we can solve a problem in a single call, and I don’t need to meet them again!

Just book the sessions in a way that meets your development needs. As long as your mentor is happy with the cadence, it's fine.

3.     Own the learning process

Take your own notes. It’s your career. The mentor is not going to apply for jobs for you, or run your next strategic planning meeting.

I take my own notes when I am mentoring, and I send these on to paying mentees because I think it’s important they focus on the discussion and not solely on having to write things down. Plus, it helps when I look back so I can see what we talked about last time.

Sometimes, if we’re looking over documents or working collaboratively on a CV or resume, I won’t write additional notes. Either way, it’s useful to acknowledge that to do the work, the mentee has to actually do the work.

How to find a project management mentor for free

There are a couple of options for finding a project management mentor for free.

The easiest one is to talk to your manager and join an in-house company mentoring program or to find a mentor within your existing organization. You can do this even if you aren’t a project manager today.

If you are a PMI Chapter member, talk to them about the opportunities they provide for partnering PMP holders with aspiring project managers or early-career professionals. Technically, this isn’t free as you have to pay PMI membership and Chapter membership, but it’s a perk to be aware of.

Another option is to use the information that is widely available on the internet, such as YouTube channels (like this one, this one and this one). Or you could get bespoke answers to your questions using AI tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SItt_... use of AI tools for mentoring support

Tools like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT can act as project management advisors. Large Language Models help the least experienced employees the most. Research shows that less experienced staff showed a 43% improvement in performance when using LLMs, which is pretty good!

However, the output of generative AI tools is only as good as the base it has been trained on, and there is a lot of dodgy content on the internet. PMI Infinity is a generative AI tool that has been trained on professionally-written project management content and is a reliable source of data.

You’ll also have to get good at writing prompts, and remember that your company confidential information shouldn’t go into a publicly-available generative AI tool because it might be used for training the model – and what company exec wants their sensitive project details all over the internet?

Making a good match

You don’t just want any mentor – you want the right mentor for your career journey.

Think about the professional growth you want to achieve and who in your network might be able to offer that. What project management processes do you use or want to learn? Maybe someone skilled in agile software development would be a good fit, if you don’t currently have experience there.

Then think about personalities and other characteristics:

Would you rather have a same sex mentor? The challenges women face as project managers are unique to those facing men at work, so if that’s part of what you want to discuss, it halves your pool of potential mentors.

What about age? Race? Location?

Who in your project management community could provide career advice that speaks to you?

Do you want someone with a direct style? Someone who will handle you gently? Someone whose personal life mirrors yours, perhaps a working parent or someone with caring responsibilities?

Perhaps you want someone as different from you as possible!

There are a wide range of people out there who have the project management knowledge to answer your questions, so it might take a couple of matches before you find someone who is a good fit for you.

Have an introductory call with them without making a broader commitment and then see if you click.

Your next steps

Now you’ve got your project management mentor, it’s time to put that relationship to work and leverage their knowledge and network!

Use my list of questions to ask a mentor to get started thinking about how you can learn from them.

If you’d like to book a call with me, you can do that here: Book a Power Hour

This article first appeared on Rebel's Guide to Project Management and can be read here: Do you want a project management mentor? Read these tips first!

Project Risk Management: How-to guide (with tips)

Risk management is a staple skill of project managers. As the project environments we work in get more and more complex, with greater levels of uncertainty and more transformative, disruptive projects, being able to deal with risk remains top of the list of desirable skills for managers in all areas of business.

However, project risk management is something that many project managers find tricky. The theory is easy – implementing risk management successfully so that it is actually useful on the project is a little bit harder.

In this article we’ll look at tips for risk management, the role of the risk log, how risks relate to issues and share some project risk examples.

What is project risk management?

Before we dive in, let’s make sure we are all talking about the same thing.

The Praxis Framework defines project risk management like this:

Risk management allows individual risk events and overall risk to be understood and managed proactively, optimizing success by minimizing threats and maximizing opportunities. Its goals are to:

ensure that levels of overall risk within a project, program or portfolio are compatible with organizational objectives;ensure that individual risks and responses are identified;minimize the impact of threats to objectives;optimize opportunities within the scope of work.

Optimizing risk responses is one of the 12 Project Management Principles in the PMI/ANSI Standard for Project Management which is now bundled with the PMBOK® Guide.

I like the definition of risk management from the Sixth Edition, which defines it succinctly:

Project risk management includes the processes of conducting risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, response implementation and monitoring risk on a project.

The challenges of project risk management

So if we know what project risk management is, why aren’t we doing a very good job of it?

Project managers don’t do risk management effectively because:

It’s too complicatedIt’s too academicIt’s time consumingNobody caresIt feels like a scientific process that is too difficult to take part inThey don’t want to sound negative by talking about things that could go wrongThey are intimidated by it.

What we need to manage project risk effectively is:

Legitimate dataHistorical dataProper transparencyA culture of honestyAn understanding of risk sensitivityAn appreciation of the value of risk management.

Airline, hotel and insurance industries take a scientific approach to risk management because they’ve got the data to support that.

In projects, more often than not we don’t have the data, or if it exists it isn’t accessible easily enough to be used for risk management activities.

Create a risk and issue management plan

The way you are going to log, track and manage risks and issues is documented in your risk and issue management plan.

Often, this is part of the project management plan, because you’ll normally have a standard way your company expects you to deal with project risk, so you can simply reference that.

There’s no need to create a massive document when you can point to your corporate standard or even say you’ll log the risk in the project management software and discuss it at the monthly risk meeting.

A risk management plan helps you plan for when things go wrong on the project, and they will.

Mark Engelhardt, at a the Art of Projects Conference in Hungary one year (I forget when we were there), said:

“You don’t have a choice about whether you’re going to look stupid on a project. You can only decide when you are going to look stupid.”

Your choices are at the beginning, when you ask lots of stupid questions, or at the end, when your project is struggling and someone asks why you didn’t see the problems coming.

A problem is something that is not documented: it becomes a risk or issue once it is written down and is being actively managed. Talking about risk puts you in a better position to do something about them especially, as Mark pointed out, “most of our executives are too far remote from the rest of the team.”

Mark said that around 40% of the things we identify as risks actually fade away without project managers having to take any action at all.

Another large chunk of the content on your risk register is a by-product of the ‘way we do things around here’ and you won’t be able to take any action because you are up against corporate culture.

Only 3% of risks, he estimated, turn into something explosive.

What is a risk and issue log?

A risk and issue log is a simple way to record, track and monitor project risks and issues.

Personally, I log risks and issues separately because they are different things, but you can manage them together on the same spreadsheet or in your project management software, if that works for you.

What is a risk log for?

A project risk log is a way to record all the things that might affect your project. For example, you might not get the equipment delivered on time, as the supplier has hinted that your timescales are too tight. This goes in the risk log.

The risk log is a way of capturing the kinds of things that could affect your ability to complete the work on time, on budget and to the required specification.

Then you can look back on the risks on a regular basis – say, once a month – and check that you are doing something about them. That way you can head the problems off before they become bigger issues for you and your team to deal with. It’s a way of managing your work so you don’t need to use Plan B.

