People and Projects Podcast: Project Management Podcast

When Emotions Are Rising On Your Project Let’s say you’re sitting in a meeting tomorrow for a project you are leading. You’re looking to get sign-off and, based on the pre-meetings you had with key stakeholders, the meeting should go smoothly. But seemingly out of the blue, a key stakeholder speaks up and starts sharing objections. Right there in front of everyone, which includes your boss, by the way. Things are starting to derail and you can feel some anger starting to build up. If we could see a thought bubble over you, you might be saying, “I can’t believe they’re sabotaging this! They didn’t bring any of this up when we talked about it before the meeting! They’re throwing me and my project under the bus!” That’s a pivotal leadership moment right there. Maybe for you, it’s a demanding boss. Or a deeply emotional situation outside of work. The critical issue is this: How do we respond? Does it help, or do we make it worse? How do we navigate the emotional rollercoaster of leading teams and projects—and families and friendships? Our ability to do that can make an enormous difference in our careers and life. In this episode, we’re continuing a series of discussions on the topic of our emotions. And I’m excited to introduce you to Dr. Julia Digangi. For many years, Julia has worked with individuals who have endured the worst traumas, from survivors of domestic abuse to combat veterans, and helped them transform their energy and rise to powerful new heights. Based on her experience, she has recently published a remarkably insightful new book Energy Rising: The Neuroscience of Leading with Emotional Power. What I love about this book is that it gives a perspective on navigating the emotional challenges of our life in a way I’ve not seen in any other books. It’s deeply based in research and practice but it’s accessible to all of us, even if we don’t know our amygdala from our anterior cingulate cortex. Ha! You can learn more about Julia and her work at DrJuliaDigangi.com/. For more on this topic, check out: Episode 394, with Joshua Freedman about his book on emotional intelligence. Episode 395, with Josefine Campbell about her book on helping when you and your team are low on energy, and Episode 396, with Thomas Curran about his book on perfectionism. Gift a Loved One a Head Start With Their Career Do you know someone who is in college or maybe recently graduated? My experience is there are a growing number of people who dread being asked the question, “So, what’s the plan?” When it comes to their career, they have no freaking idea! I bring this up because I want you to check out our new course entitled just that: No Freaking Idea: How to Navigate Career Uncertainty. It’s a career guide for people who don’t know what they want to do, and it has been so fun to hear the feedback on the course. Whether you are wondering about the next steps in your career or it's a son or daughter and you'd like to give them a head start as a gift, learn more by going to NoFreakingIdea.courses. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Underground Shadows by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/12024-underground-shadows License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Energetic & Drive Indie Rock by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10443-energetic-drive-indie-rock License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Thomas Curran, the author of 'The Perfection Trap: Embracing the Power of Good Enough,' challenges the notion of perfectionism and its negative impacts on mental health and relationships. The podcast explores the nature of perfectionism, its dimensions and influence on self-esteem and performance. It also delves into socially prescribed perfectionism, the pitfalls of social media, personal strategies to combat perfectionism, and the relation of perfectionistic thinking to agile project management. The importance of embracing 'good enough' is emphasized.

Explore the impacts of hyper-productivity and the importance of managing personal energy for success. Discuss tools like the energy barometer and awareness matrix. Understand high energy and the resources needed to make conscious choices. Learn about triggers and avoiding mental hijacks. Manage energy and handle 'hijacked' moments. Assess energy levels and recognize hijacks.

What Is Emotional Intelligence, Really? You’ve heard of emotional intelligence, right? You know it’s important. But a lot of us haven’t had formal training on the topic--or maybe it’s been a while. In this episode, I’m excited to introduce you to Joshua Freedman, author of the international best-selling book At the Heart of Leadership: How to Get Results with Emotional Intelligence. Plenty of books can give you an academic understanding of emotional intelligence. But Joshua’s book is immensely practical. It focuses on how to help us navigate situations, like that project meeting, because our lives are filled with situations where the stakes are high with our emotions. And Joshua is here to help us with that. I can’t wait to share this discussion with you! Learn more about Joshua at JMFreedman.com/bio/. For more episodes on this topic, check out: Episode 148, with Daniel Shapiro about his book Negotiating the Nonnegotiable. It's a deeply insightful book that will help you navigate the emotional side of conflicts. I highly recommend this episode! Episode 108, with Doug Stone about his book Thanks for the Feedback, and Episode 185, with Mitch Warner from the Arbinger Institute about their book Leadership and Self-Deception.   Gift a Loved One a Head Start With Their Career Do you know someone who is in college or maybe recently graduated? My experience is there are a growing number of people who dread being asked the question, “So, what’s the plan?” When it comes to their career, they have no freaking idea! I bring this up because we’re rolling out a new course entitled just that: No Freaking Idea: How to Navigate Career Uncertainty. It’s a career guide for people who don’t know what they want to do, and it has been so fun to hear the feedback on the course. Whether you are wondering about next steps in your career or it's a son or daughter and you'd like to give them a head start as a gift, learn more by going to NoFreakingIdea.courses. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Colossus by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10494-colossus License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Tropical Vibe by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10446-tropical-vibe License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Meet Molly Beran, an inspiring role model for women in project management. She shares her journey to becoming a project manager and emphasizes flexibility and collaboration. They reflect on their careers, discuss lessons learned, and the value of experience. They also highlight their involvement in activities outside of work and the creation of a project management strategies book for weddings. Follow Molly on LinkedIn and check out her ebook. Don't forget the new career guidance course!

