Manage This - The Project Management Podcast

Focus on what truly matters while maintaining balance and reducing stress. This episode is packed with practical advice for building resilient teams, preventing burnout, and aligning efforts with meaningful goals. James Louttit shares his journey from managing intense stress to adopting approaches that reduce strain, foster balance, and maximize value. Hear about strategies for setting boundaries, tackling "HiPPo" influences, and maintaining focus on high-value, low-effort tasks.

Is your mindset holding your team back? Self-deception can quietly erode team dynamics and productivity, leaving leaders and team members blind to their own roles in workplace challenges. Desmond Lomax, a clinical mental health therapist, shares how this pervasive mindset impacts relationships, trust, and team culture. Desmond explains how shifting from an inward mindset to an outward one—moving from “me” to “we”—is the key to fostering healthier, more collaborative teams.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing project management, including risk management, by significantly enhancing efficiency. Karanveer Anand, a Technical Program Management Leader at Google, offers practical advice on integrating AI into workflows. He emphasizes three key pillars where AI impacts project management, including identifying risks using accurate historical data and ensuring data security.

Transform your project teams into high-performance delivery engines! In this episode, we talk with Laura Barnard, author of The IMPACT Engine, who shares her powerful framework for transforming project teams into top-performing teams. Listen in to learn Laura’s insights on creating low-stress, high-impact success in project management, building trust, and adopting valuable strategies for driving successful change and avoiding common project management pitfalls..

For project managers aiming to improve their project planning and drive successful outcomes, this episode provides practical advice and real-life examples. Focusing on the distinction between conversation and communication, Clint Padgett shares strategies for fostering trust and accountability through authentic dialogue and offers insights on creating adaptable, realistic project plans. Clint emphasizes the importance of in-person team meetings to secure buy-in and boost project success.

Ready to rethink leadership? Hear about an innovative framework built around four key management streams: downstream, upstream, sidestream, and the reservoir stream. These streams represent different aspects of managing oneself, managing teams, engaging with upper management, and collaborating with peers. Dalmo Cirne explains how his cross-disciplinary strategy can transform the way we lead and manage our projects.

Industry 5.0 is the next phase of the industrial automation revolution where humans collaborate with AI-powered robots and devices. Tim Jaques breaks down how Industry 5.0 builds upon the foundations of Industry 4.0, transitioning from pure automation to a more human-centered approach, integrating technology with sustainability, ethical decision-making, and advanced customization. Hear why project managers should care about Industry 5.0’s shift from economic to societal value and its impact on their roles.

In this episode, we explore the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on project management and how it’s transforming the profession. Oliver Yarbrough shares how project managers can leverage AI to enhance their skills and stay competitive in an evolving, AI-driven landscape. Hear about AI's impact on Agile teams, how SLMs and LLMs are revolutionizing data refinement, how to balance data security while leveraging AI, and how to treat AI as a key stakeholder in the evolving landscape of project management.

The podcast for project managers by project managers. Is Scope Creep derailing your project? A lack of control can lead to projects spiraling out of scope. Join us as Shannon Keenan shares strategies to keep your team focused, avoid delays, and deliver successful outcomes. Learn how to manage scope effectively and prevent projects from spiraling out of control.

The podcast by project managers for project managers. How do successful project managers turn tough project negotiations into win-win outcomes? Discover a practical seven-step approach to managing claims, negotiating with customers, and closing negotiations effectively, offering a competitive edge for project managers handling complex projects.

The podcast by project managers for project managers. The Key Crossing Reliability Initiative by Baltimore Gas and Electric (BG&E) is a critical project replacing aging transmission lines across the Patapsco River, spanning 2.25 miles. Managed by Cody Duplisea, PMP, it powers over a million homes and businesses in Baltimore. Completed before the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, it gained high visibility for ensuring reliable power transmission.

The podcast by project managers for project managers. For the past 25 years, the Guédelon Castle project has been a mesmerizing journey into the past, building a medieval castle in the forest near Paris using authentic 13th-century methods. Sarah Preston details this project where a dedicated team of artisans and history enthusiasts have revived medieval construction practices, with meticulous attention to detail.