At its simplest level, project risk management is a straightforward process. You don’t need Monte Carlo simulations or decision trees. You only need, Mark said, a spreadsheet with some columns covering:

An identifierAn explanation of the riskThe impact of the riskThe actions you are going to takeThe name of the person owning the riskThe date you expect the action plan to be completed by.

Those are the basics of a risk log, and you’ll use similar columns to track and manage project issues.

https://youtu.be/x7A9idByPA4?si=I4YvS... is risk management important?

Project risk management is important because a badly managed risk can create havoc on a project. It could even get to the point where the project isn’t worth pursuing any longer because the risk profile is strategically unaligned to what the company is prepared to accept.

In the end, great risk management tries to reduce the likelihood of negative risk adversely affecting project performance to minimize the impact on project outputs.

Going beyond the basic identification and logging of risks is a way to link risk management to project performance and ensure that you are giving your projects the best possible chance of success.

7 easy tips for improving risk management

I know you want those risk management tips, so let’s get to those now! Here are 7 ways to level up your risk management to get closer to reducing the impact of risk on your projects.

1. Clarify roles and responsibilities

The risk with any process is that over time people come to take it for granted and forget – or choose not – to do all the steps involved. If there isn’t any governance around that then no one will ever know that there are shortcuts being taken.

Clarify the roles and responsibilities of the people involved in project risk management. This also gives you the opportunity to remind them of priorities and what the organizations risk appetite is, so they can better align their decisions and actions to business strategy.

2. Share risk appetite

Everyone has different levels of personal risk appetite. I am not naturally cautious on projects (but highly cautious outside of projects!). Other project managers have different approaches. And who is to say what’s right?

This is where it helps everyone to have a better understanding of the organizations strategic approach to risk. Perhaps the company believes that outside of the core product set, anything goes. But for projects and tasks related to those core products, a risk-averse approach is best.

Whatever the corporate guidance, make sure everyone knows what it is. Then you can align your project activity and decisions behind that. If nothing else, it will force the people at the top to truly think about what risks they are prepared to take.

3. Clarify how risks are identified

Another common problem is that risks aren’t identified as they emerge because the risk identification process stops at project initiation or (worse) just after the ink dries on the business case. Make sure everyone knows that spotting risks early is a good thing. Talk to them about the process for doing that.

Build it into your regular project and program team meetings. Ask people what new risks they have seen recently and what they are doing about them.

Log everything and act on it as it happens. These emerging risks are the ones that are most likely to prevent you hitting the business targets set for the project, far more than the ones identified at inception.

4. Know your success factors

You might think that project success factors aren’t linked to risk, but let me beg to differ.

Success factors are how your project is going to be measured. They are the performance targets you strive to meet as a project team. They describe what operational success looks like and how you will know that the project is finished.

If you don’t hit those success factors, it’s highly likely that your stakeholders will consider your project a failure.

So how about linking risk to success criteria? Link each risk back to a critical project success factor. You’ll be able to quickly see the impact on the project if the risk materializes.

You’ll also be able to work out which success factors are most at risk and use that information for interesting conversations with your sponsor.

5. Budget for risk

I don’t meet many project managers who have a dedicated budget for risk. If you can pinpoint the effect of a risk on a project success factor you’ll be able to assess how bad it would be for the project if the risk happened.

With that information you can lobby for a risk budget to pay for your risk management activities. You might want to mitigate the risk somehow and you’ll need cash to pay for whatever that looks like.

Justifying why the money is required is far easier if you can point to performance indicators that are at risk (like inability to deliver the predicted profit) instead of just pitching it as a project problem.

6. Update your business case template

How much space does risk get in your business case template? When you start a project, this is exactly the kind of thing you should be thinking of.

Your execs need to know what happens if they approve the project. Does the risk profile of the company’s project portfolio suddenly go through the roof? Or is it broadly in line with the risk exposure that the company currently has?

What about risk analysis; is that all in there? In enough detail for someone to really understand what they are signing off?

Arguably, early risks and a management plan for them, plus risk analysis of the project work overall and a statement of how this aligns to the company’s strategic approach to risk are all things that should go into that business case.

The idea is to give your execs the best possible information to help with decision-making. Obviously, you’ll want them to say yes to your project, but they need to do that from a position of quality information and risk exposure is part of that.

Need a business case template? Get one here.

The same goes for your Project Charter. Once you’ve got past the business case stage you can update your Project Charter template to include adequate and detailed information about the risks the project is facing. This should go beyond a few bullet points of the initial identified risks.

7. Aggregate risks

If you work as a project manager, aggregate the risks from your workstream leaders. At program level, aggregate risks from all the projects. Above that, produce an aggregated view of portfolio-level risk.

Ultimately, you want to get to a point where the risks that are presented to the Board link tangibly back to what project team members are actually doing. That alignment will ensure a full picture that enables managers to spot trends.

It’s useful because often big issues that hit companies severely are the result of several smaller problems all cascading and running into each other in a perfect storm.

Draw in information from operational teams and corporate risk management activities that cover business-as-usual work too to get the full organizational picture.

Aggregating your risks might not let you avoid catastrophe totally but it may help you spot where things are going awry before it is too late to do anything about it. It will also help you unpick problems and see the root cause if and when something happens that you wish hadn’t.

Risk reporting tips

Recently one of the students taking my Better Project Status Reports course got in touch with some questions about risk and issue reporting. I thought it would be worth sharing my responses with everyone.

To give you some background, we were talking about a large project which would run over several years with 4 workstreams covering technical build, data migration, change management and testing. The student wanted some advice about how best to communicate risks and issues to senior management.

Are there guidelines about what risk information should be reported to senior management?

No, not that I am aware of. The PMI Risk Practice Standard doesn’t include anything. The PMBOK® Guide no longer talks about project performance reports and never included what to put in them to my knowledge. I think you’ll have to define the content of your reports yourself.

As a rule of thumb, I’d include the top three risks for the month along with what you are doing about them, plus any decisions you need the sponsor to make.

[lasso ref="amzn-pmbok-guide" id="19409" link_id="275832"]What should you include in a graphical risk management dashboard?

For a senior management report, I would only report the open risks per project and/or open risks per category (scope, budget, schedule etc). This would let you see if there is one area like schedule that has a big risk impact on all projects.

I wouldn’t include:

Total number of risks overallClosed risksRisks with an impact status of Low or Medium

This is because the senior management team can’t do much, if anything, with this information. The number of risks alone is pretty meaningless. Some may be very small, some projects may only have a few but they could be significant. A better way would be to report risk impact – what is the cost of all the risks if they happened?

The best approach would be to ask the key stakeholders what they are interested in seeing.

I don’t think closed risks or number of risks is of any use as it doesn’t give them information they need to make decisions about the project. Risks by category, or risks with an impact rating of ‘High’ is more meaningful.

Should I show risk trends over the months?

No. What would the senior management team do with this information?

At the beginning of the project you’ll identify lots of risks and then close some and open new ones. If you have a risk review meeting one month and identify another 50 risks this will skew the trend data.

