Posts under ‘Team dynamics’

The decisions made during project initiation are among the most critical in a project. They set the direction for the project, establish the project’s objectives and establish how the project is to be approached. Mistakes made at this early stage can be fatal. Sadly all too many projects do go wrong at this early stage […]

Through our International Project Leadership Academy (IPLA) division, Calleam is proud to offer our class dedicated to the needs of Project Sponsors. Course Outline Format : 1 day in class session The role of the Project Sponsor is among the toughest roles in today’s business world. It’s the pivotal role that sets direction, makes key strategic decisions and […]

Want to develop your leadership skills? Want to get the most from yourself and your team? Want to deliver value and project results? Join us for our new leadership development program! Calleam is proud to offer Vancouver’s only leadership program dedicated to those working in Project Leadership type roles… Private corporate classes available on request – […]

The gap between the knowledge gained through the traditional classroom learning and the skills needed to function effectively in the modern workplace has been known about for many years. While the body of classroom learning focuses on preparing for standardized tests or doing simulated case studies, the dynamic and complex workplace requires applied skills that […]

When directly asked, most Project Managers recognise that the level of success their project teams are likely to achieve is directly correlated to the team’s ability to make effective decisions. If the team can consistently make good decisions, the chances of success are high. If they make bad decisions, the chances of success are greatly […]

Implementing a process improvement initiative within an organization is an activity fraught with difficulty. On paper it sounds easy. Define the new process, document it, publish it, do some training and voila. In practice, most organizations struggle with the “voila” stage. Of course the problem comes down to culture change. Culture change is the dark […]

We human beings can be clever souls and there’s no end to the number of ways we find to avoid addressing problems. In last week’s post I talked about “externalization” and how people use “externalisation” as a mechanism to avoid blame. While avoiding blame is important to some people I think part of the reason […]

Much like the famous twelve step program used for dealing with substance abuse, a first step in addressing the issues that lead to project failure is a willingness to admit that a problem exists. Facing up to a mistake or being willing to take ownership for events that we feel reflect poorly upon us, is […]

I’ve just finished reading a book about the Apollo missions that put man on the moon (Apollo by Charles Murray and Catherine Cox). The Apollo project was initiated by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 when he announced to the US Congress his believe that the United States “should commit itself to achieving the goal, […]

One of the pillars of successful Project Management is the need for a project to have a clearly defined goal. Establishing a goal provides a basis for the project’s scope to be established, provides a way to measure success and provides a reference point for use when making project related decisions. There’s no doubt that […]