The podcast by project managers for project managers. Happiness isn't just about feeling good—it's a strategic advantage in the professional world. In this episode we’re taking a look into the powerful connections between happiness, project success, and compassion. Emma Seppälä reveals how team happiness directly influences project outcomes and how a compassionate culture can reduce stress, boost productivity, and enhance team cohesion.

The podcast by project managers for project managers. This episode explores the art of asking effective questions. Author Jeff Wetzler offers practical advice for improving our skill at asking effective questions. The “Ask Approach" is Jeff’s five-step method designed to enhance anyone’s questioning skills, and he walks us through each step and presents questioning techniques we can all apply.

The podcast for project managers by project managers. In this second part of our conversation about Decoding Megaprojects with Bent Flyvbjerg, we explore the idea of "Pixar Planning," a method inspired by Pixar Studios' approach to making movies. Next, we tackle the concept of Modularity, and the significance of standardized, modular approaches in driving efficiency and reducing the frequency and severity of project failures.

The podcast by project managers for project managers. Part one of our two-part conversation with Bent Flyvbjerg, delving into decoding megaprojects. Bent’s research draws from a database of 16,000 megaprojects to extract valuable insights. Megaprojects are increasingly shaping our world, and Bent sheds light on both their successes and failures, aiming to provide lessons for future endeavors, big and small.

The podcast by project managers for project managers. Join us in celebrating 200 episodes of Manage This, as we embark on a voyage through the intersection of project management and sailing with captain and author, Andy Crowe. Andy is our Velociteach founder and author of the best-selling textbook: The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try, he brings a wealth of experience both on the open waters and in project management.

The podcast by project managers for project managers. Shaping the future of project management is PMI 2023 Future 50 honoree, and our second guest in our "Rising Talent" podcast series, Monique Sekhon. She is a trailblazer making waves both professionally and within her community. As the youngest chapter president in PMI global history, she embodies a passion for giving back to her community. Join us to gain fresh perspectives and valuable insights from one of the industry's brightest talents. Table of Contents 01:56 … Meet Monique04:09 … Path to Public Health07:47 … Monique’s Current Position10:28 … Most Effective Project Management Practices14:36 … Collaboration with Stakeholders19:33 … Kevin and Kyle20:48 … Overcoming Attitudes and Challenges24:36 … PMI Chapter Leadership29:25 … Advice to Younger PMs30:28 … Monique’s Nonprofit Care-2-Share33:49 … Find Out More34:50 … Closing MONIQUE SEKHON: …my job to work with people and talk to people and bring people together who are experts – because I’m definitely not the expert – bring those people together as a project manager into a room to say, okay, these are the priorities.  This is our common goal.….  And this is what we’re trying to achieve.  And then working with all of those people to determine, okay, how are we going to get there?  WENDY GROUNDS:  Welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers.  I’m your host, Wendy Grounds.  And right here in the studio we’ve got the brains behind the show, Bill Yates.  We take pride in showcasing the remarkable work of rising talent, adding a fresh perspective to the vibrant project management community.  This is the second and final in our current Rising Talent series.  We have an extraordinary guest.  This is a trailblazer making waves in both her professional and community spheres.  Do meet PMI 2023 Future 50 honoree Monique Sekhon.  She’s a dynamic professional with project management in her DNA, as she’s going to explain to us.  She joined the British Columbia Ministry of Health starting as a junior business analyst.  And here she played a pivotal role in the Health Data Platform project, which was a large-scale initiative to enhance the efficiency of health data access for researchers and academics.  She was promoted to senior project management advisor at the age of 22, and today she manages over 45 concurrent complex data projects.  Her impact extends beyond her job.  She’s a volunteer with PMI Vancouver Island Chapter.  And she’s currently the chapter president for the 23-24 chapter year.  She’s also the youngest chapter president in PMI global history. BILL YATES:  That’s impressive. WENDY GROUNDS:  Very much so.  So we’re excited to talk to Monique today.  Hi, Monique.  Welcome to Manage This.  Thank you for joining us. MONIQUE SEKHON:  Thank you for having me.  I’m so excited to be here. Meet Monique WENDY GROUNDS:  We are looking forward to digging into your story and just hearing a bit about your journey into project management.  So tell us a little bit about what influenced you early on in your career in project management.  How did it start for you? MONIQUE SEKHON:  Yeah, so it’s kind of an interesting story, and it’s a bit of a legacy story.  So when I was in high school, my mom was studying for the PMP.  So at our house, all over all the floors, every possible surface, there was a PMBOK and tons of material and all that good stuff.  My dad would sit with her and quiz her and ask her questions.  And then she would be like, “Monique, come and quiz me.  I need to prepare for this exam.”  And I think she did write it twice.  So as a result, it was like quite a significant portion of my high school life helping her with this. And I just remember as she was going through, you know, studying and learning and hearing those words, okay, initiation and waterfall and all those, you know, terminologies.  And I’m somebody who has always been really active in schoo...