I would advise only showing a snapshot in time. You could use an arrow to indicate whether the overall risk profile of this project is going up or down, using a metric like whether there are more or less High risks or whether the cost implications for risk mitigation are going up or down.

What about reporting on issues?

Most of this article has been about risk management, but as risks and issues often fall into the same section of a project report, here’s some thoughts on issue reporting.

For senior management, only show the high priority open ones. Typically I report also on ‘high priority closed this month’, then those issues drop off the report for the next month. This shows that you are making progress in resolving issues, even if new ones come along.

If you don’t do this, your report could show that there are 20 open issues with a status of High Priority this month, and 20 next month. However, they could be 20 completely different issues! Without more detail, like issue names and descriptions (which, frankly, your sponsor is not going to want to wade through), your stakeholders will not know that you are dealing with issues and may assume that you are not tackling problems on the project.

As well as a graphical representation in a pie chart or dashboard, I would also include the top 10 issues in more detail – descriptions and action plans. If you need senior management input to resolve any issues make sure that these are included in the report and that you highlight where they need to make decisions.

Again, the best approach would be to ask your senior management team what they want to see. If they don’t know, present them with your graphs and report for a few months and then ask for feedback about what they think and what else they need to know in order to carry out their roles on the project i.e. decision making, governance and oversight.

Want more guidance on project reports? Get the ebook version of Better Project Status Reports as part of my productivity bundle here.

Can a risk become an issue?

Yes.

Once a potential problem becomes a real problem, your risk becomes an issue.

Issues can be risks that have happened. Or issues could be totally new problems that you didn't see coming. Either way, you manage them the same.

Can issues become risks?

Not really. An issue is something that has happened. Risks haven’t happened yet. Something can’t un-happen, so an issue can’t become a risk.

However, an issue can spawn new risks. Something happens on the project and that might create new risks for you to log and manage. They’ll be related to the issue but they won’t be the issue.

Project risk examples

Here are some examples of project risks. You might have some of these on your project. Bear in mind they are fictitious, so you should be inspired by them, rather than copy them directly into your risk log.

There’s a risk that the price of a core material may go up due to international pricing and that will have a negative effect on our project budget.There’s a risk that a core member of the team will be taken ill during the development phase and that will impact our ability to deliver as we will be short of resource.There’s a risk that the new corporate branding guidelines will be released before we finish the project which will mean we’ll have to rebrand the product, adding extra time to the project.There’s a risk that the solution we are building will not meet the information governance requirements.There’s a risk that the user group will not like the solution and we will need to consider the design again.There’s a risk that we won’t get planning permission for the new build.

Want more inspiration? Read this guide to common project risks.

Once you have identified project risks, you’ll need to decide what to do about them. Read this guide to selecting risk responses to help you work out the next steps.

Key takeawaysProject risk management is a core skill for project managers.A risk is something that might have an effect on the project if it materializes.The project risk management process is about identifying, recording, tracking and acting on risks to get the best possible outcome for the project.Use a risk and issue log to record and manage your risks (and issues).Risks should be included in your project status reports.

This article first appeared on Rebel's Guide to Project Management and can be read here: Project Risk Management: How-to guide (with tips)

Creating and using a stakeholder register for project success

Let me tell you about the time I missed a key stakeholder during a project.

She rang me on the day the project went live, unsurprisingly upset that I had not consulted her. The deliverable we’d created did affect her team, and no one had bothered to tell her.

Oops.

So I know firsthand that stakeholder registers can be really useful tools to ensure everyone is identified and bought into the project at the most appropriate times.

Are you just starting to put one together? Or perhaps you’ve done it and thought, “Have I got that right, is that it?” (Spoiler alert: it probably is, this is not a hard document to pull together, and I have a template for you.)

Given that 33% of project managers say they don’t have time to do stakeholder engagement, it’s important to find some time back – and your register is the first step.

Let me give you some confidence with stakeholder-ing. By the end of this mini-lesson, you’ll be able to create a fab stakeholder register and use it to help you manage the project successfully.

PRINCE2 defines a stakeholder like this:

Any individual, group, or organization that can affect or be affected by (or perceives itself to be affected by) the project.

‘Stakeholder register’ isn’t a term that is used in the APM Body of Knowledge or PRINCE2 7th Edition, but it does show up in PMBOK® - 7th edition, defined like this:

A stakeholder register records information about project stakeholders, which includes an assessment and classification of project stakeholders.

APM’s approach calls this stakeholder analysis, but the practical outcome is still the same.

So, what is a stakeholder register?

A stakeholder register identifies who the stakeholders are in your project and what their interests may be.

In other words, in its most simple form, it’s a list of stakeholders.

From that simple list, you can add in more information, like:

Role on the projectContact detailsWork location

You can also put in more detailed analysis like whether they are supportive of the project, or see themselves as a detractor, how engaged they are and what their key success criteria are for this project.

Typically, you’d transfer the names (or roles) from your list into a stakeholder matrix where you can plot people on a 2 by 2 grid (beloved of consultants and project managers) to show their interest and importance.

If you want to go even further, check out the stakeholder salience model and use that to apply to your list of names.

The stakeholder register forms one of the project artifacts you’ll create throughout the project.

Who goes on the list?

There are three main types of stakeholders:

Internal: Employees at all levels representing their functions on the projectExternal: These are your customers, suppliers, and investorsThird parties: These are consultants or service providers; people who are paid to drop into the project

Pop them all on the list.

This is my starting point for internal stakeholders, and the mind map below helps, too:

Project management team (that’s you as the project manager, plus PMO)Quality assuranceITFinanceLegalCustomer ServiceMarketingOperationsHRFacilities/PropertyProcurementSales/Account Management

You’ll probably have different functions to add to that master list. You won’t need representation on the project from all departments, so tailor to your project needs.

What if you don’t know the stakeholders involved?

If you don’t know the stakeholders involved – the unknown stakeholders – then you’ve got to start looking for them. And it’s not as hard as it sounds, most people are happy to make themselves known once they hear the work is starting.

You can also:

Ask your boss or project sponsorLook at past projects and see who was involvedCheck out lessons learned documentation to see what teams were forgotten about last timeTalk to the project team and ask them who else needs to be involvedAsk the stakeholders you have identified.

The broader your list, the more likely it is that you’ll have identified the potential impact the group of people could have on your project.

[lasso ref="amzn-engaging-stakeholders-on-projects-how-to-harness-people-power" id="24690" link_id="299279"]Benefits of creating a stakeholder register

A stakeholder registry lets you easily recall who your stakeholders are and what their roles are in relation to your project or program. Which is helpful if you have a lot of names or when you are just starting out and need a central place to log everything to support your memory.

It’s also helpful to make sure everyone gets the communication they need: the output feeds into your communications plan.

I also use it as a cross-check to make sure I haven’t forgotten anyone. Scan through your company organization chart and see which business areas aren’t represented – then check you haven’t inadvertently missed them out.

Finally, it’s useful for decision-making, as it highlights who is going to be making the important calls.

