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3 Ideas to Prevent ‘All Talk and No Action’ Meetings When many people are speaking in a meeting but it never translates into meaningful actions later on, it can leave us frustrated. But with some planning and collaboration, we can facilitate ways to make it easier for people to communicate better. Here are three ideas for a little less conversation, a little more action. |
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3 Myths about Software Project Managers People often have the wrong impression regarding the activities and responsibilities of project managers. You'll hear them say that managing a software project is all about delegating work and keeping the crew in line, but it's more than that. Let's debunk three common, pervasive myths about project managers. |
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Use Silence as a Powerful Tool to Get Feedback If you want feedback from your users, sometimes the best technique for gathering information is staying silent. After someone responds to your question, instead of continuing the conversation, just pause. This encourages the other person to keep talking, and that's when you may get the most valuable information. |
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Does Your Boss Waste Your Time? It's good to eliminate any time-wasting practices, but that can be tricky when they come from your boss. Manager-imposed time wasters include micromanaging, holding unneeded meetings, requiring unnecessary status reports, and issuing ambiguous instructions. Here's how to broach the subject and get some time back. |
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Simple Ways to Become a Great Listener In this era of multitasking, you probably excel at listening even as you do other things. But it’s not enough to be skilled at listening if, in the process, you convey the impression that you’re not listening. Make sure the people you're communicating with know you're listening to them by employing these simple tips. |
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6 Signs Your Agile Project Isn’t Really Agile There's a trend of organizations declaring they are agile without actually changing how they develop software. Declaring that an apple is an orange doesn’t make it so. These six key indicators can help you determine whether your agile project isn’t really agile after all—and give you some solutions to help. |
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15 Traits of Effective Leaders It's helpful for leaders to have technical skills and abilities, but interpersonal attributes are more important for what makes a truly great leader. This list is about attitudes and behaviors—choices you can make to improve your leadership. These fifteen characteristics are a good foundation for effective leaders. |
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The Premortem: Planning for Failure While a postmortem, or retrospective, is done after a project is completed, a premortem is done before the project starts as a way to imagine that the project failed and to explore what went wrong. You list every possible thing that can go wrong, then devise solutions to the most probable risks—before you need them. |