The podcast by project managers for project managers. Following the 2020 devastating explosion in Beirut, project manager Kevin Gemayel's journey is nothing short of inspiring as he tackled challenges head-on. Hear firsthand accounts of his experiences during the blast, his strategies for managing tasks, stakeholders, budgets, and time, and the invaluable lessons learned. We discover Kevin's extraordinary project and the power of resilience in the face of adversity. Table of Contents 04:27 … Meet Kevin05:30 … Kevin’s Story of the Tragedy07:25 … Gathering a Team08:18 … The Family Façade Business09:44 … Deciding How to Prioritize13:34 … An Emergency Response15:33 … Resources and Supplies16:47 … An Economic Crisis20:08 … Personal Impact21:36 … Keeping a Team Motivated22:38 … Ren Love’s Projects from the Past25:00 … Planning Time Management and Strategy28:21 … Creative Problem-Solving29:31 … Kevin’s Lessons Learned31:08 … Personal Growth Through Tragedy34:57 … Looking Back36:37 … Advice to Younger PMs38:46 … Contact Kevin39:59 … Closing KEVIN GEMAYEL: … in leadership, they say you should become a leader and personally lead yourself before leading anyone else.  And I would advise every project manager to learn and to focus on how they should lead themselves before going out there and leading projects and people and teams because, when they do things right themselves, … they will be able to influence the people they are working with.  …  So don’t just focus on books and numbers and theoretical things.  Focus on yourself, as well. WENDY GROUNDS:  You’re listening to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers.  My name is Wendy Grounds, and with me in the studio is Bill Yates.  We want to feature some younger talent in the project management community.  We’re calling it our Rising Talent series.  So for the next two episodes we’re going to be sharing the stories of two young project managers who are not only inspirational, but they’re also making waves with their incredible contributions to the field.  Now, we have spoken to some young project managers in the past. BILL YATES:  Yeah, Episode 165 we had a great conversation with Kat Shane.  You may recall she had a startup company that she began at the University of Georgia, and it was working on a solution to help people, governments, and businesses figure out what products or packaging are locally recyclable.  So, can I recycle this?  And how to get them where they needed to go. WENDY GROUNDS:  We also spoke to Christelle Kwizera.  That was Episode 146.  At the age of 20, Christelle founded Water Access Rwanda, which was in response to the dangerous conditions Rwandans would face when collecting water from rivers and dams.  She was quite an incredible young lady. BILL YATES:  What a story.  So inspirational and so young. WENDY GROUNDS:  Yes, yes.  She was also a PMI Future 50 2021 honoree.  And the folk that we’re talking to in these two episodes are also Future 50 2023 honorees from PMI.  We are really enjoying featuring younger talent in the project management community.  The first one is our guest, Kevin. BILL YATES:  Yeah, this is a heavy story, this conversation we’ll have with Kevin.  It’s heavy.  It’s about the blast in Beirut.  And many people lost their lives, and many people who survived it will be dealing with it for a lifetime.  So, we wanted to recognize that.  But there are so many powerful lessons for us to learn from that, and to hear from Kevin. And we’ve tackled these kinds of topics before.  We spoke with Matthew Harper about the attack on the USS Cole and the lessons learned from that.  Peter Baines joined us from Australia.  He led international identification teams after tsunamis or terrorist attacks.  So, he’s talked with us about that.  And of course, Chuck Casto, that story was so engaging, looking at the Fukushima disaster and the 11 months that he spent onsite after the accident,