Let’s create a stakeholder register

First, download your free stakeholder register template from my Template Library.

Step 1: Identify your stakeholders

Use the starting list above to identify who is relevant to this project. Some of these people will be in your project charter, or you might link the stakeholder log to the charter instead of writing it all out again.

Stick them all on the list, along with their basic details like phone number, email address, preferred contact method, location, etc.

I just create an Excel spreadsheet (which is the template I share with you in the Template Library) but you could use Google Sheets, or a document, or use whatever tool your company has.

You can also note down any particular things they’ve asked for, key success criteria or deliverables they are expecting. This helps identify any conflicting requirements.

Step 2: Assess interest and influence

Consider how interested they are in the success of the project and the level of influence or power they have over the project. You’ll have to make some professional judgement guesses here based on how they seem to you.

Typically, the more senior a person is in the organization, the more power they have for decision making, resource allocation and securing funding.

Typically, subject matter experts and the project customers are the most interested.

Happy days if your project sponsor is both interested and influential to the max.

This analysis will help determine how much attention they need from you during different stages of the project. You’ve only got so much energy, so make sure it goes to the people who can do the most good on the project.

Below is an alternative image for thinking about stakeholder analysis, where you build out a profile per image, from a whiteboarding tool I use. Your own whiteboarding tools might have similar templates.

Step 3: Keep your records securely

No one wants to read that they aren’t influential. Keep your document somewhere secure.

You might want to leave sensitive stakeholders off the list if it’s better their information isn’t shared. 

Step 4: Update and revise regularly

People come and go on projects. Once your initial list is created, regularly review and update it based on changes in interest levels among stakeholders over time as well as any new contacts that may start in the business.

How to use the register for stakeholder engagement

OK, so now you’ve got it, how does it help you beyond giving you information for other project documents?

Set roles and responsibilities

The register is a good starting point for building out roles and responsibilities on the project, so everyone knows who is doing what. (I have a free template for a roles and responsibilities document, too.)

Plan your communications

All stakeholders are going to need some kind of communication. The register shows you who is going to need most, and what type, and if you’ve included their communication preferences, that all feeds into the comms plan.

Good comms is what gets a project over the line, in my experience.

Tailor your engagement effort

If you have to win stakeholders over when your time and energy is limited (and theirs is too), then the register helps you identify where to spend your time.

As projects progress over time, track any changes in interests or influence levels among stakeholders. You’re especially looking out for anyone who started off strong and who is showing less interest now.

If you spot someone who is less engaged, either reach out and ask they why directly or change up how you are working with them to see if that makes a difference.

Tailor your engagement approaches (which used to be called stakeholder management strategies, but we can’t manage other people’s behaviors as a project manager) to fit the needs of the individuals.

Read next: Tips for proactively managing stakeholder relationships

Keep contact info up-to-date

It’s also useful to update contact information for each stakeholder on an ongoing basis as needed. Then everyone involved has up-to-date contact information when they need it most – during times when quick decisions must be made or urgent messages need to be sent out.

Identify and manage risks

Do your stakeholders disagree on something? Have you spotted any conflicting requirements or deliverable requests for things you won’t actually be delivering? Have you got representation from all the teams or is one area struggling to find resource?

The exercise of completing the register will lead you to have a number of interesting conversations and you might find risks drop out of those.

Manage stakeholder expectations

Stakeholders sometimes have unrealistic expectations and the register can help you spot those. At least, it gives you a focus for your conversations with the key stakeholders.

Check in on stakeholder satisfaction throughout the project and update the register with what you learn – it’s all useful for helping you improve the way the team works.

Your next steps

A well-maintained stakeholder register is a powerful tool in project management. It enables you to identify key stakeholders, grasp their interests and needs, and plan effective engagement strategies. By starting out with a solid base and updating your register as you go, you can get closer to streamlined communication, anticipating and mitigate risks, and driving successful project outcomes.

So what’s keeping you? If you need any help pulling your stakeholder log together, you can connect with me on LinkedIn for quick questions or book a 1-to-1 call with me.

This article first appeared on Rebel's Guide to Project Management and can be read here: Creating and using a stakeholder register for project success

Mastering the art of feedback: 6 proven methods to boost performance

I’ve always found giving feedback a bit awkward – even positive feedback where I was praising someone for a job well done. It has got easier now I have children, because frankly I get to practice giving feedback all day at home!

It's also got easier knowing some of the theory, and while I was doing my mentoring training I got to understand several feedback methods in detail.

Here are some of my favorites (and a few I don’t rate much but might work for you!).

1.    The feedback sandwich

The feedback sandwich is a common feedback method – I wasn’t able to find out where it originated from but it has been around a long time.

The sandwich is where you give positive feedback, talk about what could be improved or provide the constructive feedback, and then end with another good pat on the back. It’s common, but leaders don’t seem to like it (according to HBR) and you don’t have to work in an office for long before you can spot it.

It’s transparently obvious for most managers, and personally I think I would rather just be transparent, expressing my concerns and getting to the problem rather than trying to build in fake platitudes as ‘balance’.

Research with medical students concludes that it does not change performance anyway, so the evidence for this method being effective in driving behaviour change is not there. This would be my least likely to use method of providing feedback to a mentee or colleague.

2.    Feedforward

Feedforward is a method originated by Marshall Goldsmith. In this article by Goldsmith, shared by the University of Michigan, he explains how to use it.

Participants (in pairs) select one behaviour they would like to change.

They ask for feedforward on how to achieve that change from their partner – in other words, ideas and suggestions to implement in the future to grow that particular skill. The partner is not allowed to comment on past performance and can only provide ideas for what the person can change/do differently/learn to achieve the behaviour change they have identified.The person receiving the feedforward is not allowed to comment or pass judgement on the ideas, not even to acknowledge that an idea is good – I found this quite a restrictive aspect of the method as I would find it difficult to not at least be nodding along. The person receiving suggestions is supposed to listen and take notes.Then you swap, and later swap partners to repeat the exercise until time is up or you call a halt to the exercise.

I can see how this would work in a team setting, and it would be a great icebreaker. However, I’m not sure that I’d use it in a mentoring situation or with a project management colleague. If I were suggesting ideas, I would like to have some idea of whether my suggestions were landing appropriately with them.

For example, I might be offering tips they could never implement due to personal circumstances, but if I had that feedback, I would be able to change my ideas and through discussion we could come up with alternatives that might work better for them.

I do like the ethos behind it though: that it is more helpful to focus on what can change rather than what someone is doing wrong.

Plus, Goldsmith talks in the article about how this method works well with successful people, and to be honest, most of the individuals I work with day-to-day would fall into that category of experienced professional, and they would be more open to this kind of suggestion that is self-initiated than traditional “feedback”.

It’s a far more positive way to address broadly the same kind of development requirement.

I can see that taking this approach, even if we don’t implement the exercise exactly as Goldsmith designed it, would be useful in conversations around setting goals.