Leading In The Age of Deep Expertise Not everyone aspires to be a VP or higher someday, nor should they. But could it be that some of us are held back because the deep expertise that got us to our current position isn’t what is needed to get to additional levels of responsibility? Or, if that additional responsibility is given to us anyway, we struggle to thrive because the skills to succeed at that next level are different from what we’re used to? I think so, which is why I’m excited to introduce you to Wanda T. Wallace. Wanda is the author of an insightful book You Can't Know It All: Leading in the Age of Deep Expertise. In this episode, you’re going to hear Wanda describe the difference between being an expert leader vs a spanning leader. She’ll explain how the way we add value is different when we’re a spanning leader. Wanda will talk about how to deal with mistakes--both when others make them as well as when we do. She’ll talk about how to better deal with ambiguity that comes along with greater responsibility as well as how to develop trust across a boarder base of people. Before we’re done Wanda will talk about executive presence and share some advice specifically for women. It’s an engaging discussion with someone who specializes in helping women and men get to the top, stick, and thrive. Learn more about Wanda and her book at Leadership-Forum.com/wanda-wallace. For more episodes on this topic, check out: Episode 75 and 76, with Keith Murnighan about his book Do Nothing. It's about how to not over-manage. Episode 122, with Shane Snow who has some surprising ideas about accelerating your career, and Episode 125, with Liz Wiseman about her book Rookie Smarts.   No Freaking Idea! Do you know someone who is in college or maybe recently graduated? My experience is there are a growing number of people who dread being asked the question, “So, what’s the plan?” When it comes to their career, they have no freaking idea! I bring this up because we’re rolling out a new course entitled just that: No Freaking Idea: How to Navigate Career Uncertaity. It’s a career guide for people who don’t know what they want to do, and it has been so fun to hear the feedback on the course. Whether it’s you who is wondering about next steps in your career or a son or daughter and you'd like to give them this as a gift, learn more by going to NoFreakingIdea.courses. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Cinematic Suspense Series Episode 008 by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7669-cinematic-suspense-series-episode-008 License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Energetic & Drive Indie Rock by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10443-energetic-drive-indie-rock License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Do You Really Want to Lead? Making the leap to leadership can be one of the most rewarding--and challenging--moves we can make. And I’m excited in this episode to bring you what I think is the best guide I’ve come across to date on how to make that jump. Adam Bryant joins us to talk about his new book The Leap to Leader: How Ambitious Managers Make the Jump to Leadership. In this episode, you’ll learn the first question you should be asking about leadership--and why it’s important. Adam shares a practical tool he calls a Leadership User Manual--I’m telling you, you’re going to want to create one of these after listening to this. He discusses why a career pyramid might be a better metaphor than a ladder. Along the way you’ll hear why you should learn to merge into traffic and go play in the traffic! And why some of the most valuable leadership lessons are playing out before your eyes every day. It’s a conversation I can’t wait to share with you. Learn more about Adam and his book at AdamBryantBooks.com/the-leap-to-leader/. For more episodes related to this topic, check out: Episode 360, with Janet Polach about her book The Seven Mistakes New Managers Make. Episode 307, with Ron Carucci about his book Rising to Power, and Episode 261, with David Epstein about his book Range.   No Freaking Idea! Do you know someone who is in college or maybe recently graduated? My experience is there are a growing number of people who dread being asked the question, “So, what’s the plan?” When it comes to their career, they have no freaking idea! I bring this up because we’re rolling out a new course entitled just that: No Freaking Idea: How to Navigate Career Uncertaity. It’s a career guide for people who don’t know what they want to do, and it has been so fun to hear the feedback on the course. Whether it’s you who is wondering about next steps in your career or a son or daughter and you'd like to give them this as a gift, learn more by going to NoFreakingIdea.courses. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Imagefilm 034 by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/2935-imagefilm-034 License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Another Good Day by chilledmusic Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/8397-another-good-day License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Introducing Jen Dary In most of our episodes, I’m introducing you to an author of a new book, looking for ways to apply key ideas from what they’ve written. But every once in a while, I come across someone who I just think is interesting--someone who brings a fresh perspective to the discussion that would help all of us who want to get better at leading teams and delivering projects. Today, I’m excited to introduce you to Jen Dary. Jen is the founder of a company that champions the concept that all humans are creative, resourceful, and whole… but sometimes they have a hard time moving forward. Jen and her team help people move forward through coaching and manager training. In this episode, Jen shares her insights on issues and situations that we often find ourselves in, like Struggles when moving into a management role Knowing what to hold onto and what to let go of Delivering bad news--as well as how to deal with it when bad news is delivered to us. Jen shares lessons she’s learned about balancing work and life and gives some coaching insights for anyone who’s recently lost their job and wants to move forward. And how about this? We’ve got some ideas for those of you who are still in your job but questioning whether you should stay. Jen shares some perspective on that as well. It's a fun discussion with an insightful human that I can’t wait to share with you. Learn more about Jen and her company at BePlucky.com/About.   AI for Project Managers and Leaders With the constant stream of AI news, it's sometimes hard to grasp how these advancements can benefit us as project managers and leaders in our day-to-day work. That's why I developed our e-learning course: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Using AI in Your Everyday Work. This self-guided course is designed for project managers and leaders aiming to harness AI's potential to enhance your work, streamline your workflow, and boost your productivity. Go to ai.PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com to learn more and join us. The feedback from the program has been fantastic. Take this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your team and projects. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Tropical Vibe by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10446-tropical-vibe License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: It's Funky by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/8061-its-funky License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Your Past as an Asset Have you ever noticed how two people can go through something similar? For one person, it takes them under. And the other person? They seem to get past it—maybe even grow from it. I ask because going through challenging—even traumatic—experiences is part of the human experience. I’m not saying it’s equally distributed. But clearly, life is not always up and to the right. And as you grow as a leader, it’s only a matter of time before you’re put into situations that can cause you to question your abilities, wonder if you’re up to it, and maybe even back down from the challenge. Or, interestingly, those situations may be what propel you forward in your ability to lead and deliver. In this episode, we’re exploring the role of experience and how it shapes us. And I’m excited to introduce you to a new book entitled Experiential Intelligence: Harness the Power of Experience for Personal and Business Breakthroughs by Soren Kaplan. In this discussion, you’ll learn about XQ--Experiential Intelligence--and how it compares to IQ, EQ, and other attempts to understand our intelligences. Soren will talk about self-limiting beliefs and how we can identify them and—more importantly—get beyond them. It’s a great discussion with a guy who has a passion for helping us turn our past experiences into assets for our good—as individuals and for teams. I can’t wait to share this with you. Learn more about Soren and his book at SorenKaplan.com/ExperientialIntelligence. For more episodes on this topic, check out: Episode 185, with Mitch Warner about the Arbinger Institute's book Leadership and Self-Deception   AI for Project Managers and Leaders With the constant stream of AI news, it's sometimes hard to grasp how these advancements can benefit us as project managers and leaders in our day-to-day work. That's why I developed our e-learning course: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Using AI in Your Everyday Work. This self-guided course is designed for project managers and leaders aiming to harness AI's potential to enhance your work, streamline your workflow, and boost your productivity. Go to ai.i-leadonline.com to learn more and join us. The feedback from the program has been fantastic. Take this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your team and projects. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Ignotus by Agnese Valmaggia Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6273-ignotus License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Chillhouse by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/11066-chillhouse License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