The podcast by project managers for project managers. Have you ever wondered why project team members decide to quit? Join us as we unravel the mysteries behind team turnover with HR expert Cindi Filer. Discover the pitfalls project managers should avoid to retain their team members, foster a thriving workplace environment, and optimize your most valuable resource: your people. Table of Contents 03:22 … Why are People Quitting?05:13 … Survey: Three Reasons People Quit06:03 … Employee Engagement Categories08:14 … Loud Quitting10:31 … Importance of Leadership Training12:23 … What Impacts Employee Engagement?19:24 … Where to Start as a PM20:58 … Kevin and Kyle22:22 … Building Your Team Culture26:05 … Pitfalls to Avoid29:43 … Dealing with Pay Issues32:47 … Well-Being at Work35:15 … Contact Cindi36:18 … Closing CINDI FILER: ...make sure you and your team is catching each other doing things that are positive, and then speaking those out to people.  Because I think encouragement is oxygen.  You’ve heard that.  And so it’s amazing when somebody’s leader calls them out for something that they’ve done well.  It’s amazing how much they feel grounded in that area. WENDY GROUNDS:  Welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers.  I’m your host, Wendy Grounds, and with me is Bill Yates.  He is our seasoned project management expert. Today we’re diving into a topic that’s at the forefront of every organization’s success.  We’re talking employee retention.  And together with our guest we’re going to unravel some of the complexities and insights into the importance of maintaining employee and team member retention.  Why do people quit their jobs?  Why do they quit project teams?  What are the top factors driving this trend?  We’re going to be exploring the nuances behind this phenomenon and hopefully answering some of those questions for you today. BILL YATES:  Absolutely.  This is going to be a, we believe, a very helpful conversation.  We’ll be tackling the crucial question of how much of team engagement is attributable to the manager, and what advice do we have for the project manager who claims they don’t have time to focus on engagement, I’ve got a project to deliver.  Spoiler alert, there’s always time for strategies that boost team morale. And of course we can’t ignore the pitfalls and mistakes that project managers should steer clear of to prevent turnover on their teams.  We’ll learn from the errors of others so we don’t have to repeat those mistakes ourselves. WENDY GROUNDS:  We are honored today to have a distinguished guest with us in the studio.  We’re so excited.  We actually have a guest in the studio that we’re not sitting on Skype or Zoom.  We have Cindi Filer with us in the studio. BILL YATES:  Yeah, Wendy, this is exciting to have Cindi in the studio with us.  By the way, we have been using a new studio.  It’s called Summer Street Productions.  It’s a local Kennesaw-based studio that has fantastic equipment and facilities.  We’re delighted to be in here, and super excited to be enjoying the quality and the production value they bring to us.  So thank you guys at Summer Street. WENDY GROUNDS:  Cindi is a seasoned professional who has dedicated her career to help companies acquire and optimize their most valuable asset, their people.  She spent the early days of her career at Delta Airlines and Worldspan, a Delta company in the human resources space.  Twenty-nine years ago she founded Innovative Outsourcing, which is a staffing and recruiting firm dedicated to helping companies find and keep talented professionals, both part-time and full-time.  So stay tuned as we unravel the secrets to fostering a workplace where team members not only stay, but thrive. Hi, Cindi.  Welcome to Manage This.  Thank you so much for joining us. CINDI FILER:  Oh, I’m so glad to be here.  Thank you for asking.  Can’t wait to talk about some human resources stuff.