Read next: 11 project management skills employers expect you to have

3.    SBI Model

The SBI model for giving feedback is another classic. You frame the conversation like this:

S: Situation (describe the situation/location)

B: Behaviour (describe what you saw happen)

I: Impact (describe the impact to the team/client etc)

Here’s an example of giving feedback using SBI:

“During the project check in this week (S) I noticed you didn’t have your plan ready (B) which meant we couldn’t give Jo the confidence in delivery dates I was hoping for (I).”

This model works best, in my opinion, if you are watching your mentee carry out activities. If you are not on the same team as them, it might be difficult to use as you won’t have the opportunity to carry out observations, and you would be relying on second hand information.

It could also be used in a mentoring session: “I just heard you say that you were in a meeting with Tech this week and felt like they weren’t listening to you, which meant you came out of the call without what you needed.”

But you’d have to go further than that – playing back what happened can’t be the end of the conversation. You’d need to continue the dialogue to talk about what the mentee could have done/could do next time.

The benefit of this model (and all the subsequent ones as they are very similar) is that you are using facts to provide the feedback. The University of Alabama says this makes it more likely that the person you are talking to is going to absorb the feedback.

The article I read from them also pointed out that feedback can be positive, so this model (and all the others) can be used to highlight strong performance as well as opportunities for improvement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtl5U....    COIN Conversation Model

The COIN conversation model for feedback was developed by Anna Carroll in 2003.

COIN stands for:

C: Connect (establish a rapport).

O: Observe (state what you see).

I: Impact (talk about the impact).

N: Next steps (agree path forward or actions).

Here’s an example of giving feedback using COIN:

“Hello, lovely to see you (C). When we were talking about the contracting risk this morning, you weren’t clear about the impact on the project (O). I’m not sure what to put in the report (I). Can you take me through it again?”

This is very similar to SBI with the addition of an action step on the end. In reality, you’d need to use this action step to round out the conversation with SBI too.

I like the addition of the connection step as long as it feels natural. I think it’s just a reminder that you wouldn’t walk into a meeting room and start with the observation without making some effort at building rapport, but equally you wouldn’t want to spend ages on that and have the person wondering why they are in the room.

5.    CEDAR Model

I read on LinkedIn that the CEDAR model is a useful feedback approach to take when the issues are complex, but I think it draws heavily on the other models and is not that different beyond the Review step. Read on to see what you think!

Anna Wildman created these steps in 2003 and they are:

C: Context (provide the background, similar to S in SBI but goes beyond that in providing the wider situation and how this feedback fits into their overall performance).

E: Examples (provide specific examples, same as B in SBI, suggestion is that you provide the positive examples and solicit constructive examples from the individual).

D: Diagnosis (explain the impact or your interpretation of the situation, same as I in SBI. MindTools goes further and says this is where you ask what led to where the individual is now – you co-create the diagnosis together rather than simply reporting what you see)

A: Action (explain what should be different/what needs to change, same as N in COIN, except more collaborative in this model, ideally you don’t simply tell someone what to do but ask for their suggestions).

R: Review (talk about how you will follow up together).

Here’s an example of how to give feedback using CEDAR:

“OK, so that’s great news you got a new job (C). It sounds as if you haven’t talked to your manager about a leaving date yet (E). If you don’t do that soon, it might make it hard for you to meet your new employer’s start date (D). When do you think you’ll be doing that? (A)….Great, let me know how it goes when we talk next week (R).”

Of all the models that provide a simple framework for conversation, I like this one the best. It’s clear, and it has enough additional steps, including the review stage.

You can add in consequences to the Action stage too. It’s collaborative and facilitative and doesn’t rely on you telling someone to be better.

6.    DESC Script

DESC was created by Sharon and Gordon Bower. Yale describes it as an assertive way of providing feedback to someone else.

It breaks down like this:

D: Describe (state overview of situation – in this method and all the others below with a similar step, we stick to the facts here).

E: Express (state feelings/thoughts in an “I” statement”.

S: Specify (talk about next steps/what will be different next time).

C: Consequences (describe outcome of the new way of working).

Here’s an example of giving feedback using the DESC script:

“For the last programme board meeting, I couldn’t finish the deck until late the night before (D). “I felt rushed that day (E). For the next meeting, can we work together to make sure the deck is complete at least 3 days in advance (S). Then I can get it out to attendees, and they’ll have a chance to read it before the meeting.”

Phrasing feelings and thoughts in the first person is less likely to make someone defensive and turns the emphasis to the impact of their behaviour (“I felt disappointed,” compared to “You were late.”)

The consequences step isn’t as clear in the other similar models like SBI, but it is a good addition. You can add positive or negative consequences to highlight the impact of behaviour change, or lack of it.

Which feedback method to choose?

We all have to give feedback, and being able to do so is an essential skill for personal and professional development. And yet, it can often feel awkward or challenging to deliver positive or constructive feedback effectively.

Through understanding and practicing various feedback methods, you can improve your ability to provide constructive and impactful feedback, and make it feel less cringey for you at the same time.

So, which method should you choose?

The feedback sandwich, while common, often lacks the transparency needed for genuine improvement. Feedforward, on the other hand, shifts the focus to future growth and can be particularly beneficial for experienced professionals.

The SBI and COIN models provide structured approaches that emphasize observable behavior and its impact, with COIN adding a valuable step of establishing rapport.

The CEDAR model offers a comprehensive framework that includes collaborative diagnosis and follow-up, making it a robust choice for complex feedback situations.

Finally, the DESC script incorporates assertiveness and personal expression, ensuring that feedback is both clear and considerate.

But overall, they all enable you to have conversations and provide feedback, and you know what? It actually doesn’t matter which one you opt for – pick the one that feels most authentic and useful to you.

Each method has its strengths and is suited to different contexts and individuals. Select the approach that feels best for you (and the situation) and integrate the technique into what you do regularly to build up some practice using it.

Ultimately, effective feedback is about clear communication, mutual respect, and a commitment to growth, making it a powerful tool in any professional setting, and one that will help you build positive relationships with your colleagues.

This article first appeared on Rebel's Guide to Project Management and can be read here: Mastering the art of feedback: 6 proven methods to boost performance

How to be assertive (nicely) at work as a manager

“I work with project managers around the world, and increasingly there's one success trait that I find could use a tune-up,” says Andy Kaufman, host of The People and Projects Podcast. “In a word, it's assertiveness.”

MindTools defines assertiveness as the “ability to express your opinions positively and with confidence.”

‘Assertiveness techniques’ is an umbrella term that links together a range of ways to be and to express assertiveness without spilling over into aggressiveness or over-confidence.

But it’s hard to get the balance right. Some of this is unquestionably cultural. Sometimes the problem is perception on your side or on others.

Some people view assertiveness at work as aggression, and that can hold them back from taking even small steps towards being more assertive at work.

“For many of us, we live with the mindset stepping out is risky, and since we have rent or mortgage payments to make, we play it safe,” says Andy. “We edit ourselves down. Conform.”

But you don’t have to. Regardless of the reason, sometimes, as managers, we can take an overly passive position, and that can be holding you, your projects and your career back.