PMeLa Takes the Mic Hi! You will recall back in episode 384 I introduced you to an AI persona I had developed named PMeLa. She's an AI designed to be an expert in project management and leadership. It's been fun to hear the feedback from listeners from around the world who found the discussion to be somewhere between intriguing, hilarious, and frightening. I've been experimenting with automating AI processes and so I thought I would try another experiment with PMeLa. In today's episode, PMeLa is going to interview--wait for it--former US President Abraham Lincoln. As an AI, she comes up with the questions and an AI version of Lincoln responds. Let me be clear--I'm not just doing this to be clever. What's unique about this episode is that it was completely done using automation tools. I had no hand in the questions or the responses. Once I defined the personas and set up the automation, the interview was completely in the hands of the AIs and the automation tool. What you hear from PMeLa and Lincoln has not been changed by me at all. After the brief interview, I share some insights about what I've been learning through these experiments. And definitely listen to the end with a blooper from Lincoln! Learn more about the automation tool I used for this episode: Make.com. Also, check out Lovo.ai and ElevenLabs.io. What's a question you'd like to pass by PMeLa? Send them to show@peopleandprojectspodcast.com. I'd love to include your questions in a future episode! Thanks!   AI for Project Managers and Leaders Take the next step to level up your AI skills. Check out our e-learning course: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Using AI in Your Everyday Work. This self-guided course is designed for project managers and leaders aiming to harness AI's potential to enhance your work, streamline your workflow, and boost your productivity. Go to ai.i-leadonline.com to learn more and join us. The feedback from the program has been fantastic. Take this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your team and projects. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Business Acumen   The following music was used for this episode: Lullaby of Light (feat. Cory Friesenhan) by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/11174-lullaby-of-light-feat-cory-friesenhan License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Laughing Children [Full version] by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10498-laughing-children-full-version License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license