THIS WEEK’S FOCUS
This week, our last on the focus of project management foundations:
Feeling The Pressure on projects? Try this.
Welcome to Success Factors Discovery, your weekly email for enjoying projects + delivering with confidence.
If you’ve ever felt like leading a project is isolating, pressure, with little safety net, you’re not alone.
Here’s an insight I learned 10 years ago, a fast way to reduce stress is to find a community. Bear with me on this.
A Story to learn from
For years I didn’t have that. I moved around in my career and didn’t benefit from the “promotion ladder” that comes with staying put. I had tough projects, tougher line managers and at times, like 50% of project leaders, I struggled with it.
Everything began to change when I began volunteering with the Association for Project Management in the Thames Valley. For a few hours a month, I handled their social media, for free.
That’s where we’ll head next week: communities of practice.
Why does a community matter?
For the first time, I had a group who understood the challenges. It became my crutch, a place I could lean on when work was not good. Volunteering gave me:
Tuesday Action
Don’t carry the projects burden alone. Pick a community and get involved:
1. APM or PMI branches in the UK (reach out to the chair and volunteer).
2. Change Management Institute if you focus on change.
3. Contact me about joining the PMI Changemakers’ club, a public speaking club for project leaders.
4. ProjectManagement.com or even Reddit’s r/projectmanagement if you prefer online.
Just find a group, one conversation could change how you feel about your work.
I volunteer with many groups. If you know of any other good project community groups, or have any questions, press reply and get in touch. I’m happy to help.
See you next week.
Greg
P.S. If you’re interested to explore our core discovery, the 4 Success Factors that apply to all projects. That’s APEX-4 Project Expert Formula™. The playbook is now live and you can access it here and includes checklists and readiness assessments.