Easy techniques for being more assertive at work

So how do we do it? Here are some techniques I have used over the years both for myself and to share with the people I mentor. They will help you demonstrate assertiveness and therefore get what you want in a professional way (without riding over the needs of others).

Talking about “I” not “we”

I see this often with CVs or in job applications because a project manager will write about “we/the team” which is a professional way to share success with a group as it is not the project manager who has delivered every single thing on the project… but the CV needs to focus on what they individually actually did and should have more focus on “I” statements.

Removing hedging language

I covered this in my recent webinar on project reporting, which you can watch below. Where possible, remove ‘should/could/might’ from the discussion and replace with a stronger statement like ‘will/won’t’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sdfz...

One of my old bosses pulled me up on using ‘need’ in a business case a long time ago because he said there was not much in life that we truly need, so instead we can phrase things as ‘want’.

This makes it clear what is expected and removes any ambiguity where people can say it wasn’t a priority or it wasn’t clear that they wanted something.

Asking for more time or to do things in a different way

Often stakeholders should be asking for more time to complete work if they are stretched, but they don’t always feel empowered to do so.

One of my mentees asked me if they could talk to the project sponsor directly, and I said they could. They absolutely could have that conversation. It might not go the way they wanted, but they at least could try.

In this case, she could ask to do something in a different way to get a better result.

The good news is that these easy-to-implement practical tips won’t just help you look more assertive. You’ll actually be more assertive. And they aren’t scary to put into practice everyday either.

Being you, but more assertively

Sarah Robb-O'Hagan wrote a book entitled Extreme You. She shares important lessons to help us all dial up our assertiveness. Andy shared with me 3 points from Sarah on the theme of how to be more assertive at work.

1.      Check yourself out

Check yourself out. That's Sarah's phrase for trying new things. Lots of things.

“It's easy to fall into a rut, with our approaches, our skill sets, and our thinking,” says Andy. “I've had too many coaching clients who aspired to make a living more closely aligned to their passions, but they get caught in the trap of a job they hate but seemingly can't leave because the compensation is too good.”

You don’t have to leave your job. Just try some different things around the edges of your work, on the side.

“Years ago, I started speaking at some technology conferences – just one or two a year,” Andy explains. “It scared the daylights out of me. But now I do it for a living!”

2.      Listen

Listen to what others are saying (and not saying). “It could very well be that you've been receiving feedback – spoken or not – that you're too passive” Andy says. That might show up as being told you are too quiet, or that you don’t take the initiative often enough.

Sarah suggests you watch for what you've been avoiding. “This can be a good indication of an area you must work on,” Andy explains. “Look for patterns of feedback.” If you hear the same feedback regularly, or you know that you’ve been avoiding stepping up to do something, then use that as your cue.

Sarah also suggests that you watch for when you are the punchline! If people are joking about some aspect of your behavior (for example, "Hey, look! Andy's late for the meeting again! What a surprise!"), it might be a sign that it’s time to do something differently.

3.      Speak up

When you're in a meeting and find yourself thinking, "Why is everyone around here just sitting and waiting for someone else to bring up the issue?" take that as a sign that it’s time to use your words.

“Being more assertive with colleagues doesn't mean you must be the person who's always talking,” Andy says. “But being quiet is easily misread.”

Andy shared that Eric Barker told him in an interview, that one proxy people use to determine if someone is a leader is this: how often do they speak up in a meeting?

“I'd suggest that's a weak measure,” Andy says, “but Barker shows research to back it up. Maybe it's time to speak up a bit more, perhaps even by asking more questions.”

Assertiveness pays (literally!)

“Harvard's Teresa Amabile published a study called ‘Brilliant But Cruel’," Andy says. “Her research found that if someone is too nice, we assume they must be less competent.” Scary.

“Men low in the personality trait agreeableness make as much as USD 10,000 a year more than men high in agreeableness,” he adds. “Somehow rude people have better credit scores. I don't get it. I don't even want to believe it. And I certainly don't want to suggest that you become a jerk by taking that advice.”

Andy shares another example. “I had a coaching client who told me he wanted to be promoted from a Director level to a Vice President in the next nine months. If he didn't receive the promotion, he would leave his company.”

Andy said that he rarely comes across people so focused on a title, but this particular client was set on achieving that title. Together, they came up with a plan which included making his desires clear to his boss. “He didn't make ‘the ask’ out of a spirit of entitlement – he clarified he would do whatever it took,” Andy said.

Nine months later they celebrated his promotion. “It wasn't brilliant coaching that got him the VP title – it was a matter of being assertive with his desires and doing the demanding work to earn it,” Andy explains.

Dial it up

“Here's what I wish for you,” Andy says. “Dial up your assertiveness, even if just a little. Speak up a little more often. Lean in a little more to the opportunities before you. Try some new things you may have checked out on.”

Assertive communication helps you ask for what you want without resorting to aggressive behavior. It helps you set healthy boundaries, respond with resilience in difficult situations, and seek the middle ground where it makes sense to do so – don’t feel you have to cave every time, even if the person asking is more senior than you.

To be assertive, you have to know what you want from an interaction, or from life in general, so you can advocate for your own goals and choices.

Being assertive is an everyday skill

Assertiveness techniques work at all levels, with diverse stakeholders, although we might adapt the techniques to allow for a more prominent demonstration of respect to those higher up in the organization.

I can support my project team in achieving the overall project goals through assertive behavior, for example, in guiding the conversation towards positive enquiry where we look at what is working.

Or I can take the opposite approach and ask them directly what is not working for them. Then we can do something differently to improve outcomes.

Your next steps

I took an assertiveness training workshop in my early 20s and I’m sure it changed my behavior at work fundamentally.

Being around assertive people who led the workshop, getting permission to speak up, learning a method for scripting conversations, resolving conflict, thinking about what assertive body language looks like – these are all things I got from the workshop and took to heart.

If you feel like assertiveness training is something you’d benefit from, ask your manager! They might agree you’d get something out of it and make it happen. And if they don’t support you, what’s stopping you going out and doing it yourself?

Thanks to Bob Sutton for the reference to Amabile’s work: Teresa Amabile, “Brilliant but Cruel: Perception of Negative Evaluators,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19 (1983), 146-156.

This article first appeared on Rebel's Guide to Project Management and can be read here: How to be assertive (nicely) at work as a manager

8 Brilliant tips for first-time mentors

It’s a great honor to be asked to mentor someone, and whether that arrangement comes about as a result of an informal discussion or a formal corporate scheme, you should take the commitment to be a mentor seriously.

Are you getting ready to meet your mentor? I have a complete guide to questions to ask a mentor just for you.

It’s also a good career opportunity for you – working with a more junior project manager can give you a different insight into project management topics and they are likely to have different experiences to share with you as well.

Why listen to me?

I've been mentoring colleagues inside and out of work for over 15 years. As someone who has done the job, you can bet I've tried all the tips and more! You can book a call with me for more support.

Look at the mentoring relationship as a partnership and remember that you can learn as much as they can from your discussions! Take any mentoring training on offer from your company: they may have support and training available from experienced mentors that you can benefit from.

