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Managing the Turbulence of Organizational Change In times of major change, particularly organizational change, it's normal for people involved to experience turbulence, including anxiety, anger, or uncertainty. If you’re overseeing a change, how you communicate with those affected can significantly decrease—or increase—the duration and intensity of that turbulence. |
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In Praise of Failure Failure is measured by expectations. If we aim to be perfect, or set the expectation that only perfection is acceptable, we risk losing opportunities to get valuable feedback. Creating an expectation of perfection can lead to stagnation, not success. Instead, view failure as a learning experience. |
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Manage Project Problems without Getting Trapped by Catastrophic Thinking It would be short-sighted for any project manager not to consider the potential risks in the project and not to evaluate and continue re-evaluating what can go wrong. But there's a difference between planning for risk and falling victim to catastrophic thinking—focusing on unlikely or irrational worst-case scenarios. |
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Don’t Assume Bad Intentions When There May Be Another Explanation There's a saying: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” The possibility of a reasonable explanation for someone’s bad behavior doesn’t mean you have to accept that behavior, but it does suggest that it’s sometimes better to consider the possibility that something else is going on. |
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When You Should Get Your Project Sponsor Involved If there are decisions to be made on a project, the project manager may think he's helping by going directly to the customer to get her opinion. But project sponsors represent the organization, and they should be consulted before any significant decisions are made. Do you know when you should get the sponsor involved? |
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Who’s the Boss? Let Agile Teams Manage Themselves This idea of a team in charge of itself is difficult for many people to accept. Traditional practices condition us to wait for someone to tell us what to do, and managers are accustomed to controlling everyone’s work and knowing everyone’s status. But agile teams can manage themselves—in fact, it's essential to agile. |
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The Difference between Managers and Leaders You often hear managers referred to as leaders, but the two terms are not synonymous. Managers can be leaders, but not always, and there are people who don’t have formal management positions who are leaders. Understanding the difference can help people in both roles—and their team members—be more effective. |
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Do Software Teams Need Managers with Technical Expertise? Soft skills matter in how effective a manager is, but what about technical skills? If you're a software engineer, how important is it to you for your manager to have the same background and to fully understand your job? Ideally they would, but in some cases, that role can be better filled by a technical lead. |