So, now that you are ready to mentor a colleague, what should you bear in mind? Here are 5 tips for making your mentoring relationship a success.

Are you mentoring a project manager? I have specific tips for that scenario too.

1. Make a mentoring plan

What, exactly, are you both signing up for? Discuss and document what you both can commit to as you may find that your prospective mentee wants a lot more than you can offer.

You should both be happy with the level of commitment required. This could be anything from a monthly telephone conversation to a weekly face-to-face meeting so it’s important that you agree something that is going to work for you both.

You may have to build some flexibility into this. For example, if one of you is managing a project that is going through a particularly busy time or that involves a lot of travel then you might not be able to meet up in your regular slot. Most mentoring relationships can accommodate this but it’s worth talking about it before it happens.

The commitment forms the basis of your mentoring plan. Even if your arrangement is informal it is worth documenting what you have agreed so your mentoring plan forms a kind of ‘contract’ and you both have a clear idea about how you are going to work together.

2. Set expectations

What is it you're going to discuss? Generally, when I meet with mentees, we talk about career goals. Whether that's finishing their apprenticeship, getting through project management training or landing a new job.

I've found that a lot of my discussions over the years have been with people who want to make a good impression in their new job.

But what is this particular mentoring arrangement going to be focused on, at least at first? The mentor-mentee relationship works well when you've got a vague action plan of what the mentee wants to achieve.

3. Aim for a personal connection

Adequate time means you've got enough scope to try to build a personal connection. You don't need to be their best friend, but you do need to get to know them as a person.

That way, you can better advise, ask the right questions and tune in to what is important to them.

4. Be available (within reason)

Once you’ve agreed to mentor a junior colleague, make sure that you can be available for them and not just in the pre-agreed meetings that you have arranged.

It’s possible that they will have issues that they want to discuss with you at times outside of those formal meetings and it will benefit you both if you can make some time in your schedule to talk to them when they need it.

Equally, if you hear of an opportunity or something that affects the project that they are working on, don’t wait until your next scheduled discussion. Give them a call and chat it through.

5. Use your listening skills

Use active listening - and don't just pretend you are using active listening!

They have professional goals, their mentoring time is a learning experience for you both, and if you don't listen you can't be the effective mentor they need you to be.

When you know what the issues are, you can use your problem-solving skills together to work collaboratively to see what the next steps could be.

6. Offer advice (you're not a coach!)

Mentoring isn’t just about listening to their problems and it’s not coaching. If they ask for advice, give it.

You have a lot of professional knowledge to share and your experience is one of the reasons why this person chose you as their mentor. Your advice will help them avoid career-limiting mistakes!

Of course, just because you give advice don’t expect them to take it! They can make their own decisions and may choose to do something else and that’s fine – don’t take it personally!

7. Be confidential

The relationship between a mentor and a mentee should be confidential, so that you both have confidence that what you say in your meetings goes no further.

This is important because you may be talking about office politics or the working relationship between your colleague and someone else on their project team. You both need to know that you can speak honestly and openly and that what is said won’t get reported back.

Make sure thatyour agreement to be confidential is part of the arrangement you put in placeat the very beginning of your mentoring relationship.

8. Provide access to your network

One of theother reasons why your colleague chose you is likely to be for access to yournetwork. If they are looking for a new job or are keen to get ahead and buildtheir reputation, then they will appreciate being included in your network andthe opportunities you can create for them.

You don’t have to put them forward all the time but remember that part of being a mentor is championing their interests. If you hear of a job opportunity or a new project that you think they might be interested in, then suggest them to the hiring manager.

You will need to have a conversation with your mentee about what they are looking for in their future so that you can look out for the right kinds of opportunities that will support them on their career path.

Mentoring is a great way to boost your career and gain new skills as well as supporting junior colleagues. And it’s a way to retain talent in the organization, so the company benefits too.

Next steps for first-time mentors

Follow these steps to create a successful relationship with your mentee. I have found it's a pleasure to help people on their professional journey, and I'm sure you'll get a lot out of the experience too.

So if you've just been given a mentee (or been asked to mentor someone), step into the role with confidence!

If you aren't a mentor already, why not sign up for your corporate mentoring scheme and offer your experience to someone else today?

This article first appeared on Rebel's Guide to Project Management and can be read here: 8 Brilliant tips for first-time mentors

5 Types of project stakeholder (and how to manage them)

Managing project stakeholders can feel like herding cats—each one has their quirks, demands, and personalities. If you’ve been in the project management game for any length of time, you know how important it is to understand who you’re dealing with and how to keep things running smoothly.

From the ever-elusive busy bee to the relentless micro-manager, I’ve worked with them all!

Here are 5 types of project customer that you may come across, along with some tips about how to manage your relationships with them like a pro.

1. The stakeholder who won’t commit

The stakeholder who won’t commit frequently comes up with new requirements and submits changes. They might even use the official scope management process, but more often than not they’ll expect that because they have mentioned it in an email or while you were both at the office coffee machine, that’s enough.

Trust me, it’s never enough.

Record and analyze all the changes that they propose and help them see the impact of changing their mind so often.

They might still want all their changes to go ahead, but at least you’ll have a clear idea of how it is going to impact the schedule and budget and – most importantly – have those impacts approved so you aren’t trying to deliver more with the same money within the same time.

2. The stakeholder who is too busy

The busy bee stakeholder doesn’t reply to your emails. They don’t return your calls (or if they do, it’s at a time when they know that you aren’t going to be available to take the call and they leave the briefest of messages).

They accept your meeting invites and then decline the night before.

They are busy. I get it. I’m busy too.

But for projects that are important to me, and for work that pays the bills, I make the time. And I can’t help feeling that they should too.

After all, why should my team and I be slogging away delivering something when the person who is ultimately going to benefit can’t find a moment to prioritise answering a query or making a decision?

When you can’t get hold of a customer it slows your project down. Without their input or sign off at critical times you can’t move forward. You shouldn’t expect your team to act in the absence of critical decisions – so whole workstreams might come to a halt.

Leave messages for your customer to explain that. Make it easy for them to get back to you and let them know the impact of any delay. Review different ways to engage stakeholders and how you can switch up what you’re doing to better support them.

If necessary, ask your project sponsor to get involved, assuming that the person causing the problem is not your sponsor.

Proactively manage these stakeholders (here are some tips on how to do just that). Ultimately, if they can’t give the project the time it requires, they should be nominating someone else to be the main point of contact for that team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdphb.... The stakeholder who micro-manages

Micro-managing is another way to really slow down a project. It’s when you have to run every decision past your customer.

They are the kind of stakeholder who wants to come to every project meeting, and because they have diary commitments like everyone else, you can’t meet as quickly as you would like.

I’ve even met stakeholders who insist on reviewing the technical spec even if they have no idea of what they are actually reading (I’m pretty sure that he wasn’t an IT developer in a previous job).

You’ll have to use your negotiation skills to make sure that you set boundaries you can both work to. explain that there are certain things that you can get on with without needing their involvement.

Talk about the kind of things where their input really does add value and be honest about how much their involvement in other areas is slowing you down. Make sure that they get project reports that are detailed enough for their needs.

You may still have to live with them micro-managing, and if they are paying you there isn’t a lot more you can do about it, but you should adjust your project schedule accordingly.

Read next: The 6 things every stakeholder wants

4. The stakeholder who doesn’t know what s/he wants

The flip flop stakeholder changes their mind frequently but not with clear requests: it’s all very woolly. This problem is most acute at the beginning of the project when you are trying to get started and are finding it almost impossible to pin down what you should do.

You may have clear objectives and a project vision, which is great, but the difficulty comes in trying to work out how to get there.

You need the help of a business analyst – someone who is an expert at eliciting business requirements. You should also plan enough time in the project initiation and planning phases to really work out exactly what is required, and if you can, build in some cost contingency because you’ll have scoped something incorrectly.

When your customer can’t tell you what he or she wants, you aren’t going to be able to deliver that outcome. They need to know this, and what they are risking by being so vague.

5. The stakeholder who wants it faster

Most project stakeholders want it faster. And why wouldn’t they? If you can deliver faster you’ll normally unlock the business benefits more quickly and get those savings/extra sales/lower staff turnover or whatever faster.

But it becomes a problem when the customer doesn’t understand just how long things take, or refuses to believe you.

For example, they ask you to cut the time for testing, when your estimating over the last 6 projects like this one show that you really do need the full month.

Be clear. Let them see the workings of the project. Help them understand where your estimates have come from. This is a situation that you can turn around, and if you have good stakeholder relationships you should be able to do so relatively easily with a few honest discussions.

And be honest yourself too: how much padding is in those estimates? There might be a compromise to be had that involves making your contingency time and schedule buffers transparent and then moving dates up as you don’t use them.

Working with different personalities is part of the job

Project stakeholders generally are committed to the project and want to see it be a success. That’s why stakeholders contribute: because they want the deliverables that are due at the end.

But from time to time in your career as a project manager you’ll come across stakeholders who aren’t as easy to work with.

Great stakeholder communication skills, time and patience are a good start in making sure those customers understand the project and everything that you are trying to do. Talking to them about the nature of project work can be a good way to open lines of communication.

While it might take longer than you had hoped, the results will be better and you’ll build great ongoing relationships with your stakeholder community.

This article first appeared on Rebel's Guide to Project Management and can be read here: 5 Types of project stakeholder (and how to manage them)

5 Scenarios where you should escalate a project issue

No one likes escalating problems to their Project Board or sponsor. It kind of smacks of ‘I can’t deal with this myself and need help’ and most of the project managers I know would rather struggle on than ask for help in most situations.

When they do ask, you know it’s a huge deal and definitely worthy of their sponsor getting involved.

So what kind of situations is escalation appropriate for? When can’t you deal with the problems yourself? Here are 5 scenarios where it pays to escalate.

1. When you don’t know who will make the decision

You are not the person making the core, strategic decisions about your project. Yes, you can decide that if you jiggle your IT budget a bit you can spend extra on testing and less on some kit you managed to get at a discount, but you don’t get to make the call on whether the project is delivering the right things.

Someone else does that and you need to know who they are. If no one around you can give you a straight answer about who has the final say on design, sign off, functionality, branding and so on, then that’s a red flag for an escalation.

When you escalate this to your sponsor, be conscious of the fact that it might be them who is the right person to make the decision, and approach the conversation carefully!

2. When you can’t break down the silos

Teams that work in silos are difficult. If you’ve done everything in your power to get them to work together: regular team meetings, cross-functional workshops, bringing people together in person and virtually – and nothing is working, then escalation might be the answer.

You don’t want this to come across to your sponsor as ‘I can’t make my team play nicely together’ so be sure you have a real problem before you take up your sponsor’s time with it. Equally, it helps if you go to them with a solution in mind, and a list of the things you have tried that haven’t made a difference.

3. When you can’t control the extravagant changes

I know you have a strong change control process, and you’re great at communicating upwards and ensuring the team doesn’t engage with scope creep. But sometimes you get a stakeholder (or even the sponsor themselves) who says: “I don’t care, just do it.”

Be honest, you’ve probably met someone in your career who has this attitude. They can pull rank and get new stuff included in the scope of their project because they are who they are and no one says no to them. Or because the client they work with is the most important client for the business.

Changes are fine, as long as they are managed in a reasonable and controlled way. It’s the changes that come from people with greater authority and influence than you, who don’t seem to get that you can’t use nine women to deliver a baby in a month.

When you can’t ‘just do it’ within your existing scope, time, budget and quality targets then you need help to resolve that. Hopefully your manager or someone senior will be able to get through to your stakeholder that it isn’t possible and that the options are… whatever the options are.

4. When you can’t meet unrealistic expectations

A bit like the point above: you’ll sometimes come across stakeholders who want too much for what they are prepared to offer in return. It will either be a tiny budget or a tiny timescale. Everyone wants their project faster and cheaper and in many respects it’s your responsibility to ensure that you can schedule work appropriately and to use your budget management skills to deliver that.

But when you’ve exhausted schedule compression, crashing, paying overtime and adding extra people to the team, there comes a point where you just can’t get any faster. If your stakeholders are still demanding that you shave days off the delivery milestone, it’s time to escalate.

Before you do so, make sure you have sat with them to explain why you can’t do things faster and what you have done to ensure the work takes as little time as possible. Or costs as little as possible, if the challenge is on the budget.

It may just be an issue of education. Not everyone knows how projects are put together and what goes into getting the work delivered on time.

5. When you can’t manage the politics

All projects have politics – it’s simply the nature of the organisation. If you’re lucky, you won’t notice them because they are positive and the relationships at play work in favour of your project. If you aren’t so lucky the gossip, power plays and in-fighting will bring your project to a halt.

Sometimes you can handle conflict (because that’s what it is) yourself. It depends on the severity of the situation and the people involved. It might just take a conversation with the line managers involved, focusing on the overall business benefits and highlighting what their teams will get out of the project.

But when you can’t handle the discussions yourself, or the people involved are way above your pay grade, then that’s the time to escalate.

Issues on projects are normal: you are going to hit some problems that you can’t deal with alone. Once you’ve exhausted the channels that are open to you, it’s time to consider your next options.

You could struggle on in a difficult situation, putting more pressure on the team and delivering less and less. Or you could ask for help – which is effectively what an escalation is.

A good project sponsor will never mind that you have asked for their advice and intervention. If you know what you need them to do, ask them to do it. If you don’t, tell them what you have tried and what you think might be the next steps, and ask for their help in working out whether that’s the right path.

Escalations can be awkward conversations as you don’t want them to come across as if you aren’t in control or you are blaming someone else for issues outside your responsibility.

Stay factual, talk about the implications for the project in terms of impact on key success criteria and take the emotions out of the conversation. Get over the awkwardness and you could find that your problems disappear quickly once your sponsor has resolved the issue on behalf of the team.

This article first appeared on Rebel's Guide to Project Management and can be read here: 5 Scenarios where you should escalate a project issue